When a police officer, a jail, or an employer violates your rights, the law gives you a way to hold them accountable. Free, confidential consultation.
Each page explains what the law protects, what counts as a violation, and what to do if it happened to you or someone in your family.
Claims against officers and departments when force goes beyond what the situation called for and someone is seriously hurt or killed.
For families who lost someone during an arrest, in a jail, or in a holding cell, whether from force, neglect, or denied medical care.
Sexual harassment, discriminatory harassment, hostile work environments, and retaliation under Georgia and federal law.
These cases are not always called civil rights claims, but they come from the same place: someone with power or a duty to protect you failed to do it.
What you do in the first days matters. These five steps protect your health and your case.
A civil rights claim is a lawsuit for money damages, and sometimes for a change in policy, against a person or organization that violated rights the law guarantees you. It is a civil case that you bring, separate from any criminal charge a prosecutor may or may not file.
Claims against police officers, jails, and other government officials are usually brought under a federal law, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which lets a person sue an official who violated their constitutional rights while acting in an official role. Force used during a stop or an arrest is judged by whether it was objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Workplace harassment claims usually rest on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which covers employers with 15 or more employees and bars harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
More than one party can be responsible for the same violation, and naming the right ones is a large part of the case.
Less time than most people think. A Section 1983 claim in Georgia generally must be filed within two years, the same period Georgia sets for personal injury claims. Other deadlines are much shorter, and some are notice deadlines that come due long before a lawsuit.
| Type of Claim | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Federal civil rights claim against police or jail staff (Section 1983) | 2 years to file suit | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 |
| Wrongful death | 2 years to file suit | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 |
| State-law claim against a Georgia city | Written notice within 6 months | O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5 |
| State-law claim against a Georgia county | Presented within 12 months | O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1 |
| State-law claim against the State of Georgia | Written notice within 12 months | O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26 |
| Workplace harassment charge (Title VII) | 180 days to file with the EEOC | EEOC time limits |
These are the general rules. The facts of a case can change which deadline applies, so have a lawyer confirm yours.
A civil rights claim is meant to make up for what the violation cost you and, in serious cases, to punish the person who did it. Depending on the facts, a claim can include:
Joshua E. Palmer
Managing Partner · Joshua E. Palmer, Attorney at Law
Attorney Palmer represents people in civil rights and personal injury cases, including excessive force, deaths in police custody, and workplace harassment. The firm’s office is in Bonaire, in Houston County, next to Warner Robins, and it represents clients throughout Georgia.
Call or text for a free, confidential case review. We will tell you whether you have a claim, what the deadline is, and what to do next.
Responsible attorney: Joshua E. Palmer, Managing Partner · 106 Moran Dr #5106, Bonaire, GA 31005 · (478) 887-3734. Attorney advertising. This page is general legal information about Georgia law, not legal advice for your situation; contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Tell us what happened. The consultation is free and confidential, and you pay nothing unless we win.
Each case is different. Any results, settlement figures, or benefit amounts described on this page depend on the specific facts of that case and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in yours. Statutes and benefit rates cited are current as of November 2026; confirm current law with an attorney before relying on it.
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