Government entities present one additional procedural requirement: even though AB 218 permanently eliminated the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, the California Government Claims Act still requires claimants to file a formal tort claim notice within six months of discovery of the injury and its connection to the public entity. This notice requirement applies to school districts, county juvenile facilities, public universities, and other government bodies. Missing this deadline can bar a claim against a government defendant entirely — regardless of the underlying merits of the case. A Los Angeles sexual abuse lawyer at Compass Law Group can review your timeline and ensure every procedural requirement is met before any deadline passes.
What Damages Can Survivors Recover in an AB 218 Civil Lawsuit?
A civil lawsuit under AB 218 is entirely separate from any criminal prosecution. A survivor may pursue civil claims whether or not criminal charges were ever filed, whether or not any prosecution resulted in a conviction, and even if the individual abuser is now deceased. The purpose of a civil action is to secure financial compensation for the harm the survivor has suffered — and, in cases of institutional cover-up, to impose accountability on organizations whose conduct enabled or prolonged that harm.
Under California law, survivors of childhood sexual abuse may seek recovery for the following categories of damages:
- Past and future therapy and mental health treatment costs — Including psychotherapy, psychiatric care, trauma-specific treatment programs such as EMDR, medications, and any future mental health services made necessary by the abuse and its lasting effects.
- Medical expenses — Physical injuries, gynecological care, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, emergency medical care, and other healthcare costs directly connected to the abuse.
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity — Compensation for lost income if trauma-related impairment caused the survivor to miss work, leave a profession, or suffer measurably reduced career functioning or lifetime earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering — Monetary compensation for the physical pain, emotional anguish, humiliation, and life disruption caused by the abuse and its lifelong aftereffects.
- Emotional distress damages — Under California Civil Code §52.4, survivors may recover civil damages specifically for gender violence and the severe emotional distress it causes, including sexual assault and abuse.
- Punitive damages — Where an institution acted with malice, oppression, or fraud — particularly in cases of deliberate cover-up — California courts may award punitive damages designed to punish the defendant and deter future misconduct.
- AB 218 treble damages — For institutional defendants that engaged in a knowing cover-up of abuse, CCP §340.1 expressly authorizes liability for up to three times the actual damages established at trial.
Compass Law Group, LLP serves survivors from offices throughout California, including Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, and Bell Gardens. Every case is evaluated individually, and our attorneys will provide an honest, specific assessment of the damages available in your circumstances during a free, confidential consultation.
California Sexual Abuse Statistics: Understanding the Scope of the Crisis
The institutional settlements enabled by AB 218 do not exist in isolation — they are the visible surface of a crisis affecting millions of Californians across generations. Understanding the data helps explain why permanent legal reform was not merely appropriate but long overdue.
1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the United States experience childhood sexual abuse before age 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Applied to California’s population of nearly 40 million, those rates represent hundreds of thousands of residents living with the effects of childhood sexual trauma. Yet the gap between survivors and justice is staggering: RAINN reports that only 1 in 3 child sexual abuse victims discloses the abuse to anyone at all — and those who do typically wait an average of 20 or more years. Fewer than 20% of child sexual abuse incidents are ever reported to law enforcement, meaning the criminal justice system never reaches the overwhelming majority of cases.
In California’s institutional AB 218 settlements, the scope of the crisis is written in numbers: more than 8,700 survivors were included in the Los Angeles County juvenile detention settlement alone, and the USC/Tyndall case involved nearly 700 survivors at a single campus health center. These figures underscore why AB 218’s permanent elimination of the civil statute of limitations was not incremental reform — it was a fundamental correction that aligned California law with the lived reality of how trauma works.
How Does Compass Law Group Help AB 218 Survivors Across California?
Compass Law Group, LLP was founded on the belief that every survivor of childhood sexual abuse deserves tenacious, compassionate legal representation — no matter how powerful the institution on the other side, and no matter how many years have passed. With over $250 million recovered for clients across California, our firm has the resources and experience to take on the largest institutional defendants: major universities, religious organizations, school districts, government agencies, youth sports organizations, and corporate employers. As a California child exploitation and sexual abuse law firm, we handle the full spectrum of institutional abuse cases, from clergy abuse and campus assault to foster care abuse, juvenile detention abuse, and organized predation by coaches or youth program staff.
Our consultations are free and completely confidential — you are never required to share your name or identifying information until you decide you are ready. There is no fee of any kind unless we recover compensation for you. Our practice areas encompass all forms of institutional sexual abuse across California. Whether you are in Bell Gardens or anywhere across the state, our legal team is ready to listen and to fight for every dollar of compensation California law makes available to you.
If you were abused as a child, AB 218’s permanent elimination of the civil statute of limitations means there is no deadline — you can come forward today or at any future time. However, if you were 18 or older at the time of the abuse, the AB 2777 adult survivor revival window under CCP §340.16 closes permanently on December 31, 2026. If that deadline may apply to your situation, contact a California sexual abuse attorney immediately — this window cannot be extended once it closes.
Q: Does AB 218 still apply if the childhood abuse happened decades ago?
