Shaheen & Gordon is working with YDC victims to deliver justice. We have assembled a YDC Victim Compensation Group that is dedicated to ensuring timely compensation and a respectful process for those who have suffered physical or sexual abuse while at YDC.
As has been widely reported, hundreds of victims have come forward to say they were abused over multiple decades, from as far back as the 1960s to as recently as a couple of years ago. Almost all the victims were minors when they were abused, and more than half of these claims involve incidents of sexual abuse. These victims were residents at New Hampshire’s Youth Development Center (a/k/a the Sununu Youth Services Center), the State Industrial School, the Philbrook School, the Tobey Special Education School, and the Youth Services Center.
The YDC Settlement Fund vs. Individual Litigation
Our Shaheen & Gordon YDC Victim Compensation Group is currently filing all claims through the state of New Hampshire’s YDC Settlement Fund and Claims Process. We secured the first-ever settlement through the fund and are moving quickly to get long-awaited justice for all our YDC clients.
We have worked closely with the state to ensure that the fund meets victims’ needs and have been involved in multiple, substantive changes that make the fund the best course of action.
Some of the reasons we encourage our clients to file claims through the settlement fund include:
- Risk-Free: There’s no risk in filing a claim through the fund and finding out how much you could receive. If you go through the claims process and don’t like the result you get, you can still decline the award and take your case to court. Since most YDC victims won’t receive a trial court for years and the Fund stops taking claims after 2025, now is the time to act.
- Timely Resolution: Under the guidelines of the fund, victims will get full and complete resolution within six to twelve months, whereas those filing individual lawsuits with the court may wait up to five years or more for a trial date.
- Compensation Caps: The fund caps damages at $2.5 million, while under state law the current cap for damages against a state agency is only $475,000 per claimant.
- Respectful Process: Victims have already suffered and do not deserve to have their trauma brought back to life in the courts. Through the fund’s claim process, at most, a client may have to participate in an informational interview that will not be adversarial. Whereas through the court system, every victim would have to be deposed and have their entire life scrutinized in litigation.
Whether you’re already pursuing litigation or have yet to bring forward a claim, our team can help. Contact us to discuss whether a personalized approach through the settlement fund is right for you. The deadline to file a claim is June 30, 2025.
Did you know?
- Only 5% of YDC victims with court cases are likely to get their jury trial within the next 5 years.
- The Court overseeing the YDC litigation has estimated it may take more than 90 years to try every case.
- The deadline to file a claim is June 30, 2025, so there is limited time to act.
The YDC Claim Process
- When you contact our firm, we’ll schedule a free confidential consultation with an attorney to discuss the details of your case. Our in-house victim advocate is available to help reduce the impact of sharing your trauma.
- If your case is eligible, our legal team will work with you to complete the formal claim documentation and file it through the state fund.
- Once your claim is formally filed in the fund, we will attempt to negotiate and resolve the claim with the state without having to proceed to a contested hearing. If we are not able to resolve your claim with the state, we will be fully prepared to argue your case at a contested hearing, which would take place within six to twelve months of filing.
Experienced, Dedicated Representation
The YDC Victim Compensation Group at Shaheen & Gordon is a unique team dedicated to handling these cases with a trauma-informed approach. The group is made of up attorneys, paralegals, an in-house victim advocate, as well as multiple retained experts including private investigators and a psychologist.
We understand that every YDC case is unique and needs dedication, attention, compassionate advocates, and qualified experience.
Through the many hours we have spent interviewing our clients and reviewing the millions of pages of records the state has produced, we have assembled a large library of information on YDC for every decade and every year of their operations. Our group is ready to fight for justice for you or your loved one.
