Rights of Child Abuse Victims

Answer:

We’re sometimes asked, “What are my child’s rights if they’ve been abused by a priest, a teacher, or a coach in New York State?” The governor just signed the Child Victims Act and what that does is it gives those people who have been abused rights to bring a claim when those claims would have otherwise been time-barred. That time frame is going to begin in the summer of 2019. It will stay open for one year, and that is going to be available to file claims for people, even if they’re adults now, as long as the abuse happened while they were children. Once that one-year window closes, all those old claims will be put back in that same category and you cannot pursue anything unless you’ve taken advantage of this one-year window under the Child Victims Act.