Most children who are hurt at school can go home at the end of the day. They can tell a parent, a sibling, or a neighbor. Boarding school removes that safeguard. When a child lives where they study, supervision is continuous, and so is exposure. A child may have no one outside to tell.
If you were sexually abused at an Illinois boarding school, a civil claim may be possible against the school. You do not need to have reported it, and nobody needs to have been charged. A civil claim asks a different question from a criminal case. It asks what the school knew, what it should have known, and what it did.
Ervin Nevitt, a partner at Coplan + Crane, reviews these claims. He holds Illinois bar registration 6319808 and was admitted in 2014.
What sets boarding school claims apart
Residential schooling changes the shape of a child's day. Staff are responsible for students around the clock, in classrooms, dormitories, dining halls, and on weekends. That continuous responsibility is also continuous access.
Private boarding schools are not public bodies, so the Illinois Tort Immunity Act does not apply to them. Many are also long-established institutions with decades of internal records.
Who the claim is brought against
These claims are usually brought against the school, not only against the individual. The theory that most often carries them is negligent supervision. In practice, several theories run together, and which one fits depends on your facts rather than on a category.
Because the responsible body is usually a private organization, the Tort Immunity rules that govern claims against Illinois public bodies do not apply in the same way. The liability questions are the ordinary institutional ones.
Common Questions Around Illinois Boarding School Claims
It was a long time ago. That is the norm in this work rather than the exception. What governs it is your age at the time, who was responsible, and the particular facts.
What does it cost? Nothing up front. These cases are taken on a contingency fee, so there is no fee if there is no recovery.
What if I only remember part of it? That is ordinary. These cases are built from institutional records rather than from a complete account.
What happens when you contact us
Asking a question does not set anything in motion. You speak with a person, not a form or an intake script, and you do not have to describe what happened to have the conversation.
We look into which institution was responsible, what it knew, what records exist, and whether a claim can still be brought. That work costs you nothing. Then we tell you plainly what is possible. If you decide not to go ahead, that is the end of it, and what you told us stays confidential.
If you go ahead, we carry it: the filings, the deadlines, the records, and the institution's insurers. Steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record.
Call (708) 671-6858 for a free, confidential case review.