Yes. AB 218 permanently eliminated the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse under California Code of Civil Procedure §340.1. There is no deadline — whether the abuse occurred five years ago or fifty years ago, any California survivor abused as a child may file a civil lawsuit today. The AB 218 lookback window (2020–2022), which allowed revival of previously time-barred claims, is now closed, but the permanent SOL elimination for childhood sexual abuse remains fully in effect and is not subject to any sunset provision.
Q: Can I sue a school, church, or other institution under AB 218?
Yes. AB 218 (CCP §340.1) applies to claims against individual abusers and the institutions that enabled them. Schools, churches, hospitals, sports organizations, youth camps, and government agencies can all be held liable under California law for negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent retention, and — where institutional concealment occurred — treble damages. If the institution is a government entity such as a public school district, you must also file a Government Claims Act notice within six months of discovering the abuse and its connection to that public institution. A California child sexual abuse lawyer can help you meet this critical procedural deadline.
Q: What is the difference between AB 218 and AB 2777?
AB 218 (CCP §340.1) applies to survivors abused as children — under age 18 at the time of the abuse — and permanently eliminated the civil statute of limitations, meaning there is no filing deadline. AB 2777 (CCP §340.16) is a separate law creating a temporary revival window for adult survivors — those who were 18 or older when the abuse occurred. That adult survivor window closes permanently on December 31, 2026. If you are uncertain which law applies to your situation, consult a California sexual abuse victims lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights before any deadline passes.
Q: Are there childhood sexual abuse lawyers in California who work on a contingency basis?
Yes. Compass Law Group, LLP represents AB 218 survivors on a strict No Win, No Fee contingency basis — you pay nothing unless and until we recover compensation for you. This structure exists specifically so that financial circumstances never prevent a survivor from accessing experienced legal representation. All consultations are free and fully confidential, and survivors may remain anonymous throughout the initial inquiry. Our California childhood sexual abuse lawyers serve clients statewide, including in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, Long Beach, and Bell Gardens.
Q: How much compensation can I receive for childhood sexual abuse in California?
Compensation in AB 218 civil cases depends on the severity and duration of the abuse, the extent of documented physical and psychological injuries, the degree of institutional negligence or cover-up, and the financial resources of the defendant. Recoverable damages include therapy costs, medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress under California Civil Code §52.4, and punitive damages. Where an institution engaged in a deliberate cover-up, AB 218’s treble-damages provision can multiply actual damages by up to three times. California institutional settlements have ranged from millions to over a billion dollars — Compass Law Group offers free consultations to evaluate your specific case.
References
- California Code of Civil Procedure §340.1 (AB 218) — Sexual Abuse Statute of Limitations
- RAINN — Sexual Violence Statistics
- California Code of Civil Procedure §340.16 (AB 2777) — Adult Survivor Revival Window
California Sexual Abuse Lawsuit — Key Statistics
Steps to Take After Filing an AB 218 Claim in California
Filing a civil claim under AB 218 begins the legal process, but understanding what comes after can help survivors feel more prepared and in control throughout their case.
- Preserve all evidence immediately. Gather therapy records, medical records, journals, photographs, emails, text messages, witness contact information, and any other documentation connecting the abuse to a specific individual, institution, or time period. Evidence that establishes the identity of the abuser, the institutional setting, and the chronology of events is foundational to your claim from the first day.
- Identify all potentially liable parties. Your attorney will investigate not only the individual abuser but every institution — school, church, youth organization, employer, government agency — that may have created conditions for the abuse, ignored complaints, or concealed evidence. Identifying institutional defendants typically expands the potential recovery significantly compared to claims against individuals alone.
- Comply with the Government Claims Act if a public entity is involved. If a school district, county agency, or other government entity is a defendant, a formal Government Claims Act notice must be filed within six months of your discovery of the abuse and its connection to that public institution. This deadline exists independently of AB 218’s elimination of the underlying statute of limitations — missing it can eliminate your right to sue government defendants entirely.
- Participate actively in the discovery process. Your legal team will conduct depositions, request institutional records, subpoena personnel files, and gather evidence of what the organization knew, when it knew it, and what it did or failed to do. Discovery in AB 218 cases frequently surfaces the most damning evidence — internal HR complaints, transferred employees, and silenced witnesses — that supports treble damage claims.
- Explore confidentiality and anonymity options with your attorney. California courts recognize the right of sexual abuse survivors to pursue civil claims under pseudonyms (“Jane Doe” or “John Doe”) to protect their privacy and safety. This option can be addressed before the complaint is ever filed and does not limit your ability to recover full compensation.
- Evaluate settlement versus trial with full information. Most major AB 218 cases — including the landmark settlements described above — resolved through mediated negotiation rather than trial. Your attorney will provide an honest assessment of case strengths, realistic recovery ranges, and the practical and emotional implications of each path before you make any decision.
- Prioritize your mental health throughout the legal process. Litigation, even successful litigation, can be re-traumatizing. Work with a trauma-informed therapist from the outset of your case. Compass Law Group will support your access to mental health care — and those ongoing therapy costs are themselves recoverable damages in your AB 218 civil claim.
The Beverly Hills sexual abuse attorneys at Compass Law Group — Joseph Shirazi (Bar #265403) and Simon Esfandi (Bar #275307) — guide survivors through every stage of this process with precision and compassion. Our Sacramento sexual abuse lawyer team and every California office is available for free, confidential consultations with no obligation.
