Lawyers for Hundreds of former YDC residents ask for Abuse Cases To Be Heard

NH Bulletin                                                                                                                 June 22, 2022

Attorneys representing nearly 600 former Youth Development Center residents in abuse claims against the state have asked a judge to move forward with litigation on 450 of those cases. They say their clients are proceeding with their lawsuits because they continue to distrust the settlement option offered by the state.
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Amanda Grady Sexton, director of public affairs for the coalition, said some victims are unhappy about the way awards are calculated.

A victim who receives $20,000 for a single instance of sexual abuse would not necessarily receive $40,000 for two instances of sexual abuse or $60,000 for three, according to the draft rubric. Instead, the victim would receive something between $20,000 and $60,000 as determined by a complicated “frequency multiplier” established in the draft guidelines.

“For sexual abuse, add the number of instances of the most severe level of abuse suffered plus one-half the number of instances of the two next lower levels of abuse suffered,” it reads. “Instances of abuse three of four levels lower, if any, shall not be counted.”

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