Sexual abuse on campus is not always committed by another student. Sometimes it is a professor, a coach, a team doctor, an advisor, or another university employee, someone the institution placed in a position of trust. When that happens, a civil claim usually looks to the institution that gave them that role.
You do not need to have reported the abuse to police, and nobody needs to have been charged. A civil claim asks what the college or university knew, what it should have known, and what it did. Attorney Ervin Nevitt, a partner at Coplan + Crane, reviews these cases. He holds Illinois bar registration 6319808 and was admitted in 2014.
The institution is usually the defendant
These claims are usually brought against the college or university, not only against the individual. The theory that most often carries them is institutional response failure. In practice, several theories run together, and which one fits depends on your facts rather than on a category.
When the abuser has died
Many survivors assume their chance at accountability ended when the person who abused them died. A claim can still proceed. It is usually brought against the institution that placed that person in a position of trust.
Title IX and a civil claim
Title IX and a civil claim are separate things. Title IX governs how a federally funded school responds to a report. It can also support a lawsuit for damages where the school knew and responded with deliberate indifference. A state-law civil claim seeks compensation for the harm itself. You can have one, the other, or both.
Which rules apply
The type of institution decides the path for a state-law claim. Where the institution is a state university, the claim runs against its board in the Illinois Court of Claims. Where it is a community college, the Illinois Tort Immunity Act applies. Where it is private, neither applies, and the liability questions are the ordinary institutional ones.
Common Questions Around Staff Abuse Claims
Will my name be public? Steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record. We explain them before anything is filed.
I am asking for someone else. That is fine and it happens often. The person involved has no obligation to do anything.
Do I need to have reported it to police? No. You do not need to have reported it, and nobody needs to have been charged.
What happens when you reach out
A question sets nothing in motion. You speak with a person, not a form. You do not have to describe what happened. We look into which institution was responsible, what it knew, what records exist, and whether a claim can still be brought, at no cost to you.
We tell you plainly what is possible. If you decide not to go ahead, it ends there, and what you told us stays confidential. If you go ahead, we carry the filings, deadlines, records, and the institution's insurers. Steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record.
Call (708) 671-6858 for a free, confidential case review.
