Victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault have the right to sue the individual, institution, or company that should have done something to prevent the sexual abuse or assault from happening. These rights are different than criminal prosecution, although an individual may have committed the terrible act of sex abuse, the company or institution who employed them may be held liable if they knew or should have known of the conduct of the abuser. An institution or company can also be held liable if the conduct related to the abuser’s job duties; for example, an ambulance attendant who sexually touches a patient for his own gratification, or a clergy member, Boy Scout master, or teacher who touches someone under their supervision. The law regarding when the company or institution can be held liable for an employee’s wrongful sex abuse is very detailed and highly dependent upon the relationship of the parties. We have handled cases involving students and coaches, psychiatrists and their patients, employers who abused employees, and doctors who inappropriately touched their patients. We have also handled cases where security personnel spied on dressing rooms.
Sex Abuse — Past Case Example #1
Charley Merten, client Royshekka Herring, Greg Kafoury, Jason Kafoury and Mark McDougal celebrate after the jury verdict of Herring vs. American Medical Response
In a case that generated an enormous amount of media attention, Royshekka Herring sued AMR Ambulance Company for having been sexually abused on the way to the hospital by an ambulance attendant, Lannie Haszard. Haszard was the only one of 500 local AMR attendants who had ever received a complaint of sexual misconduct, and he had had three such complaints in the previous 14 months. Nonetheless, he remained on the job.
After Haszard’s third accuser had told the police what had happened to her, AMR officials from across the Northwest gathered to decide what to do. Their meeting notes show that they agreed to not discuss the matter further outside the management group. In other words, no one at AMR told the police about Haszard’s two prior sexual misconduct complaints.
Greg Kafoury and Royshekka Herring
Months later, Royshekka Herring was molested while being transported to Emanuel Emergency. There, the hospital staff was initially dismissive of her allegations, and when she refused to be silent and tried to leave, a staff nurse called security on her. Eventually, the police were brought in, and their investigation led to Haszard’s arrest. Haszard is now serving a prison term, and Ms. Herring was awarded $3.25 million by a Portland jury in October, 2009, along with an additional $600,000 in attorney fees.
Sex Abuse — Past Case Example #2
L.W. was a student at Milo Academy, a strict religion-based high school and boarding school in southern Oregon. There, she suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the 28-year-old son of faculty members, who resided on the campus. While school rules required that students have parental permission to spend the night outside of the dormitory, she spent two and a half weeks at the faculty home where the son resided, without her parents ever being contacted regarding her whereabouts. The school had strict rules that adults were never to be with students one-on-one, and strict separation of the sexes was to be maintained at all times. We sought several million dollars in damages, and the case settled for a confidential amount on the first day of trial.
Sex Abuse — Past Case Example #3
L.M., an adult woman with a long history of abuse at the hands of men, sought counseling from a well-known psychologist. The psychologist took advantage of her extreme vulnerability, and used her for his own sexual gratification. The case settled for an undisclosed amount, and the psychologist surrendered his license.