PEI Sexual Abuse Lawyers

A survivor of sexual abuse on Prince Edward Island can sue the person who did it. They can also sue the school, church, sports body or care setting that put that person in a position to do it. The Island’s Legislature amended the Statute of Limitations, RSPEI 1988, c S-7 to remove the limitation period for claims of sexual misconduct, in line with the other Atlantic provinces. A PEI sexual abuse lawyer confirms the current wording on each file before advising. The practical position is that the age of the abuse is a question of evidence, not of a deadline.

The Island’s Institutions Are Small, and the Record Trail Is Short

The abuser is liable in battery. The sexual contact is the wrong, and no further injury has to be proven. The institution is liable in negligence for what it did or failed to do when warning signs appeared, and vicariously where the abuser’s role created the power and access that made the abuse possible. On the Island that has meant school boards, parishes and dioceses, minor sports organisations, foster placements and provincial institutions. The institution’s insurer is usually where the recovery comes from, and a closed institution may still have coverage.

What a PEI Sexual Abuse Lawyer Claims

General damages for the abuse and its effects. Aggravated damages for the breach of trust. The cost of counselling, past and future. Lost income potential where education or work was derailed. Punitive damages against an institution that concealed what it knew. Awards in institutional abuse claims across Atlantic Canada have been substantial.

The Supreme Court Can Protect the Plaintiff’s Identity Through the Process

The claim is filed in the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. The court can allow the plaintiff to be identified by initials, seal the file and close the courtroom for evidence. Discovery examinations happen in a lawyer’s office. Most claims settle at mediation. Part of the job is making sure the process does not become a second injury. A conviction is admissible and shortens the case. An acquittal does not end it, because the civil standard is a balance of probabilities and the plaintiff controls the claim.

The Charlottetown office takes these claims across the Island. The first conversation is with a lawyer, in private, at no cost.

The Abuse Was Decades Ago, in a School That No Longer Exists.

We find and name the school board’s successor and its insurers. Records often outlive the institution.

Will the Abuser Learn Where I Live?

No. Your lawyer’s office is the address for service, and the court can order initials on the public record.

Do I Have to Go to the Police First?

No. The civil claim does not depend on a charge, a conviction or a police report. Whether to report is your decision and we support it either way.

What If I Accepted Money From a Program Years Ago?

We review any release you signed. Program payments have often been well below what the courts award, and whether the release bars a claim against a different defendant is a real question.

Read suing for sexual assault, which describes the civil process the Island shares. The full list of claim types the firm handles is at injury law areas.

No Fee Unless the Claim Resolves

The first call is free and a lawyer takes it. There is no fee unless the claim resolves. The Charlottetown office opens the file. Contact the firm, or read what the firm can do.