Civil Remedies for California Crime Victims

Claims against the person who committed the crime

Depending on the conduct and available remedies, a victim may have civil claims directly against the person who caused the harm. Practical considerations can include proof, insurance, collectible assets, applicable statutes of limitation, and the interaction with the criminal proceeding.

Claims involving a business, property owner, employer, or institution

Sometimes a victim asks whether another person or entity can be responsible for harm caused by criminal conduct. There is no automatic rule that a property owner or business is liable simply because a crime occurred. Potential responsibility can turn on legal duty, foreseeability, prior notice, control, causation, the burden of additional precautions, and the particular facts.

Criminal restitution and civil damages are different

Restitution can address qualifying economic losses through the criminal case. Civil law can involve a different range of damages and different defendants. Coordination matters because the same event may generate overlapping records, witnesses, evidence, and financial issues.

Why timing matters

Civil deadlines vary by claim and defendant, and some claims involving public entities or other special circumstances can have procedural requirements that arise earlier than an ordinary civil limitations period. A victim considering civil remedies should obtain advice specific to the facts rather than waiting for the criminal case to end automatically.

Our approach to crime-related civil matters

The site is built around representation of crime victims, not generic personal-injury marketing. Civil issues are evaluated as part of the broader legal consequences of criminal conduct, with careful attention to what the evidence and California law actually support.