( heir settlement; no one was forced to a...)Sexual Abuse Payout Re-opens Old Wounds,Health

heir settlement; no one was forced to accept an amount he or she did not agree to.

The settlement marks the highest payout on average for victims nationwide. But it also points up that not everyone was treated the same, especially people who first brought cases years ago and settled for much less.

Lawyers said they did the best they could under the imperfect rules of the civil justice system. "All you can do is measure the legal implications of your case," said Raymond P. Boucher, the lead attorney for the victims. "If you are a victim in 1980 and you are the only victim [of that priest] and there are no witnesses and no documents then your case, no matter how horrendous or hideous the abuse is, your case is going to be valued differently."

For the lawyers, however, the payout is more certain.

Most of the plaintiffs attorneys will get 40% of what their clients receive plus reimbursement for expenses such as deposition costs and fees from expert witnesses such as psychiatrists who evaluate a victim's story. Overall, it will amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

In 2003, when lawyers learned the cases would go to mediation, some attorneys decided to make videos depicting what happened to their clients. Such videos are often used in settlement negotiations, because they can give a visceral sense of what a jury will see should the case get to trial.

Attorney Katherine K. Freberg said videographers gathered childhood photographs, letters written by priests to her clients as children, confirmation certificates and photographs of gifts the priests had given their victims. She also sent cameras to film the locations where the abuse occurred. These images were interspersed with video of the victims as adults, describing the abuse and what it had done to their lives.

"It's one thing to read about how this child sex abuse tremendously affects the victims on paper," sai
'"/>




Page: 1 2 3
Related medicine news :

1. Sexual abuse affect health for a lifetime
2. Hypertensive Drug Improves Sexual Dysfunction in Hypertensive Men
3. Incidence Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Gay Men On The Rise
4. Testosterone Patches Found To Increase Sexual Desire In Menopausal Women
5. Condom Vending Machines Increasing Sexual Assaults On Women
6. Sexually Abused Girls Develop Eating Disorders
7. Gynaecologist Faces Stiff Prison Sentence On Counts Of Sexual Abuse
8. New Sexual Misconduct Rule Against Doctors In The US
9. Historic Increase In Incidence Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases In Scotland
10. Youth Becoming Sexually Active At A Younger Age
11. Epilepsy Medicine May Result In Sexual Dysfunction