body: I just read about [a story](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/6da5v7/til_a_man_almost_went_to_jail_for_child_porn_on/) where a guy was charged with visiting child porn sites and was later found innocent.
  
  
  
  > 
  > Fiola and his wife fought the case, spending $250,000 on legal fees.
  >  They liquidated their savings, took a second mortgage and sold their
  >  car.
  > 
  > 
  > 
  
  
  That's really scary - When this kind of story comes up, I always wonder, if I'm ever met with bad luck and end up spending everything, going bankrupt even, in legal fees to fight the charges and am finally acquitted, is there any safety net in the legal system to recoup all financial damages including interest on any loans I had to take out?
  
  
  The situation I cited involved criminal charges but I'm interested in both criminal and civil. Also, what about indirect financial damages, like losing your job because of the charges?
  
  
  It seems like if you're wrongly charged by a crime by the government and suffer extreme financial burden because of that, if proven innocent you should be free from punishment - including financial.
  
  
  
title: Is there any way to recoup financial damages after spending everything you have on defense and being found innocent?