When people suffer harm due to the actions or inactions of powerful organizations, it's not just about individual wrongdoing. It’s often the result of systemic failures. This is where institutional liability comes into play. But what exactly does that mean, and how does it apply in real-world legal cases?
At The Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff, we represent survivors of injury, abuse, and negligence who were failed not only by individuals, but by entire systems. Michael “The Bull” Lamonsoff and his legal team aggressively pursue justice against schools, churches, hospitals, and other institutions that failed in their duty of care.
What Is Institutional Liability?
Institutional liability is a legal doctrine that holds organizations and institutions responsible for harm caused by their employees, representatives, or policies. These entities can be found liable when they:
- Fail to properly supervise or train employees
- Ignore or cover up reports of misconduct
- Create or tolerate unsafe environments
- Neglect to implement reasonable safety procedures
Institutional liability cases often involve systemic negligence: not just a single mistake, but a pattern of failure that allowed harm to occur.
Common Types of Institutional Liability Cases
Institutional liability can arise in many settings, including:
- Religious Organizations: Failing to prevent or report clergy sexual abuse
- Schools and Universities: Ignoring bullying, assaults, or abuse by staff or other students
- Hospitals and Nursing Homes: Failing to prevent patient neglect, abuse, or medical errors
- Foster Care Agencies: Placing children in unsafe homes or failing to respond to known risks
- Employers and Corporations: Allowing harassment or discrimination to go unchecked
- Correctional Facilities: Failing to protect inmates from violence or denying medical care
In all of these examples, victims may have a right to sue not only the direct perpetrator, but the institution that allowed the harm to happen.
Legal Theories Behind Institutional Liability
There are several legal theories that can support a claim of institutional liability:
- Negligent Hiring: The institution failed to properly vet an employee with a known history of misconduct.
- Negligent Supervision: The institution didn’t properly monitor employees or failed to intervene when misconduct was known.
- Negligent Retention: The institution kept an employee despite complaints or red flags.
- Vicarious Liability (Respondeat Superior): The institution is sometimes liable for wrongful acts committed by employees within the scope of their job.
- Violation of Statutory Duties: Institutions may violate specific legal responsibilities, such as mandatory reporting laws.
These doctrines allow survivors and victims to hold institutions accountable—not just for what they did, but for what they failed to do.
Why Institutional Liability Matters
In many abuse or injury cases, the direct perpetrator may not have the resources to fairly compensate the victim. By holding the institution liable, survivors can:
- Access deeper financial resources to cover medical care, therapy, lost wages, and more
- Expose systemic issues and force institutional reform
- Prevent future harm to others
Lawsuits also send a clear message: ignoring red flags, silencing victims, or failing to act has consequences.
Challenges in Institutional Liability Cases
These cases are often complex and hard-fought. Institutions have legal teams dedicated to protecting their reputation and minimizing payouts. Challenges may include:
- Sealed records and internal investigations
- Use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)
- Denial of institutional responsibility
- Victim-blaming defenses
At The Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff, we’ve overcome these obstacles through aggressive discovery, expert testimony, and deep knowledge of institutional behavior patterns.
Real-World Examples of Institutional Liability
Institutional liability isn’t just a legal theory; it plays out in devastating ways across real lives, families, and communities. From churches to universities to hospitals, countless institutions have failed to uphold their duty of care, often prioritizing reputation over responsibility, such as:
- Clergy Abuse Cases: Religious organizations covering up abuse and reassigning known predators.
- Campus Sexual Assault: Colleges failing to take action after repeated reports of misconduct by staff or students.
- Nursing Home Neglect: Facilities ignoring signs of elder abuse or failing to staff adequately.
- Medical Malpractice in Hospitals: Hospitals allowing incompetent or impaired doctors to continue practicing.
Each of these examples illustrates how institutions can allow abuse to continue through negligence, inaction, or cover-up.
How We Fight for Survivors
Michael “The Bull” Lamonsoff is known for taking on powerful entities and fighting relentlessly for justice. We represent:
- Survivors of sexual abuse in religious, academic, and medical institutions
- Families of loved ones harmed or killed by systemic negligence
- Individuals harmed by repeated misconduct that institutions ignored
Our firm has recovered over $500 million for injury victims, and our litigation team brings more than 150 years of combined experience. We speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and we prepare every case for trial.
If You’ve Been Harmed by an Institution, Contact Us
Institutions that fail to protect the people they serve must be held accountable. If you or a loved one was harmed due to the negligence of a school, hospital, church, or other organization, we’re ready to fight for you.
Call The Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff for a free, confidential consultation. You’re not just hiring an attorney. You’re putting your case in the hands of a fighter. You’re hiring The Bull.
