Arizona New Law – Courthouse Doors Open For Child Abuse Victims Over Age Of 30 For Limited Time, December 31, 2020.

Under Arizona’s new childhood sexual abuse law, even victims who are more than 30-years old may file a lawsuit BUT ONLY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020! 

In Arizona, prior to May 2019, the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse was generally limited to two years from the child’s 18th birthday. In other words, an abused minor had until the age of 20 to file a lawsuit against the sexual predator or organization that employed or enabled the sexual predator.

Because many victims of child sexual abuse are not only traumatized physically but emotionally, these lawsuits often do not get filed within the first two years of adulthood. So, many victims lost out on the opportunity to obtain justice or to hold the abuser accountable.

This changed in May of 2019. ARS 12-514 allows a victim “twelve years after reaching eighteen years of age” to file a lawsuit, i.e., until their 30th birthday.

Section 12-514 – Civil action arising from sexual conduct or sexual contact committed against a minor; failure to report; statute of limitations; revived action after a criminal conviction; definitions

A. Notwithstanding sections 12-505, 12-511 and 12-542, an action for the recovery of damages that is based on either of the following shall be commenced within twelve years after the plaintiff reaches eighteen years of age and not afterward:

1. An injury that a minor suffers as a result of another person’s negligent or intentional act if that act is a cause of sexual conduct or sexual contact committed against the minor.

2. The failure to report pursuant to section 13-3620 sexual conduct or sexual contact committed against a minor.

B. For the purposes of this section:

1. “Person” means an individual, the united states, this state or a public or private corporation, local government unit, public agency, partnership, association, firm, trust or estate or any other legal entity.

2. “Sexual conduct” means sexual conduct as proscribed by section 13-1405.

3. “Sexual contact” has the same meaning prescribed in section 13-1401.

In addition, Arizona Governor Ducey signed into law a provision that also enables people OLDER than 30 years to file a lawsuit for their childhood sexual abuse. HOWEVER, THE TIME WINDOW FOR SUCH A LAWSUIT IS ONLY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020!

Basically, the Arizona Legislature recognized that there are many victims who are now more than 30-years old who may have cases against their abusers or the enabling organizations which ignored, and in some cases hid, the abuse. So, Arizona has briefly re-opened the courthouse doors for these victims to file lawsuits and seek justice.

However, as mentioned above, this is set to expire on December 31, 2020. If you were a victim of sexual abuse as a child and are over 30-years old, please contact our office (480) 874-2918 as soon as possible to ensure that your rights can be protected before the December 31, 2020 deadline.

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Hospitals Dealing With Increase in Pneumonia Related to Teeth

Hospitals all over the country are starting to come across a problem they didn’t even know they had: pneumonia caused by poor oral hygiene.

It has been known for a long time that patients on ventilators are at a drastically increased risk of pneumonia, and as such, hospitals are legally required to watch for signs of pneumonia. They have never watched non-ventilated patients too closely however, despite the rather high number of pneumonia cases.

A recent year-long study done on non-ventilated patients has shown that they are becoming infected with pneumonia partially due to poor oral hygiene. The explanation given is that when patients do not care for the health of their mouths, they become filled with bacteria, and breathing those bacteria in can cause considerable damage to already-weakened immune systems.

Upon noticing this trend, those conducting the study instituted a hospital-wide oral hygiene program, and found the results extremely promising. They were able to reduce the incidences of pneumonia by over 35% in non-ventilated patients.

This study has seemingly opened the doors for hospitals to be potentially held liable for cases of pneumonia. Many hospital administrators are not worried, however, given that the tools for proper oral hygiene are provided for all patients, and in many cases, the patients are simply too tired to take care of it themselves.

Some hospitals are training staff members to assist patients, and make sure they are aware of the risks associated with poor oral hygiene. As with all dentist recommendations, twice-daily sessions of brushing and flossing are recommended, along with mouthwash when it is available.

Firefighter’s Widow Denied Benefits

When you work forty hours per week, fifty-two weeks out of the year, you are considered a full-time employee, right?  Although in most cases the answer to this question is “yes,” unfortunately in some instances employees working these hours throughout the year would be denied full-time status by their employer.

One individual who worked forty hours a week throughout the year for the City of Prescott, Arizona, was considered a “seasonal” employee.  Andrew Ashcraft was one of the nineteen “hotshot” firefighters who died in the tragic Yarnell wildfire in late June of this year.  His widow Juliann and her four children were denied lifetime benefits by the city of Prescott because her late husband was considered a seasonal employee when he lost his life in that fire, a fire which was the deadliest wild land blaze for firefighters in eighty years.

Unfortunately for the Ashcraft family and the other twelve families of the deceased firefighters, the city of Prescott says it has" “complied with the laws and employment policies that direct survivor benefits.”  According to the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), “the FLSA does not define full-time employment or part-time employment… this is a matter generally to be determined by the employer.”

The city of Prescott claims that Andrew  Ashcraft and twelve other members of the fire fighting team were employed as seasonal employees, which disqualified them from the benefits for bereaved families of full-time city employees.  Ashcraft was the only firefighter in that hotshot crew who had been working forty hours per week throughout the year who was considered a seasonal employee by the city and thus his family was denied survivor benefits. 

The nineteen hotshot families will receive worker’s compensation benefits and a one-time federal government payment of $328,000.

The unexpected death of a loved one is a very emotional, tragic time in a person’s life.  When you have gone through such a challenging, heart wrenching  experience and  have lost the wage earner in your family, you expect your insurance company to assist you in getting through this difficult time by providing the survivorship benefits you and your family deserve. 

Unfortunately there are times when insurance companies do not honor life insurance policies and deny  or delay paying survivor benefits.  When an insurance company may be violating Arizona’s Insurance Bad Faith Law, contact an experienced Arizona insurance bad faith attorney to fight for the benefits you deserve.