Rape or sexual assault is a delicate matter; the people who have been victims of it have deep wounds that transcend over the years. It is a heinous and abhorrent crime. Now, can personal injury lawyers represent rape victims? When should a personal injury lawyer get involved?
IS RAPE A PERSONAL INJURY?
The sexual act without mutual prior and express consent is a criminal offense, it is not a civil offense. Personal injuries are mostly civil claims, so rape on itself is not within its scope of expertise. However, injuries caused in the attempt can be claimed as personal injury.
CASES IN WHICH INJURIES FROM RAPE MAY BE TAKEN BY A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER
PERSONAL DECISION FOR SHAME
Rape harms much more than a person’s sexual integrity, it also creates impaired emotional and mental stability, it can lead to depression or embarrassment. For this reason, some people have chosen not to initiate criminal proceedings to recover damages for rape but instead have chosen to continue their legal process as a personal injury claim.
PERSONAL DECISION IN ATTEMPTED RAPE WITH FEW EVIDENCE
It is possible to sue for personal injury even in cases of attempted rape.
EXAMPLE:
A woman is chased in the street by a man and is taken to an alley, in which there are no cameras or witnesses, and he tries to rape her. In the struggle, she suffers various injuries of a non-sexual nature, such as bruises on her wrist or face. After a while of fighting, the aggressor ran away because the police arrived.
The woman cannot sue her aggressor for rape because she was never raped. She only has two options: sue for attempted rape or make a claim for the injuries caused in the struggle; that’s when a personal injury lawyer appears onstage.
Attempted rape are crimes prosecutable by public action, so if the authorities hear about it, they are under the obligation to investigate the case and bring it to an end. Therefore, the woman will have to necessarily decide which legal procedure to follow.
In most of these cases, the rival defense attorney objects that the woman sustained these injuries for any reason other than attempted rape caused by their client. This is why, in cases with few evidence or cases that only have circumstantial evidence, the most advisable thing for the victim is to carry out their legal process as a personal injury case.
APPEARANCE OF MAJOR CONSEQUENCES NOT SEEN IN THE FIRST INSTANCE
Sometimes rape victims executed their legal process as they should, but after a while, they realized that the rape they suffered in the past has developed consequences in the present.
For example:
● A woman who was administered drugs to subdue and rape her started to be aware of problems with her nervous system long after the rape occurred, or
● This same woman can realize many years later that she has an STDbecause of the rape.
In both circumstances, the woman did not see the damage when she made her rape demand, but now that she is aware of it, she can sue for these damages in a personal injury case.
BENEFITS OF CHOOSING A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER TO DEFEND VICTIMS OF RAPE
The most qualified individuals in the area to represent others legally are Richmond Hill, personal injury lawyers. If any victim is reading this article, they can be sure that if they choose a lawyer they will not regret it, as they will be treated with the dignity, justice, and empathy that all rape victims deserve.