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Video Recording of Informational Session, held January 27, 2021

Please click  HERE  to view my informational session, held January 27, 2021. In this session, I addressed some of the following issues: What is the difference between a criminal proceeding and a civil action and how do these two types of proceedings interact? Can a survivor commence a civil action if criminal charges have already been laid against the perpetrator of a sexual assault? What can a survivor achieve through a civil action for sexual assault and how is that different from what can be achieved through a criminal trial? How long does a survivor have to start a civil action against the perpetrator of a sexual assault? If someone has been sexually assaulted, are there any options available   other than   a civil action or criminal proceedings? Can a survivor obtain monetary compensation from the perpetrator of a sexual assault (or historical sexual abuse)? If so, what range of compensation can the survivor expect to receive? Can a survivor sue a company/school/doctor's offic

Interesting and important article regarding 2020 S.C.C. decisions concerning sexual assault cases

The Globe and Mail: Supreme Court sends signal to appellate courts on sexual assault rulings: https://t.co/wqUMhdfiiT?amp=1

About Me

  Michael Wilchesky Counsel, Civil Sexual Assault/Abuse and Indigenous Rights Practice Group Leader T: 416-363-1867, Ext. 225 E-mail: mwilchesky@rochongenova.com Sexual Abuse/Assault Practice Page:  https://www.rochongenova.com/Sexual-Abuse-Sexual-Assault.shtml Firm profile page:  https://www.rochongenova.com/Lawyers/Michael-Wilchesky.shtml Michael Wilchesky is the Practice Group Leader for the Civil Sexual Assault and Indigenous Rights practice groups at Rochon Genova LLP. His practice focuses on civil sexual and institutional abuse and misconduct claims and Indigenous rights. Michael is an experienced litigator, who has worked in a broad range of practice areas, including civil sexual assault litigation and Indigenous rights (for the past 10 years), securities litigation, commercial law, bankruptcy law, real estate litigation and estates litigation. In those capacities, he has had the privilege of representing clients at motions, trials and appeals at the Ontario Superior Court of Ju

How much money is my claim worth?

Damages in Sexual Assault/Abuse Cases Before deciding to commence any type of litigation, it is important to know how much your claim is (reasonably) worth. This is an important discussion you should have with a lawyer. The following is intended to provide some helpful introductory information to have an informative and efficient discussion with a lawyer experienced in this area. It is not intended as legal advice and it may be incomplete and/or out of date. In civil sexual assault/abuse cases, there tend to be 5 major "heads" (or categories) of damages: 1) Pain and suffering damages (also referred to as general and aggravated damages, or non-pecuniary damages) - In civil sexual assault cases, these generally refer to psychological harms a person has suffered as a result of the assault/abuse. Most times, there aren’t any significant physical harms, like broken bones etc., but those types of injuries would be covered by pain and suffering damages as well; 2) Income loss damage

Civil action vs. criminal proceedings

The following is not intended as legal advice. If you have been the victim of sexual abuse or sexual assault  you should contact a lawyer experienced in this area to seek legal advice. My background and contact information can be found on the "About Me" page. For ease of reference, I can be contacted at: T: 416-363-1867, Ext. 225 E-mail: mwilchesky@rochongenova.com  1) What is the difference between criminal proceedings and a civil action? Remedies The first thing to understand is that these proceedings are fundamentally different. A criminal proceeding involves the prosecution of the perpetrator of the assault by the government (i.e. the "Crown", in Ontario). The consequences to the perpetrator (i.e. the accused), if convicted of the offence, could involve, among other things, jail time, a "conditional sentence", a fine, various conditions such as a "no contact" order, an order that the perpetrator remain a certain distance away from the victim