Nearly a year has passed since the Boy Scouts of America announced their consideration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since then, thousands of men have come forward against the organization, claiming the BSA hid sexual predators in their midst and failed to protect children from abuse.
In recent years, increasing numbers of former Boy Scouts have stepped forward claiming they were sexually abused by leaders in the BSA. These survivors recalled the most horrible cases of Scoutmasters groping, molesting, and even raping them on Scouting trips and one-on-one interactions. However, many of these of these predators were never brought to justice. In fact, allegations against the Boy Scouts of America state the organization deliberately silenced abuse reports and let predators slip away through quiet dismissals and troop transfers.
As the claims continue to amass into a giant litigation, the BSA responded by announcing their consideration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy to address the lawsuits. With the immanency of bankruptcy in the BSA's future, many sexual abuse survivors wonder what this means for their claims against the organization. Would they still get to hold the Boy Scouts accountable for their abuse? Would they still get to call out their abuser in court? Does bankruptcy remove their chance at recovery?
In a recent interview with AskTheLawyers.com, attorney Stewart Eisenberg, a partnering attorney with Abused in Scouting, explained what Chapter 11 bankruptcy would mean for Scouting abuse survivors and what they need to to to make sure they have their best chance at holding the BSA accountable for their abuse. Watch the full interview below: