The New Lawsuit Against Boy Scouts Of America

One of America’s longest-standing youth organizations is under fire after thousands of reports have emerged of people claiming to have been sexually abused at Boy Scout camps. What once used to be a household name in America and a place where every family aspired to send their sons has now come under immense scrutiny for their actions, or perhaps the lack of actions taken to prevent sexual misconduct on camps. What the future holds for this organization after the lawsuit, only time will tell. But taking a closer look at the boy scout lawsuit can help us understand better what exactly lies ahead.

Boy Scout Lawsuit  

Sexual abuse comes under ‘Personal injury’ in the court and is filed as a civil lawsuit rather than a criminal lawsuit. What this means is that the defender is liable to pay compensation for the injury caused to the plaintiff, both physical and emotional which they might still bear. The number of claims is nowhere near small. Around 95,000 people to be precise, filed sexual abuse claims against the Boys Scout. The allegations claim that they were subjected to different forms of abuse, ranging from rape, fondling, forced exposure to pornography at a young age, and forced oral or anal sex.

The settlement will take time, but for this 110-year-old organization, there is no way to escape sexual harassment allegations and start afresh. The age of victims ranges from 11 years old to 90 years old, so it’s easy to say that the neglect from Boys Scout of America has been persistent over the years. The “Perversion Files” is evidence that child sexual abuse allegations are not only true but the youth organization has kept them hidden for a long time. This file reveals the names of several thousand of scout leaders who were involved in sexual harassment of the boys and highlights the systematic failure.

The work that lies ahead is to identify which insurers were providing coverage to the organization during the time each incident took place in order to give people their due share.

The extension of statute of limitation- how the lawsuit became one of America’s biggest

Unfortunately, sexual harassment or ‘personal injury’ has a 2-year time frame to file a case. Anytime later than that will hinder the victim from filing their case. This is a huge obstacle in the way of getting justice as not only is speaking out against an abuser difficult, victims are also often traumatized by the event and take time to recover before they can take the next step.

Fortunately, in light of accusations and a growing number of complaints several states including New York, New Jersey, California, and the District of Columbia eased statute of limitations back in 2019. The result? The boy scout lawsuit has become one of the biggest lawsuits in America, surpassing even the one against the Catholic Church. However, some may never feel comfortable disclosing such abuse and it is estimated that the number of victims is even more than 95,000.

Past Boy Scout Lawsuits 

Although there are far too many cases to talk about, highlighting some of the past lawsuits can give plaintiffs a better idea of their own position.

In 2010, Boys Scout was ordered to pay around $19.9 million to a plaintiff who had been sexually abused at camp as a 12-year-old boy by the scoutmaster. This was the biggest win in the history of the USA against a single organization.

As more and more cases are coming forward, the effects of the abuse on the mental health of ex- boys’ scouts are also becoming evident.

How Boys Scout is encouraging people to come forward 

expressed that they are devastated to know that so many lives have been impacted due to abuse in scouting and they are moved by the those people who have come forward and shown bravery.

The Boys Scout released an official statement in which they expressed that they are devastated to know that so many lives have been impacted due to abuse in scouting and they are moved by the those people who have come forward and shown bravery.

A visit to the Boys Scout website reveals that the organization is also offering to pay the victims for counseling from their chosen health care provider.

Filing for bankruptcy- What’s the future Of Scouting?

In search of a settlement plan, as more and more cases came forward, Boys Scout filed for bankruptcy in order to pay back their dues. This will eventually lead to the formation of a pool of funds to help Boys Scout pay the victims their share. Additionally, the high number of cases have led to bad publicity for the youth organization resulting in a historically low level of new memberships- 2 million as compared to over 4 million in the 1970s. This leaves a big question mark on whether the organization will be able to recover financially. To say the least, the pillars of Boys Scout have been shaken.