blog | Lane Brown, LLC

The unthinkable has happened. An adult whom you trusted to care for your child has abused him in an intimate and cruel way. It wasn’t a stranger on the street who hurt your child, but rather a scout leader, a youth group advisor, or a team coach. As much as you’d like to turn back the clock and keep your child out of that adult’s care, you know that you can’t. Instead, your focus has to be on the future.

Your Focus Has to Be on Your Child’s Recovery

As you do everything in your power to help your child through this difficult time, you may have a nagging question in the back of our mind. You may wonder if a person can ever truly recover from childhood sexual abuse.

The American Psychological Association has identified several factors that are relevant to whether a child recovers from sexual abuse. Those factors include:

The age of the child and the type of abuse suffered
The relationship between the child and the abuser
The child’s interpretation of the abuse
Whether the child talks about the abuse to anyone
How quickly the child reports the abuse
The child’s family support, support outside the family, self-esteem, and spirituality
Whether the child gets support through other means such as counseling, support groups, and books

It is important to consider all of the issues described above when deciding how best to help your child.

You are the Most Important Factor in Your Child’s Recovery

As the parent, you are the one who is going to determine whether your child gets the help that he needs to recover from sexual abuse. It may be one of the most important parenting jobs you ever do, but you don’t have to do it alone. Learn how we may be able to help you by watching our free videos and by starting an online chat with us today.

You can’t get the child out of your mind, yet there is nothing else that you can do. You learned about alleged child sex abuse at a church in Oak Lawn, a scout troop in Skokie, or a school in Berwyn, and you made the appropriate calls. You called the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS) and you notified the parents of the alleged victim. The responsibility is no longer yours, but you can’t help wondering….

What Will Happen Now?

We can’t tell you what the parents of the child will do. Every family reacts differently to news of suspected sex abuse. However, the state of Illinois has specific procedures that it should follow when a call of suspected sex abuse is made. Specifically:

A trained social worker should answer your call and make a professional determination about what to do next.
A social worker may decide that a formal investigation should occur. This happens in about 25 percent of cases.
A social worker may decide that the child and family can be connected with the right resources to prevent future abuse.

It is the responsibility of the state and of the family to keep the child safe once you make the call.

Do You Know Someone About to Make a Child Sex Abuse Report?

The reporter, and certainly the family of the child, may need support. Please share this blog post with that person and encourage him to watch our free videos to learn more about protecting children from the horrors of sex abuse.

It could have started with a misdiagnosis by your doctor at the Cicero Health Center, an anesthesia error at University of Illinois Hospital, or some other form of medical negligence at any Chicago-area medical facility. The mistake made by your doctor, nurse, or medical facility left you with a serious brain injury that has changed your whole life. The things that were once routine are now difficult, and the future that you once eagerly anticipated is now frightening.

What You Can Do Now

There are some things that you should not have to worry about after a brain injury. However, in order to cross these particular worries off your list, you may need to file a medical malpractice claim. More specifically, a medical malpractice claim can help you:

Get the medical care you need
Pay your bills
Get ready for a new future

If you don’t file a timely claim, however, you may struggle to get the medical care that you need and live the life you want.

You May Only Have One Chance to Get This Right

You may only have once chance to file a medical malpractice claim to recover damages for a brain injury. Thus, it is important that you file the claim in a timely fashion and that you make the right decisions with regard to your claim. To find out more about how to do this, please read our free report, What to Do If You’ve Been Injured by Your Doctors or Hospital, and please contact us directly.

Category: Medical Malpractice

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The Consequences of a Bite

This wasn’t the first time he bit, but this may have been the bite seen around the world. It was during a June 2014 World Cup soccer match that a player for Uruguay, Luis Suarez, allegedly bit an Italian soccer player on the shoulder. Suarez was sanctioned for his actions by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The initial penalty imposed by FIFA was that Suarez could not play soccer for four months. However, that penalty is being appealed and could be changed.

