Compassionate Institutional Sexual Abuse Attorneys Representing Clients Nationwide
In schools, juvenile detention centers, hospitals, and institutions nationwide, children and other vulnerable individuals are subjected to terrible mistreatment. Survivors deserve to hold accountable not only their abusers but also the institutions that enable and, all too often, cover up physical and sexual abuse. At Anapol Weiss, our institutional abuse lawyers are committed to bringing to justice the companies and organizations that endanger children and other vulnerable victims through unacceptable negligence.
We’re ready to fight for you, relentlessly pursuing both accountability for the institution’s failures and financial compensation for the full harm you have suffered. Our institutional abuse lawyers have an unrivaled reputation for protecting the rights of the injured and abused nationwide. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation.
Unwavering Commitment to Holding Institutions Accountable for Abuse
Although the conduct of individual abusers is unacceptable, it’s difficult to overstate the role that institutions play in allowing terrible mistreatment of vulnerable patients, residents, and students.
It’s often because of these institutions’ negligence that patterns of heinous abuse become entrenched in organizations. These failures are what afford predators ongoing access to victims over the course of years or even decades.
Standing up to large companies and organizations isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. Holding institutions accountable is critical for ending patterns of abuse—for making real change rather than simply sweeping under the rug the actions of individual perpetrators.
Further, individual survivors of abuse need and deserve financial compensation that can help them move forward. Institutional defendants have the resources to pay out settlements or awards that compensate abuse victims, while individual perpetrators often do not.
At Anapol Weiss, we don’t back down from the challenge of holding large, influential institutions accountable for abuse. The attorneys at Anapol Weiss who are devoted to standing up for victims of institutional abuse include shareholder Kristen Gibbons Feden, shareholder Alexandra Walsh, and partner Holly Dolejsi.
Anapol Weiss, with our co-counsel at other law firms, filed sexual abuse complaints against government-run Illinois Youth Centers (IYCs) and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) on behalf of children who suffered from systemic abuse in these institutions. The first cases were filed in May 2024, and by February 2025, more than 800 survivors of childhood sexual abuse had come forward to take legal action.
Institutional abuse is a nationwide issue. In Maryland, as the Associated Press reported, Anapol Weiss and co-counsel have filed lawsuits on behalf of 200 survivors alleging sexual abuse in State of Maryland Juvenile Detention Centers.
Wherever vulnerable victims—especially children—are assaulted, abused, or mistreated, we’re prepared to intervene, provide survivors the opportunity to regain their voice, and demand justice.
Entities You Can Hold Accountable for Institutional Abuse
What exactly constitutes institutional abuse? Institutional abuse is a pattern of mistreatment, often including forms of physical or sexual abuse, that occurs within a system of power. In institutional abuse, there’s a significant imbalance of power between the entity or organization from which the mistreatment is occurring and the victim who, in many cases, is vulnerable.
Institutional abuse includes mistreatment that occurs in settings such as:
- Hospitals
- Schools
- Psychiatric facilities
- Juvenile detention centers
- Correctional facilities
- County and city facilities
- Religious organizations
- Sports organizations
Our institutional sexual abuse attorneys recognize that this isn’t an exhaustive list of the types of organizations that may be liable for abuse. We help our clients pursue legal recourse against government-run institutions, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit companies that facilitate the abuse of vulnerable victims through negligence or misconduct.
When Are Institutions Liable for Sexual Abuse?
Institutions like schools, hospitals, psychiatric facilities, and youth organizations have a duty of care to protect those they serve from foreseeable harm. In instances of power imbalances and other vulnerabilities, the risk of being physically or sexually abused by a predator while under the supervision of the institution is one such type of foreseeable harm.
Institutional abuse often involves systemic failures within the organization. Some institutions embrace inappropriate protocols, actively facilitating unacceptable forms of discipline to keep patients, students, residents, or prisoners in line. In other situations, the mistreatment results from failures such as inadequate hiring practices or inadequate supervision of employees.
Institutions may know about abuse and attempt to hide it to avoid financial liability or legal trouble. By actively deterring employees from reporting colleagues’ abusive conduct or even discharging workers who attempt to do the right thing, institutions that cover up abuse instead of confronting it are enabling predators to harm more and more victims.
In claims against institutions, our attorneys carefully establish the duty of care the defendant owed to you and all of the conduct that constitutes a breach of the organization’s duty to prevent abuse.
How an Institutional Abuse Claim Can Help Survivors Move Forward
Nothing can undo the abuse you suffered or the ways this trauma has impacted your life. However, by holding institutions that enable abuse accountable now for their failures of the past, you can pave the way toward a brighter future.
