Video Library
Sexual Assault Lawsuit Process
Attorney Melissa Ryan Reitberg at Meirowitz and Wasserberg explains the general civil litigation process and the steps along the way to help you understand how long a lawsuit may take and what is involved in the process.
My name is Melissa Reitberg, and I’m an attorney at Meirowitz and Wasserberg. One of the most common questions we get asked is, “If I decide to pursue a lawsuit in connection with my sexual assault incident, how long is that going to take?”
Well, it is impossible for anyone to give you a specific timeline without knowing anything about your case, but I can say that cases typically resolve in one of three ways.
One, the case could resolve pre-suit, meaning that nothing is filed in court—there’s no summons and complaint, but there are settlement discussions, and the case could resolve and settle before a lawsuit is filed.
The second option is that after a lawsuit is filed but before the time of trial, the case can resolve.
The third option is that a case could go all the way to trial or beyond and resolve that way.
Obviously, that is in order from shortest to longest for how long the case may take. Talk to your attorney about the specific facts and circumstances surrounding your particular incident to get a better idea of how long your case may take.
