Personal Injury Law

Sex Abuse Cases Against Therapists

By John Day

If you have a potential claim for professional misconduct against a therapist for sexually abusing or inappropriately touching a patient, don't forget that Tennessee has a special act for such torts. 

The act is known as the "Therapist Sexual Misconduct Victims Compensation Act."  It is codified at T.C.A. Section 29-26-201 et seq.  

Under the Act a therapist is "any person who performs therapy regardless of whether the person is licensed by the state."

The Act also has a longer statute of limitations that traditional tort cases in Tennessee.    The statute of limitations is set forth in T.C.A. Section 29-26-208.   Generally speaking, the statute of limitations in such claims is two years and is subject to a "discovery rule" but discovery of the injury does not occur until after the therapy ends.

Full post as published by Day on Torts on August 09, 2010 (boomark / email).