Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Georgia

If a family member has been killed by an accidental or intentional act in Georgia, you might have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In this article we'll explain how these cases work, including who can bring a lawsuit, how compensation is calculated and distributed, and the deadline for filing a claim. We'll also discuss other options for seeking compensation, including so-called "survival actions" filed by the deceased person's estate.

What Is "Wrongful Death" in Georgia?

Under Georgia law, a "wrongful death" occurs in "all cases in which the death of a human being results from a crime, from criminal or other negligence, or from property which has been defectively manufactured, whether or not as the result of negligence." (Ga. Code § 51-4-1(2) (2025).)

In other words, a wrongful death occurs when one person dies as a result of the legal fault of another person or entity, including by:

• a negligence-based incident (such as a car accident)
• medical malpractice
• a defective product, or
• an intentional act (such as a crime).

Read more about proving liability in a wrongful death case.

Differences Between a Wrongful Death Lawsuit and a Criminal Homicide Case

Under Georgia law, the term "homicide" includes cases in which a person can be held responsible in a wrongful death lawsuit. (Ga. Code § 51-4-1(2) (2025).)

This doesn't mean, however, that people who are liable in wrongful death lawsuits are also guilty of the crime of homicide. While the same act can sometimes give rise to both a wrongful death claim and a criminal prosecution, there are crucial differences between these two legal processes.

The Defendant's Responsibility

In Georgia, a person can face criminal prosecution for homicide if they either:

• kill someone deliberately, or
• kill someone by creating a high risk of death or serious injury to others.

So, for example, a person could be tried for murder if they planned to kill someone, or for vehicular homicide if their extremely reckless driving led to someone's death. (Ga. Code § 40-6-393 (2025).)

These kinds of criminal acts can also make a person liable in a wrongful death case. But someone can also be liable in a wrongful death case for significantly less serious behavior.

For example, if someone causes a fatal car accident because they're looking at the scenery and fail to see a stop sign, they could be liable for negligence and ordered to pay damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. But that behavior almost certainly wouldn't lead to a criminal prosecution.

On the other hand, a person who engages in extremely dangerous behavior--for example, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or deliberately ignoring road signs--could face both criminal prosecution and a wrongful death lawsuit.

The Standard of Proof

The standard of proof refers to how much evidence is needed to prove that someone is legally responsible for a wrongful act. In a criminal case, the prosecutor must prove the defendant's guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt." This is the highest standard of proof in the law, and it sets a very high bar for the prosecution to clear.

In most civil lawsuits, including wrongful death cases, the defendant's liability need only be shown by a "preponderance of the evidence." Under this legal standard, the plaintiff (the party bringing the lawsuit) must show it's more likely than not that the defendant is responsible for the decedent's death.

(Learn more about proving liability in a wrongful death case.)

The Consequences

The result of a successful wrongful death claim is expressed solely in dollars. The party responsible for the death (the "defendant") will be ordered to pay the decedent's survivors money damages. (We'll talk more about damages in a wrongful death case below.)

The consequences of a murder conviction are much more severe. A convicted criminal defendant can expect prison time, probation, and perhaps an order to pay restitution to the decedent's surviving family members.

Who Can File a Georgia Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

A wrongful death claim can be made by:

• the deceased's surviving spouse
• if there is no surviving spouse, the deceased's surviving child or children
• if no spouse or children survive, the deceased's parent or parents, or
• if no spouse, children, or parents survive, the administrator or executor of the deceased person's estate.

In general, only these individuals may file a claim. However, if a surviving spouse is unwilling or unable to file a wrongful death claim, courts will sometimes allow another person to file a claim for the benefit of the deceased's minor children. (Blackmon v. Tenet Healthsystem Spalding, 284 Ga. 369 (2008).)

In addition, the deceased's next of kin may be entitled to compensation even if they're not eligible to file a lawsuit themselves. These claims must be filed by the executor of the deceased person's estate; any money recovered is held by the estate for the benefit of the next of kin. For example, if the deceased had surviving grandchildren, but no surviving spouse, parents, or children, then the executor could bring a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of those grandchildren.

(Ga. Code § 19-7-1 (2025); Ga. Code § 51-4-2 (2025); Ga. Code § 51-4-4 (2025); Ga. Code § 51-4-5 (2025).)

Damages in a Wrongful Death Case

In a successful wrongful death lawsuit, the court orders the defendant to pay "damages"—or the plaintiff's claimed losses—to the deceased person's survivors or estate.

How Are Damages Calculated and Distributed?

Georgia recognizes two types of damages arising from a wrongful death:

• money to compensate for the lost life, and
• money to reimburse expenses caused by the death.

Calculating the value of the lost life. Unlike many states, Georgia does not calculate damages in wrongful death cases by looking at the losses the plaintiffs have (and will) suffer because of the death. Instead, damages are measured from the point of view of the deceased. In other words, the question in a Georgia wrongful death claim is, what did the deceased person lose as a result of not being able to live the rest of their life?

The answer is determined by looking at "the full value of the life of the decedent." This includes economic losses like:

• an estimate of the income the deceased would have earned had they lived
• the expected value of other sources of income (like Social Security benefits and pensions), and
• an estimate of the value of work the deceased would have done for their family and around the house.

It also includes an estimate of the value of less tangible losses, like the enjoyment and satisfaction the deceased would have derived from their relationships with family and friends.

