What is the Average Settlement for Clergy Abuse?

Victims of abuse by priests, pastors, and other clergy face substantial damages from what happened to them.  The costs of any physical health care needed to treat injuries, as well as therapy bills and other mental health care needs, can spike into the tens of thousands of dollars easily.  In addition to this, your pain and suffering might be immense.  But how much is commonly paid out?

It is virtually impossible to determine an “average” settlement for clergy abuse, given that many cases involve minors, confidential settlements, and non-disclosure agreements.  However, we can help you understand what damages should be covered in your claim – from medical care to mental health care to pain and suffering – as well as how these damages are often paid by the institution rather than individual clergy members who might not have the income and assets to cover a claim.

For help with your potential case, call the sexual abuse victim lawyers at The Law Office of Andrew Shubin at (814) 826-3586.

Statistics on Settlement Amounts for Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Against Churches and Priests

It is difficult to find specific data on settlements and jury awards for victims of sexual abuse, but it is often possible to find data on churches and where their funding goes.  This can help us get a glimpse at how much is paid out for sexual abuse scandals and settlements, but it often does not help us obtain an average for these lawsuits, especially given how unique each case is.

Difficulty with Averages

First, finding “averages” for lawsuits is often incredibly difficult because no lawsuit is “average.”  Every case is based on the specific harms the victim suffered, whether that be medical bills, mental health care bills, lost earnings, or pain and suffering.  When it comes to sexual abuse, these things can vary greatly, and the pain and suffering are often disproportionate to the medical bills and take very close case-by-case analysis to calculate for a given case.

Second, courts do not usually report or collect data on settlement amounts, and even if they did, sexual abuse lawsuits often do not have this same data publicized.  These cases are incredibly personal and may be handled out of the public eye to save the survivors from additional scrutiny and victim-blaming.  As such, most settlements with a church or other religious institution for sexual abuse will be confidential settlements.  This means that no one knows how much the settlement was for unless they ask the parties.  In some cases, there might even be non-disclosure agreements so that the survivor does not tell other people how much they got paid – though some states are working hard to prevent these.

Available Statistics

Even so, we do have some data available on how much the Catholic Church has spent on sexual abuse lawsuits.  The Church is typically accountable to members and parishioners regarding where its money goes, especially since parishioners know that money is often paid toward sexual abuse lawsuits, and they want a full accounting of that.

A 2024 report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was published in May 2024 for data from the year 2023.  It cites a 2014-2023 “Annual Survey of Allegations and Costs” that shows totals spent on settlements and litigation for sexual abuse during this range of years.  On this chart, we can see that the amounts spent typically ranged from almost $106.5 million in 2014 at the lowest to over $311.9 million in 2020 at the highest.  This chart breaks things down into settlement amounts – around $56.9 million in 2014 and $219.7 million in 2020 – along with “other payments to victims,” “support for offenders,” and “attorney’s fees,” meaning that not all of these amounts are going straight into the victims’ pockets.

Something that even such a detailed chart does not show is the number of victims these amounts were paid to, preventing us from determining a true average.  This also, notably, focuses only on the Catholic Church, preventing us from looking into statistics for other denominations and churches.

What Damages Should Typically Be Included in a Settlement for Sexual Abuse by a Priest?

When you file your claim for sexual abuse, you should include all damages reasonably caused by the abuse.  This will often focus on mental health therapy bills, as this is often the biggest expense that survivors face on paper.  However, you may have also sustained physical injuries that might have been treated and have their own damages.  Otherwise, you will focus your claim on pain and suffering – the depression, fear, anxiety, and trauma associated with sexual abuse.  This can often be calculated to far outweigh the damages for economic harms.

Sometimes an event like this can also affect you financially for years to come.  If we can link a mental health condition stemming from this abuse to problems at work and difficulty working, we may be able to help you claim lost wages as well.

Where Does the Money Come from for Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Against Churches and Clergy?

Generally speaking, Catholic priests and clergy have modest income and no real assets that they can put toward a lawsuit.  However, the Church usually picks up these expenses.  From the chart discussed above, we can see that the Church often pays out over $100 million per year toward the defense and damages and victim’s attorneys fees associated with these claims, covering the costs that an individual priest likely cannot afford out of pocket.  The Church’s funds come from donations from parishioners, which are often paid into funds and spread around to different churches to cover these costs, ultimately paying the victims.

Keep in mind, however, that not all abuse involves the Catholic Church.  Abuse by other priests, pastors, and clergy could result in a lawsuit against them individually or against their church.  Some churches have no restrictions on their pastors’ finances, meaning some preachers are independently wealthy and can pay for damages like these.  In other cases, other institutions and churches back them, paying the expenses and damages.

Lastly, some abuse by priests and clergy takes place within Catholic schools or other religious schools, which are often separate institutions and have their own finances to pay for these damages.

Call Our Laws for Victims of Sexual Abuse by Priests and Clergy Today

If you were sexually abused recently or in the past as a child, reach out to The Law Office of Andrew Shubin at (814) 826-3586 for a free, confidential case assessment with our sexual abuse victim lawyers.