Can a Childcare Center Be Sued for Sexual Abuse?

Item: The Law Office of Andrew Shubin
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Author: Tina L

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Sexual abuse by any person or organization that was supposed to look after and care for your child is a serious issue. In many cases, businesses and institutions can be held accountable for sexual abuse alongside the individual abuser.

Rules vary from state to state, but typically, when abuse is committed by an employee within the scope of their job duties, then the company they are working for can be held liable in their place. Institutions can also be held directly responsible for sexual abuse when it occurs because of negligent hiring and retention, improper supervision, and other issues.

For help with your potential case against a childcare center or daycare, call The Law Office of Andrew Shubin’s attorneys for sexual abuse victims at (814) 826-3586 for a free case review.

Suing Individual Abusers vs. Suing Institutions

In many cases, suing the institution is helpful in seeking justice.

Damages

Individual abusers may be unable to pay. Especially in childcare and daycare institutions operated by charitable or faith organizations, the workers who might be responsible for the abuse might be volunteers or low-wage staff who cannot afford the damages.

By including an institution, the institution often can pay. Even if it is a charitable organization or smaller organization, having a second payor alongside the individual abuser can mean the defendants can collectively pay higher damages.

Holding Institutions Responsible

Often, abuse by individuals is only allowed to go on because of the institutions that fail to stop it, look the other way, or affirmatively cover up abuse. While the individual might be culpable, it is also important to take institutions to task.

Stopping Future Abuse

While individuals can be sued, they can also be prosecuted in a criminal case. Institutions often cannot. Suing them, holding them accountable, bringing their abuses to light, and bringing cases to court is often the best way to pressure them to change going forward or to take a financial toll on the institution that makes it impossible to keep operating and abusing more people.

How to Sue Daycares and Childcare Centers for Sexual Abuse

You can typically sue institutions in two ways, which have different requirements.

Suing for Employee Abuse

Employers can often be made to answer for what their employees did. This means that you hold the employer responsible in place of their employee; you do not need to prove that the institution did or didn’t do anything.

This kind of liability is sometimes called “vicarious liability” because one party takes on liability for another party. It is also called “respondeat superior” – a legal principle that says “let the master answer.”

Requirements

To use vicarious liability, the specific requirements vary a bit from state to state. However, they generally require

The abuser was an employee, as opposed to an independent contractor.
The abuser was individually responsible for what happened.
The abuse happened within the scope of their employment.

One common issue here is that abuse is clearly outside of the scope of what an employee is supposed to be doing. As long as the access and opportunity for abuse came within the scope of their work, that is often enough, even if the abuse itself would be outside the scope of what the employee was supposed to be doing during their work.

Suing for Institutional Abuse

You can also sue the institution directly for what it did. Institutions can only act through the people who make up the institution. However, suing the institution directly focuses on the institutional practices rather than individual decisions.

This typically involves claims for

Negligent hiring or retention of a worker the institution should have known would be abusive or who had a past record of abuse
Failing to properly punish or investigate past abuse, allowing future abuse to continue
Affirmatively hiding or covering up abuse, moving abusers to different sites/locations, etc.

Requirements

With intentional acts of coverup or abuse at the institutional level, you need to show that higher-ups had knowledge of abuse or the abuser’s intent and failed to take reasonable steps in response, to report it, to investigate it, etc.

With negligence, you need to show that the employer should have done better. Technically, this means showing the organization owed the victim a duty and failed to carry it out reasonably or in accordance with the law, and that that failure allowed the abuse to occur.

FAQs for Lawsuits Against Institutions for Sexual Abuse

Are Lawsuits Against Daycares and Childcare Centers Available in Every State?

The laws are different from state to state, especially when it comes to

Statutes of limitations
How lawsuits against employers work for intentional acts and
What responsibilities different organizations have for reporting and background checks.

Nonetheless, a lawsuit like this is usually available to some extent, so definitely discuss the potential of a case with our attorneys for sexual abuse victims.

What Damages Can You Claim Against Childcare Companies for Sexual Abuse?

If you were abused as a child or you are suing on behalf of your child, there are three major areas of damages to consider:

Medical care costs for physical and mental health care to treat the injuries and effects of the abuse.
Lost wages, which may arise down the line because of mental health issues the abuse caused.
Pain and suffering, mental anguish, embarrassment, and emotional damages from the abuse itself.

The amounts will vary from case to case, but institutions can be made to pay for both what the individual abuser caused and whatever the institution caused on its own.

What Evidence Do You Need?

When suing an institution in place of the individual abuser, you need the kinds of evidence you would need to prove sexual abuse in the first place, including testimony, medical evidence, and whatever else might be available.

When suing institutions in general, you also need to get access to their internal records to prove what steps they did or did not take to ensure the safety of children in their charge, to run background checks on workers, and to deal with complaints or past reports of abuse. Our lawyers can obtain these as part of your case through discovery.