Criminal Defense, Personal Injury & Sexual Assault Victims Law Firm
Rape and Sexual Assault Victim Lawyer With 30+ Years of Experience.
At Krupp Law Firm we are more than just an ally. We fight against the abusers who caused your pain and suffering. Having contributed to the prosecution of many perpetrators of sexual assault both criminally and civilly, we understand the sensitive nature of your case and we stand up for your bravery.
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Krupp Law Firm Fights for the Victims and Survivors of Sexual Assault and Rape.
We bring cases against the abusers and those who cause or contribute to sexual assault by acting with negligence.
Sexual Assault Cases Are Unique
Not everyone is familiar with how prosecutors and attorneys handle these cases and the complex ways they work together. Unfortunately, sexual assaults and rape are all too common in the United States, and St. Louis and St. Charles County are no different in that regard. Here are some tips for understanding how your sexual assault case might be handled from the beginning.
What To Do When I’ve Been Sexually Assaulted or Raped?
Act as soon as possible. You have resources on your side.
The first thing you should do is call the city or municipal police.
This might result in a trip to the hospital where often time a rape kit is administered and police will ask questions to understand your story and to help investigate the crime.
You can also report sexual assault in an employment sense to your employer or HR department.
What Happens After the Police Get Involved?
Ideally, the case will be assigned to a law enforcement officer or detective with experience in sex crime investigation. They should quickly gather information and refer it to the county prosecuting attorney. The prosecuting attorney will then decide if their evidence will be strong enough to move forward in a criminal case.
What if There Is No Police Involvement or Criminal Case?
Not all sexual assault and rape cases result in a criminal case. There are many complicated factors that go into whether a sexual assault or rape case in Missouri will be prosecuted.
You may have the opportunity to fight your perpetrators in civil court.
The crucial thing is that you get into contact with a sexual assault or rape victim lawyer in St. Louis or St. Charles County Missouri. It is important to act quickly because unlike in criminal cases, civil cases have a statute of limitations which varies on a case-by-case basis.
If I Have an Ongoing Criminal Case Involving Sexual Assault Can I File a Civil Case?
Yes, you can file a civil case and it's important that you do. The reason is there are statutes of limitations that apply. You have 5 years to report a negligent case. If you have an ongoing criminal case you want to consult a lawyer so they may advise as to when they will file a suit on your behalf. It is important to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible.
Do I Need a Lawyer if I Am a Victim of Sexual Assault?
Only sometimes. If you are a victim of sexual assault and report it to the police in a timely enough manner that they can investigate and move forward with criminal prosecution. In that case, you may or may not need a lawyer. The police will investigate your case and send it to the prosecuting attorney. The prosecuting attorney will investigate and criminally charge the abuser. The prosecuting attorney is not your lawyer but they are a lawyer acting on your behalf as a victim of sexual assault.
You might need a lawyer if you can collect from the individual or organization that is responsible.
This is what we all a civil case. A civil case is separate from a criminal case. The only way to get justice in a civil case is through a collection of finances. In many civil cases, we are looking at organizations, businesses, schools, and insurance companies. Somebody that turned a blind eye in a negligent context that led to sexual assault. That's when you are going to need a lawyer.
If you are an individual that has been sexually assaulted on a private premise that is not connected to an organization or company you may not need a lawyer but should always ask. You should always consult an attorney but may not need a lawyer because your interests are represented by the prosecuting attorney.
What Can a Lawyer Do To Help Me as a Victim of Sexual Assault?
What a lawyer does to help you in a civil case is to fight to get you damages that you have sustained as a result of the sexual assault and that you will incur in the future.
Great sexual assault victim lawyers knock down all the doors, they do a lot of the investigation. They coordinate with the police or they get the police reports or crime scene reports if that is relevant. Lawyers build your case and they put forward your case in a context that would potentially be put in front of a jury. Many times this results in a settlement outside of a jury.
Other than that if there is an ongoing criminal case, at the same time, the lawyer would not be involved in the criminal case. Your lawyer will be working for you on the civil case while a criminal investigation is going on or has already taken place.
What Do I Need Before Consulting a Lawyer About Sexual Assault?
