Most people who contact us about childhood abuse have been thinking about it for years, and have contacted nobody. There is no deadline on deciding, and no obligation created by asking a question.
A civil claim is separate from a criminal prosecution. It is brought by the survivor rather than by the state, it seeks accountability and compensation rather than a conviction, and it can proceed whether or not anyone was ever charged.
A civil claim is not a criminal case
The two run on different tracks and the difference matters:
- Who brings it. A criminal case is brought by the state; a civil claim is yours, and you decide whether it starts and whether it continues.
- What is required. You do not need a criminal conviction, or even criminal charges, to bring a civil claim.
- The standard of proof. A civil claim is decided on the balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt.
- What it seeks. Accountability and compensation for the harm and its consequences, including treatment.
Survivors sometimes assume that a case declined by prosecutors years ago closed the door. It did not.
Claims against institutions
Many claims are brought not only about the person who caused the harm, but about the organization that made it possible. The question is what the institution knew, or should have known, and what it did:
- Schools and school systems
- Churches and religious organizations
- Youth programs, camps and sports clubs
- Foster care and residential facilities
- Daycare and childcare providers
- Medical and treatment settings
What matters is usually a pattern rather than a single event: earlier complaints that went nowhere, a person moved quietly to another location, supervision that existed on paper, a report that was never made. Those facts live in an institution’s own records, and getting to them is much of the work.
What actually happens if you contact us
- A confidential conversation. You say as much as you want to. You are not asked to recount detail to prove anything to us.
- We explain the options, including the option of doing nothing, and what each one would involve.
- You decide. Nothing is filed because you called.
- If you go ahead, we handle the contact with institutions and insurers so you are not the one having those conversations.
Courts have ways of protecting a survivor’s identity in some circumstances, and we explain what is realistic in your situation before anything is filed. We do not name individuals on this website, and we do not publish clients’ stories.
Adult survivors of childhood abuse
Most people who contact us are adults, often decades on. That is the normal pattern rather than the exception, and it is recognized: delayed disclosure is well documented, and it is not treated as evidence that something did not happen.
People often come forward when something changes — their own child reaches the age they were, a name surfaces in the news, a parent dies, treatment brings it up. There is no wrong reason and no wrong time to ask a question.
No deadline for abuse in childhood
Maryland now places no time limit on a civil claim for sexual abuse that happened before the survivor turned 18. The change took effect on October 1, 2023, applies to abuse from any year, and reopened claims that the old deadlines had closed. One exception: an expired claim is not revived if the survivor has died before it is filed. Our guide to what the Child Victims Act changed sets out the detail.
Revived claims carry damages caps, lowered for claims filed on or after June 1, 2025 to $700,000 in noneconomic damages per claimant against each private defendant. The caps do not limit economic damages, such as the cost of treatment. A claim against a public school or other public body can also be filed at any time, but it raises notice and immunity questions, and for actions filed on or after June 1, 2025 its noneconomic damages are capped at $400,000 per claimant. Ask us which of those apply to you. Having no deadline is a reason not to feel rushed, not a reason to wait while evidence fades.
Support, whether or not you call us
If you want to talk to someone who is not a lawyer, the national sexual assault hotline is 800-656-4673, available at any hour.
Nothing on this page is a reason to do anything before you are ready. If you are not ready, that is a complete answer.
