In recent years, staff members and residents have committed numerous instances of sexual abuse inside facilities intended to provide mental health treatment to vulnerable minors. The immense volume of complaints forced some of the more notorious facilities, such as Mesabi Academy in Buhl, Minnesota, to close down entirely. Victims and their attorneys continue to pursue litigation against the current and former owners of these facilities.
If you or your child experienced sexual assault, molestation, or other forms of harm while receiving inpatient treatment at this type of facility, you may have grounds to seek civil restitution from the people who committed or enabled the abuse. By working with a sexual abuse attorney from Phillips Law Group, you can actively assert your rights and pursue the compensation you deserve through Minnesota youth residential treatment center sexual abuse lawsuits.
In addition to being subject to criminal prosecution, someone who commits an act of sexual abuse against another person can be held personally liable in civil court for injuries and subsequent losses caused by their abuse. However, if administrators, facility owners, or others facilitated abusive behavior or simply failed to proactively protect their residents from abuse, it is also often possible to name them as co-defendants in a lawsuit over sexual abuse inside a Minnesota youth residential treatment center.
Depending on the circumstances, this type of indirect negligence could result from chronic understaffing, inadequate training for new hires, failure to conduct background checks, poor employee supervision, or isolating residents—intentionally or unintentionally—from their families. Furthermore, if facility staff retaliate against a resident for reporting sexual abuse or try to intimidate them into staying silent, the law allows survivors to hold those individuals civilly liable for their actions as well.
A lawsuit over sexual abuse at a Minnesota residential treatment facility for minors can seek compensation for both economic and non-economic harm, including but not limited to:
In 2013, state legislators struck down the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse lawsuits. As a result, anyone who experienced sexual abuse as a child after that year can file a civil lawsuit against their abuser at any time. However, practical and legal time limits may still apply when suing a treatment center for enabling or failing to prevent the abuse. A qualified attorney can explain how those limitations might affect your case.
No amount of money can entirely erase the trauma you endure through unlawful sexual abuse, especially if it occurred within a facility where you were supposed to be receiving compassionate care from trained personnel. What civil recovery could do, however, is help you move past the financial, physical, and psychological effects of that abuse to the fullest extent possible so you can focus on your future and maximize your quality of life moving forward.
The Phillips Law Group team has extensive experience helping people like you effectively file Minnesota residential treatment center sexual abuse lawsuits. Call today to discuss your options.
Phillips Law Group
N/a
Available 24/7 
