Individual and Civil Rights Disputes

Individual citizens look to the government to provide protections against crime and illegal activity.  However, there are times when those in government positions abuse their power and authority against average citizens, and instead the government officers who are entrusted to protect its citizens become those who commit the illegal acts.  The Civil Rights Act of 1871, codified as Federal Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, allows those whose federally protected constitutional rights have been violated by government employees or officials to assert their claims in a court of law.  Acts that may form the basis for such claims include, but are not limited to:

• Police Brutality and Excessive Force
• Unlawful Police Shootings
• Illegal Police Searches and Seizures
• Racial Profiling
• False Arrest and Imprisonment
• Jail Abuse and Neglect

Civil rights violations can also occur in the private sector where customers are discriminated on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, familial status, or religion.  Customers may be the victims of unlawful discrimination in places of public accommodation due to unequal treatment in providing goods, services, facilities, or privileges at establishments which may include, but are not limited to:

• Restaurants, Night Clubs, and Bars
• Hotels, Motels and Inns
• Hospitals, Clinics, and Nursing Homes
• Retail Stores and Shopping Centers
• Swimming Pools, Gyms and Health Clubs
• Theaters, Museums, Concert Halls and Arenas

Sadly, unlawful discrimination is still being used to deny individuals equal treatment and even their most basic and fundamental constitutional rights.  Such practices must be put to an end.  If you believe that you, or someone you love has been the victim of a civil rights violation, contact the law offices of Henrichsen Law Group, P.L.L.C. without delay.

Defective Products and Consumer Protection

Product manufacturers, distributors and retailers are responsible for ensuring the safety of the products they introduce to the marketplace.  Various product types including appliances, prescription and over-the-counter drug products, food products, medical devices, motor vehicles, tools and lawn equipment, and toys have all been linked at one time or another to unsafe aspects of their use and created unreasonably dangerous conditions.  Defective products may result in not just an economic loss to the purchaser, but can lead to far more serious damage such as serious physical and emotional injuries or even death.  The unreasonably dangerous condition may be the result of a manufacturing defect, design defect, inadequate warnings and instructions, or a combination of product defects that leave a trusting and unsuspecting user devastated by the injuries they or their loved one sustains.  At times companies will attempt to cover-up the product defects and mislead regulatory agencies about the safety of their products.  To many manufacturers, the bottom line of cost and revenue overrides concern for the safety of the individuals who use their products.

Companies will also often use unfair or deceptive practices to mislead consumers about the goods or services they are purchasing.  Not until after the customer has already parted with their hard-earned money do they realize they have been misled.  Federal and many state statutes have unfair and deceptive trade practices laws that provide consumers with the ability to assert claims against companies who engage in this type of misconduct.  Some examples of unfair or deceptive trade practices may include, but are not limited to:

• False or Misleading Advertising
• Deceptive Fees and Billing Practices
• Misleading Product Packaging or Labeling
• Charging Excessive Interest Rates
• Bait and Switch Sales Tactics
• Price Gouging and other Deceptive Pricing Methods

If you or a loved one has been the victim of an injury from using a product or have been misled or deceived about a product or service, call the law office of Henrichsen Law Group, P.L.L.C. right away to find out your legal rights as a consumer.