Seeking Compensation
| Author | Judith Daylen, Wendy van Tongeren Harvey, and Dennis O'Toole |
| Pages | 377-425 |
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[ 10 ]
Seeking Compensation
Vignette Ten
At the age of nine, Ralph was removed by child protection autho rities from
his family home and placed in the foster home of a respected businessman ,
his wife, and two other foster children. Within six months, the fos ter father
began touching Ralph’s genitals and performing fellatio on him, while
wearing women’s underwear. By the age of eleven, Ralph was frequently
running away from the foster home. He tried to tell his s ocial worker about
the abuse, but at that time (1978), authorities dismissed Ralph’s account as
bizarre and unbelievable, and kept returning him to th e home. After at-
tempting suicide at the age of thirteen, Ralph was p ermanently removed
from the home. He then lived in several other foster homes until he was
able to live inde pendently at the age o f seventeen. Thirt y years later, Ralph
attended an alcohol treatment program to d eal with his long history of
addiction. During treatment, he was able to talk ab out his abuse and he
learned how the sexual abuse might have contributed to his anger, rela-
tionship problems, and substance abuse. His therapist suggested the pos-
sibility of suing the offender to obtain comp ensation for the harm caused
by the abuse. Ralph met with a lawyer who agree d to take his case. In re-
searching the case, the lawyer discovered that the foster fath er had moved
to another province where he had been criminally charged and convicted
for sexual offences in that province. Ralph’s civil lawsuit was commenced,
naming the foster father and the provincial child protectio n agency as de-
fendants. Three years later, Ralph’s case was settled out of cour t.
, have focused on criminal proceedings as a
means to seek justice for sexual crimes, but there are other legal options, or
378 , ,
legal “remedie s” or “redress,” available. L egal redress may provide solace,
validation, nancial compensation, and a means of nancing therapy; or
it may provide none of these, depending upon t he outcome of your pa r-
ticular case. Whatever redress you may receive from legal actions or crime
victim programs, it is not likely to cure or x your ps ychological wounds.
Healing is something you accomplish on your own, albeit with help and
support from others. Legal remedies can help you move along your own
personal healing path, and perhaps open up new opportunities for you, but
we caution you not to look for the solution or the resolution to your emo-
tional problems i n the courts. To do thi s could result in you r being terribly
disappointed or d isillusioned, a nd your healing journe y could become side-
tracked. We do not want to discourage you from pursuing a legal remedy;
we do, however, want you to approach it realistically. We encourage you
to consider all your options— criminal prosecution of the oender, civil
litigation, as well as other avenues of reparation.
In this chapter, we discuss a wide range of options available for seek-
ing redress or compensation so you can make an informed decision about
which path is best for you. We outline the step-by-step process of a civil
lawsuit and reviews the dierences between the civil and criminal legal
systems. You will learn what you can realistically expect to ga in or lose in
civil litigation, and you will become familiar with some of the legal con-
cepts and language that will be important should you choose to pursue a
civil lawsuit. As well, we briey review other compensation options, such
as alter native dispute resolut ion and provincia l crime victi m compensation
programs. If you have already made your decision to pursue a particular
legal approach, the information in this chapter wil l acquaint you with the
process so you will know what to expect and be better equipped to deal
with issues as they emerge.
As you read the following section, keep in mind that the information
presented here is neither all-inclusive nor meant to be a legal primer. We
are not providi ng legal adv ice; this must be obt ained on an ind ividual basi s
from a competent legal professiona l. We provide you with a general over-
view of civil litigation and other legal procedures that we hope you will nd
useful. Once you have understood the material in this chapter, you will be
in a better position to discuss the important issues with a lawyer and decide
what course is best for you.
Chapter 10: Seeking C ompensation 379
SEEKING COMPENSATION THROUGH CIVIL LITIGATION
to decide whether you want to bring a civil lawsuit
against your oender or others who may be legally liable, the information
here should help you make some deci sions. If you have already decided
to proceed, you will learn what to expect at the various stages of the civil
litigation process. Having a better understanding of the process can help
you to prepare for the inevitable stresses and avoid some of the potential
pitfalls. Being an in formed consu mer gives you more control with in the
process itse lf and more control over your re actions to it.
is is a dense chapter, with a lot of information and terminology to
absorb. It is understandable if you feel somewhat overwhelmed. Keep in
mind that you do not have to remember the legal language or every point
made. Just try to take away the general idea of what you read and become
familiar with the overall process, as this will help you make informed de-
cisions when necessary. If you pursue civil litigation, your lawyer should
make sure that you understand the process and your role in it. You can
revisit this chapter to re-acquaint yourself with the concepts and language
and prepare for each stage of the process as it unfolds.
Similarities and dierences between civil and criminal
proceedings
, some detail the workings of our criminal
justice system. Although there are similarities between criminal and civil pro-
ceedings, there are also some important dierences. One straightforward, but
potentially confusing dierence is that victims of sexual crimes are generally
referred to as “complainants” in criminal proceedings and as “plaintis” in civil
proceedings. Below we highlig ht some of the more signicant similarities and
dierences between civil litigation and criminal proceedings.
Similarities
Both are adversarial processes, in which the goal i s to be fair and just
to both sides.
Both recognize the serious nature of sexual cri mes.
Both may deter others from committing sexual crimes.
e outcome of both may be determined without proceeding to trial
(for example, in a criminal case, the court can grant a stay of pro-
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