Institutional Sexual Abuse Attorney

00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:05.840 The sensitivity and privacy that clients deserve, especially clients who 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:11.080 have been harmed by sexual abuse and sexual assault, it's one of the most 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:12.680 important things to us. 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:19.840 We take sexual abuse, assault, sexual molestation cases 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:22.960 oftentimes that are institutionally based. 00:00:23.840 --> 00:00:30.200 We see a lot of students of schools, we see kids in foster care, we see kids in 00:00:30.680 --> 00:00:36.680 other places that are institutions, and those are often the cases that we take. 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:42.440 Those are cases where the institution itself has failed to supervise their 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:47.000 employees, they've failed to supervise the individuals that they're supposed to 00:00:47.360 --> 00:00:51.040 supervise, and ultimately, that's what leads to the sexual abuse. 00:00:51.800 --> 00:00:55.400 Minors should realize that they have the exact same rights as an adult. 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:59.295 If there's something that has happened to them, first of all, they need to make 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:01.760 sure that they tell a trusted adult. 00:01:02.480 --> 00:01:06.680 Second, if they talk with that individual, if they talk with that adult, 00:01:06.880 --> 00:01:11.240 and together they decide that there's something that legally should be done and 00:01:11.320 --> 00:01:14.080 can be done, then they should call us, and we'll talk about it. 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:17.320 We have a lot of clients that come in that are really concerned about 00:01:17.800 --> 00:01:21.680 confidentiality, and they're concerned about other people judging 00:01:21.880 --> 00:01:23.240 them for what has happened. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:27.520 We take real care and we take pride in trying to keep those 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.280 facts as private as possible. 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:36.680 What we bring is accountability for the larger institution that allowed the 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:38.840 harm to happen in the first place. 00:01:39.080 --> 00:01:43.600 We're trying to bring some sort of justice to the individual victim. 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.560 It often means that we're going to have to go against the institution itself 00:01:48.080 --> 00:01:52.040 and break it down, find out where the systemic failures are, 00:01:52.160 --> 00:01:56.600 and ultimately call for accountability, oftentimes in front of a jury, 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:01.360 so that those problems are ultimately addressed and 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:04.640 justice is ultimately something that the victim can get. 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:09.520 Statute of limitations is also known as time limits on cases. 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:14.480 Washington State has a very lenient and a very forgiving statute because we want 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.680 sex abuse survivors to come forward. 00:02:17.920 --> 00:02:21.320 People should not be deterred just because something may have happened 00:02:21.640 --> 00:02:22.600 years and years ago. 00:02:22.880 --> 00:02:25.480 Sometimes people call us and they're simply not ready. 00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:29.200 But when they are, and when seeking accountability and 00:02:29.440 --> 00:02:33.520 seeking justice becomes a part of their survivor's journey, 00:02:33.640 --> 00:02:36.855 then that's when we want them to call Cochran Douglas, and we'll 00:02:36.880 --> 00:02:38.200 take that journey with you.