Berman & Simmons Sexual Abuse Survivors Practice Group Completes Trauma-Informed Training

As more and more survivors of child sexual abuse are coming forward to share their experiences, they are turning to Berman & Simmons for legal help. To fully understand our clients’ situation and be their best and most compassionate advocates, Berman & Simmons Sexual Abuse Survivors Practice Group has completed trauma-informed training. This education directly benefits our survivor clients as they work with us from the beginning of their case through settlement or the courtroom. By listening closely to survivor experiences and acknowledging how they have been changed by what happened to them, the firm can be better advocates for them.

The training was provided by Haven, a leader in the Northeast Region in the survivor support community that runs prevention education programs as part of its mission. It involved learning how to be survivor-centric and help survivors recount their experiences in a way that doesn’t re-traumatize them, as well as techniques to build trust and create a safe environment.

The training is particularly important as the firm is now meeting with an increasing number of adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Berman & Simmons Sexual Abuse Survivors Practice Group represents survivors from many different states, and often provides co-counsel on cases with other firms across the country that also specialize in this area. After October 18, 2021, Maine’s state statute of limitations allows anyone who was abused as a child in the state to pursue a civil suit against those responsible, which may include the Catholic Archdiocese, the Boy Scouts of America, private schools, and others. Other states’ statute of limitations have changed as well.

See the latest news of a lawsuit filing which alleges a church elder sexually abused youth.

Because of the nature of trauma responses in other serious injury clients, the training will also benefit additional practice areas of the firm, including workplace or industrial incidents, serious motor vehicle crashes, traumatic brain injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and other serious-injury case types.