In your claim, we can pursue compensation for your economic and non-economic losses resulting from abuse, including:
- Current and projected future costs of treating physical injuries resulting from abuse, which may include the costs of hospitalization, diagnostic tests, prescription medications, appointments with medical specialists, and rehabilitative therapy
- Costs of treating mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including the expenses of ongoing therapy and medications
- Lost wages related to injuries and recovery
- Pain and suffering, including any chronic pain you experience
- Loss of enjoyment or quality of life
- Loss of consortium or difficulties in your personal relationships due to your history of sexual abuse
- Punitive damages, which may be awarded to punish the defendants
With the right help and support, it’s possible to make life-changing improvements in your physical and mental health. Knowing that those whose negligence allowed you to fall victim to a sexual predator are finally facing the consequences can help you feel safer and develop closure.
When you see how many other survivors have come forward, you can finally feel that you’re not alone—and see how powerful you can be together, with experienced advocates guiding your efforts to bring negligent institutions to justice.
How the Institutional Sexual Abuse Attorneys at Anapol Weiss Can Help
Institutional abuse claims, particularly those involving childhood abuse, are delicate matters. Our team approaches these cases with sensitivity and diligence, leaving no stone unturned as we unearth all evidence that supports your claim against the organization. We bring to each investigation extensive professional resources that include cutting-edge technology and collaborations with expert witnesses.
Once we have secured the evidence needed, we develop a claim that fully conveys not only the failures and misconduct of the institution but also the numerous, far-reaching ways that abuse has affected your life. Our attorneys handle every aspect of the legal matter for you, taking charge of the paperwork, legal filings, deadlines, and interactions with the defendant and their insurance company. You’ve been through so much already, and we’re committed to making the legal processes as easy as possible so there’s nothing standing in the way of getting justice.
Whether your case settles through negotiations or goes to trial, we prioritize your privacy, your well-being, and your opportunity to get results.
Why Choose Anapol Weiss as Your Institutional Abuse Lawyers?
Holding the institution that put you in harm’s way accountable for abuse is an opportunity to get closure, justice, and the resources that can help you heal and move forward. You need the right legal support throughout this process. As experienced institutional abuse lawyers, Anapol Weiss has a reputation for helping survivors hold organizations accountable with the utmost compassion—and without risks or upfront costs.
A National Reputation for Standing Up for Survivors of Abuse
At Anapol Weiss, our dedication to abuse victims is unmatched. Nationwide, survivors trust us to handle sensitive cases, provide a much-needed voice in the legal process, and advocate for justice.
We champion the rights of the abused and work tirelessly to hold institutions accountable for the systemic failures that enable sexual abuse. The mistreatment you have suffered never should have happened. We’ll be your partner in demanding full accountability.
Compassionate, Client-Centered Legal Guidance
We know how difficult it is to come forward and take legal action following institutional abuse. Your abusers tried to silence you, maybe even persuading you that no one would believe you or that the abuse was somehow your fault—but that’s not true. We know how pervasive abuse is in institutions where power imbalances and negligent protocols leave victims vulnerable. That’s why we’re dedicated to providing the compassionate guidance needed to empower survivors of childhood sexual abuse to take action.
We’re here to support you throughout the legal process with the utmost empathy and professionalism. Our client-centered approach puts you first, ensuring you never feel alone in the process of pursuing justice.
A Risk-Free Opportunity to Bring Institutions to Justice for Facilitating Abuse
Taking on the institution that provided the circumstances that led to your abuse can seem like a big risk, personally and financially. However, when no one stands up to these powerful organizations, nothing changes, and cycles of abuse continue. The team of institutional sexual abuse attorneys at Anapol Weiss removes the obstacles that stand in the way of holding defendants accountable.
We provide free, confidential consultations so you can explore your options with no obligation. By handling claims against institutions at no upfront cost, we ensure that all survivors of abuse can move forward with securing justice through the civil legal system without taking on an economic burden, regardless of their financial situation.
Contact the Institutional Abuse Lawyers at Anapol Weiss Today for a Free Case Review
For far too long, you’ve suffered in silence. While the effects of the abuse have impacted your life every single day, the institution has avoided facing the consequences—but it’s time for that to change.
You deserve the closure that comes with knowing that the institution that enabled the abuse you and other survivors have experienced is finally being held responsible. You deserve compensation that validates the harm you have experienced and provides financial resources that can help you heal and move forward.
Throughout the legal process, you also deserve the advantage of having on your side a team of institutional abuse lawyers dedicated to answering your questions, handling your case with compassion, and minimizing the stress of the legal process as much as possible.
For help from seasoned institutional sexual abuse attorneys equipped to assist victims nationwide, contact Anapol Weiss online or call 215-608-9645 today.