Sexual assault can impact every aspect of a victim's life. Any sexual assault lawyer will tell you the impact the crime has on the physical, mental, and financial state of a victim. It is for this reason that so many attorneys handle personal injury cases linked to this heinous crime. After all, the physical, emotional, and financial effects of assault can last much longer than the initial attack itself.
If you deal with any of these effects, it might be time to talk to an attorney who can help you fight for your right to compensation. Your case may be worth more than you think.
Physical Effects
The physical effects of sexual assault are often immediate and painful. These injuries include pain, bruising, and bleeding. This physical trauma may require medical treatment, especially when the effects include broken bones or injuries caused by restraints. Healing from these injuries may require you to take time off, and the medical bills can be expensive.
Unfortunately, the physical effects can also extend to reproductive damage or sexually transmitted infections that have serious side effects. Some people even find after recovery that they have extensive damage that impacts their ability to have children. And in some cases, pregnancy is the result of a sexual assault. Both conditions can be devastating to deal with.
Some health conditions are linked to the stressful circumstances of the assault, like ulcers. Some people develop sleep disorders as a result of trauma too. Issues like insomnia can significantly impact an individual's ability to work or keep up good grades in school, for example.
Emotional Effects
Emotional distress, which can develop into PTSD, can be severe with victims of this crime. In addition to flashbacks and severe anxiety that often accompany PTSD, those who experience assault often contend with depression. The symptoms of depression include listlessness, anxiety, irritability, weight fluctuations, and loss of energy. Some people even experience suicidal thoughts and ideation, sometimes requiring hospitalization and other expensive treatments.
Eating disorders can also develop as a means of gaining control and sometimes as a reaction to perceptions of the body following the assault. Many people enter treatment to cope with an eating disorder, which has physical and psychological risks.
Financial Effects
Many people overlook the financial devastation something like sexual assault can cause. Being unable to work while you cope with the emotional or physical distress and healing of assault is potentially draining, and the medical bills can continue to rise while you are dealing with the worst moments of your life.
Ultimately, contacting a sexual assault attorney is one of the best ways to handle an assault. With an attorney, you can fight for the compensation you deserve.