The number one thing to consider is: was some sort of report filed? For example, a police report, incident report, Title IX action.
Was there any kind of an investigation going on into the matter? That is where you start before contacting a lawyer generally.
What you want is evidence.
If there are text messages. We get a lot of cases where individuals have sent text messages or photographs. We are looking for tangible evidence that the incident occurred. A lot of times we have he said/she said interactions and those cases have been historically hard to prove especially in criminal courts. In civil courts, it's a little different depending on circumstances. If you have evidence get it and/or preserve it that is very important.
What Are the Statute of Limitations?
In criminal cases, there are no statutes of limitations for rape cases and sexual assault cases but in civil cases, for money damages, the statute of limitations is 5 years in Missouri for negligence and 2 years for intentional conduct.
Most of the time you will have two years to sue the perpetrator and five years to sue an organization.
or other entity if it’s a claim of negligence. This is always on a case-by-case basis and you should consult a sexual assault and rape victim lawyer at the Krupp Law Firm who can help you understand your potential case.
How Can Someone Else Besides the Perpetrator of Rape or Sexual Assault Be Responsible?
There are a variety of ways in which businesses, organizations, or people could be responsible for ensuring your safety. This is especially true in the case of hotels and motels other places where you pay to stay overnight. The law wants people in that situation to be protected. There could be a situation where a company or organization knew about the potential danger or should have known about the dangers associated with potential sexual assault and rape.
At Krupp Law Firm we look at all the parties that could have been responsible and should have acted to protect you.
We feel that is one way we help ensure the safety of other potential victims in society but most importantly to compensate you for the wrong you have suffered.
We fight hard in the courtroom to help you recover the settlement or verdict you deserve. Don’t wait, call or contact us to set up a free consultation.
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What Makes a "Good" Sexual Assault Civil Case?
Liability
Is there liability? Meaning can we prove the other person, entity, and/or organization did something wrong. Examples would be the assault, negligence, or any variety of both. We need to show there was an investigation or police report and it's recent enough the statute of limitations has not run and the witnesses and evidence have not deteriorated. That makes up good liability. That's the first place to start to know if you potentially have a good civil case.
Collectability
Next, we have to worry about the unfortunate truth is you have to have collectability in a civil case. This is not necessary for a criminal case but in civil court, the only way to get justice is through financial compensation. It's not always just a business or organization in a civil case sometimes there can be an insurance agreement. You will need to consult with an attorney to find how good is the liability and how good is the collectability.
Unfortunately, we can not bring all sexual assault cases. We would like to bring forward all the cases possible and help as many victims as we can. But we can all bring the cases we can prove and collect. Those two things are what we look for when we file a sexual assault civil case.
Sexual Assault And Arbitration
Arbitration is something that a company, organization, or insurance company wants to force the person bringing the claim to go to an arbitrator instead of a jury to decide their case. The arbitrator is one person often one they choose that decides what if anything the company, organization, or perpetrator will pay. Many people believe this is not such a bad idea especially sexual assault victims might think it's less intimidating than the prospect of facing a jury. The truth is arbitration is only there to limit and take away from sexual assault victims' ability to recover financially.
The companies, insurance companies, organizations, and lobbyists have fought very hard to make arbitration necessary. What they have done is appoint arbitrators that are inclined to give small awards or sometimes nothing.
President Joe Biden has recently signed a bill enacted by Congress that will end or make it not legal for someone who is a victim of sexual assault to be forced to go into arbitration. If a victim wants to go into arbitration they can agree to arbitration with the other side. Since this benefits the other side 9 times out of 10 they will be willing to do so.
We do not believe arbitration is beneficial for our clients.
What the bill has done is give someone who is being represented a chance to get justice on a large scale.
Resources for Missouri Residents Who Are Victims of Sexual Assault
Crime Victims' Rights PDF provided by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.
This PDF provides Victims' rights, possible compensation available to victims, the court process and penalties for violating victims rights.
Serving Victims of Sexual Assault in Missouri for More Than 30 Years.
Krupp Law Firm has been serving the residents of St. Louis county, St. Charles county and the surrounding area for over 30 years. If you need a lawyer do not hesitate to call our lawyers for a free discrete consultation.
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