Suarez Is Not a Dog, But Any Kind of Bite Has Consequences

Suarez did not immediately apologize or admit any wrongdoing. However, as a human, he has the ability to understand why his actions are potentially harmful and wrong.

A dog might not understand the consequences of his actions or learn from previous mistakes. However, the effect of a dog bite can be just as significant as a human bite and the consequences for the dog and dog owner may be severe.

In Chicago, the consequences of a dog bite may include:

The dog owner paying for the dog bite victim’s injuries
The City requiring that the dog be kept securely confined on the owner’s property
The City requiring that the dog wear a muzzle when not on the owner’s property
The City requiring that the owner display a “Warning – Dangerous Animal – Keep Away” sign on his property
The City requiring that the dog be euthanized

Other consequences may also be enforced.

Have You Been Injured in a Dog Bite Attack?

Whether a dog bit you while you were taking a walk near your home in Austin, at a neighbor’s house in Lawndale, or elsewhere in Chicago, it is important to understand what should happen next—not only for the dog but also for you.

You may be entitled to damages and to a fair recovery. Please start an online chat with us now to find out more.

Seven Practical Things to Do After a Car Accident

You aren’t going to get a settlement on the side of the Stevenson Expressway and you aren’t likely to get the other driver to admit fault on the side of the Eisenhower Expressway, but there are still important things that you can do to protect your rights after a car accident.

Seven Things to Do If You are Physically Able

Your car crash recovery may start at the accident scene and continue for many months after the moment of impact. Accordingly, it may be important for you to:

Call 911. Police and first responders should be dispatched to the scene of your accident.
Accept emergency medical help and follow-up medical care. You want to manage your pain and begin recovering from your injuries.
Take pictures of the accident scene. This may be important evidence in any legal action.
Get the names and contact information of witnesses. They may be useful to your recovery.
Notify your employer. You may be out of work, depending on your injuries.
Watch what you say and whom you say it to. Now is not the time to update your Facebook status or to become best friends with the other driver.
Call a lawyer. Let your attorney worry about what to do next to protect your financial recovery while you concentrate on your physical recovery.

Of course, every accident is unique and you shouldn’t panic if you are unable to do everything on this list. You may still be able to make a fair recovery.

Want to Be Prepared?

Things can quickly become confusing at the scene of an accident. It is hard for anyone to remember what to do in a stressful situation. For that reason, we encourage you to download our FREE car accident app to your smartphone. Keep it with you and open it if you are involved in an accident. It will walk you through the steps that you need to take and remind you of what you can do to stay safe.

Is Now the Right Time to Make the Call to the State of Illinois?

Is now the right time to make the call to the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS)? Do you have enough evidence that a child was sexually abused by a camp counselor in Arlington Heights, a youth group advisor in Northbrook, or another trusted adult anywhere in the Chicago area?

You Don’t Need to Be 100 Percent Sure

Regardless of whether you are a mandatory reporter, you may want to report alleged child sex abuse to the authorities. The DCFS estimates that about 70 percent of all abuse cases (not just sexual abuse cases) are not reported and that an abused child tells an average of seven adults before a report is made.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The DCFS encourages you to trust your instincts and to report alleged abuse—even if you are not absolutely certain it occurred. The DCFS has trained social workers screen calls and investigate alleged cases of sexual abuse to determine if a child is, in fact, being hurt. However, in order to do this important job, they need to know about the suspected abuse.

Act Without Delay

This is true regardless of the victim; however, if it is your own child who has been hurt, you need to take action right away. Do not let your child continue in the activity or in the care of the person who think maybe, could have, or possibly committed sexual abuse. Instead, remove your child from the situation and find out if your child was hurt. This may require the help of a pediatrician, a counselor, and an experienced attorney.

Please follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay up to date on important information facing Illinois child sex abuse victims and their families. We hope to make this difficult time a little bit easier for you.