Simply, any location under the control or direction of an organization or individual, or any person who shared responsibility in assuring the safety of a victim or location, may also share responsibility, liability, for incidents of sex assault that occur on their watch.
DAMAGES FOR VICTIMS / SURVIVORS IN COLORADO
Through civil litigation, a victim, if successful, may be awarded civil damages. Civil damages, under law, are monetary in nature. The damages that one suffers due to a sexual assault deserve compensation, and victims can seek this compensation through civil law. Settlements can be obtained, or sizable jury verdicts can be awarded, against those responsible for the assault including, as stated above, third parties, organizations and/or individuals whose negligence contributed to its occurrence.
TYPES OF DAMAGES
Sexual assault damages are either economic damages or non-economic damages.
ECONOMIC DAMAGES
Economic damages, or “specific” damages, are designed to compensate the victim for their actual and measurable losses. Examples of economic damages include medical bills, bills for mental health treatment, lost wages, and lost earning potential. Economic damages include reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses as a result of injury. The award of economic damages involves calculating medical bills, lost wages, and lost earning potential caused by the sexual assault.
NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES
Non-economic damages include emotional distress, pain and suffering, physical impairment, disability, or disfigurement, loss of companionship, loss related to the survivor’s reputation, and loss of enjoyment of life. Non-economic damages, or “general” damages, are not calculated by adding up documented bills and receipts, but are often based on prior incidents and awards of damages, as well as the severity of the harms and trauma caused by the sexual assault.
Noneconomic damages for mental trauma and emotional distress typically make up the lion’s share of damages awarded in a sex assault case. Calculating noneconomic damages can be somewhat challenging as the components of noneconomic damages simply do not have concrete nor easily discernible values, but at Frederick | Ganderton, we understand the survivor’s trauma of sex assault and the valuation of non-economic damages.
PROVING NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES
The most common way that survivors prove the level of damage caused by a sexual assault is through expert witnesses whose opinions can assist insurance adjusters, defense attorneys, or juries understand the severity of trauma associated with sex assault, and the long-term effects the trauma will have on a survivor. Often, survivors experience post-traumatic stress disorder and may suffer from complex trauma that may affect a survivor for the rest of their lives and lead them to seek therapy far into the future.
PUNITIVE DAMAGES
Punitive damages are used as a form of punishment for defendants and also as a deterrent to help prevent similar behavior occurring again. In Colorado, a survivor may be awarded double the actual damages (economic and non-economic damages) as a punitive measure. If a person or organization acted in a “malicious” and/or “willful and wanton” manner, showing disregard for the survivor’s safety, they may be liable for punitive damages.