Guidelines for evaluating the victim and the defendant and assessing the victim's claims are presented, and possible remedies are discussed (civil action, restitution or reparation, compensation). General considerations in victim actions against perpetrators and perpetrator actions against victims are delineated, as are victims' actions involving law enforcement failures to protect. Also considered are victims' actions relating to negligence in the confinement, escape, release, and supervision of inmates and mental patients and those stemming from failures to warn endangered third parties. Additional grounds for victims' actions are detailed in cases involving common carriers; public and private employers; innkeepers, landlords, businesses, and other operators and owners of premises; public and private educational institutions; and family members, both adult and juvenile. Chapters include checklists, comments, illustrations, planning and strategy notes, complaint forms, and footnotes.