NCJ Number
146985
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Crime victims are increasingly pursuing civil remedies to redress their physical, psychological, and financial injuries by recovering for lost wages, hospital costs, counseling expenses, property damages, and other costs associated with victimization.
Abstract
Working together, victim service providers and civil attorneys can provide crime victims with meaningful options for financial recovery. The provider can serve as a vital information bridge between the victim and the civil attorney by presenting facts that may be relevant to liability and collectability, two case elements essential to successful civil recovery. Civil litigation is important because it provides victims with an opportunity to vindicate their individual rights and facilitates empowerment. Successful civil suits let perpetrators know that crime does not pay and that they must account to those they victimize. Further, civil suits serve to exact damages from perpetrators and to encourage the adoption of adequate crime prevention measures by potential third parties. The relationship between civil and criminal litigation is discussed, as well as tort liability, the victim service provider's role in civil courts, the collection of judgments, and rules and protection for special victims (abused children, women, campus crime victims, bias crime victims, and victims of perpetrators who work in a professional capacity). Advantages and disadvantages of civil litigation are noted. 14 footnotes