Distributing compensation for the lost life. This money is awarded directly to surviving family members. There are three important rules to remember about how these damages are divided:

1. In general, the money is divided equally between the deceased person's children and surviving spouse.
2. A surviving spouse will always receive at least one-third of any money, with the remainder divided among the surviving children.
3. If a child dies, then their children inherit the right to wrongful death damages.

Because these damages go directly to family members, the money never become part of the deceased person's estate. Therefore, creditors aren't entitled to use these damages to pay the deceased person's bills or other debts.

Calculating the costs of the death. The estate's personal representative can recover necessary expenses resulting from the deceased's injury and death, including medical expenses and the cost of the funeral. (Ga. Code § 51-4-5 (2025).)

Distributing compensation for the costs of the death. This money is paid to the deceased person's estate, and is treated the same as the estate's other assets. This has two important consequences:

1. The money could end up being used to pay the estate's bills and other debts.
2. The money is distributed according to the instructions in the deceased person's will (or, if the deceased had no will, according to Georgia's intestate succession rules). These rules override the ones we discussed above about how wrongful death damages are normally distributed.

Learn more about how much a wrongful death case might be worth.

Does Georgia Cap Damages in Wrongful Death Lawsuits?

In general, Georgia does not limit the amount of damages plaintiffs can receive in wrongful death lawsuits. However, there are two important exceptions to this rule:

1. Georgia does not allow punitive damages in wrongful death cases (however, as we'll discuss below, punitive damages may be available through a so-called "survival action").
2. Georgia places limits on non-economic damages (for example, compensation for pain and suffering) in medical malpractice lawsuits, including cases where the malpractice caused a wrongful death. These damages are limited to $350,000 (or a total of $700,000 if more than one medical facility is responsible for the death). (Ga. Code § 51-13-1 (2025)

What Is the Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations in Georgia?

Like other lawsuits, wrongful death claims must be filed within a certain period of time, set by a law known as a "statute of limitations." In most cases, Georgia wrongful death claims must be filed within two years from the date of the death. If the lawsuit is not filed within the two-year time period, the right to bring it is almost always lost. (Ga. Code § 9-3-33 (2025).)

It's important to note that the two-year clock can be "tolled"—or temporarily stopped—in rare situations.

If the death was the result of a crime. If a criminal case results from the same events as the wrongful death case, the statute of limitations on the wrongful death case is suspended until the criminal case is completed, up to a maximum of six years. The two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death begins to run on the date the criminal case is resolved. (Ga. Code § 9-3-99 (2025).)

When the deceased person's estate has not been probated. Georgia law allows the statute of limitations in wrongful death cases to be tolled for up to five years if the deceased person's estate is not probated. (Ga. Code § 9-3-92 (2025).)

Learn more about Georgia's personal injury laws and statutes of limitations.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits Versus Survival Actions in Georgia

Like a wrongful death lawsuit, a so-called "survival action" allows plaintiffs to seek compensation for a fatal injury caused by someone else's negligence or intentional act. But survival actions are different from wrongful death lawsuits in important ways.

In a survival action, the executor or personal representative of a deceased person's estate seeks compensation for harm the deceased person suffered before they died. It might help to think of a survival action as a lawsuit brought on behalf of the deceased person, seeking compensation for the losses they suffered and could have sued for if they had survived.

Damages in survival actions. Because survival actions focus on harm suffered by the deceased, plaintiffs can seek different kinds of damages that aren't available in wrongful death lawsuits. For example, plaintiffs in a survival action may be able to collect compensation for pain and suffering the deceased suffered before they died.

Plaintiffs in survival actions may also be entitled to punitive damages. These damages are designed to punish defendants, and to deter other people from behaving maliciously or recklessly. But punitive damages are only available in rare cases where the defendant's behavior was particularly blameworthy. For example, punitive damages could be imposed in a case where the defendant intended to hurt the deceased, or behaved so recklessly that they obviously didn't care if they hurt someone or not.

Keep in mind that compensation from a survival action are paid to the deceased person's estate, not directly to dependents. This means the money will be distributed according to the deceased person's will (or Georgia's rules for intestate succession). It also means that, like the rest of the estate, it may end up being used to pay off the deceased person's creditors.

The statute of limitations for a survival action. The deadline for filing a survival action is measured from the date the deceased would have been entitled to file their own lawsuit. This means the deadline is usually--but not always--two years from the date of the injury. It also means that the deadline is not necessarily two years from the date of death.

For example, imagine someone is injured in a car accident, and dies from those injuries six months later. The deadline for a survival action would be measured from the day of the accident, not the day the person passed away.

(Ga. Code § 9-2-41 (2025); (Ga. Code § 51-12-5.1(b) (2025); Dowling v. Lopez, 211 Ga. App. 578 (1993)

Other Options for Seeking Compensation

In addition to wrongful death lawsuits and survival actions, there may be other options for seeking compensation for the death of a loved one. For example:

Loss of consortium. In Georgia, a claim for loss of consortium seeks to compensate a spouse for the loss of sexual intimacy with their partner, as well as the loss of their partner's comfort, companionship, and affection. A spouse has four years to file a claim. (Keep in mind that, if a spouse was injured before passing away, the statute of limitations for loss of consortium could be measured from the date of the injury, not the date of death.) (W.J. Bremer Co. v. Graham, 169 Ga. App. 115 (1983); Ga. Code § 9-3-33 (2025).)

Restitution in criminal cases. When someone is convicted of a crime in Georgia, their victims may be entitled to compensation. If the victim was killed as a result of the crime, this restitution can be paid instead to surviving dependents. Restitution in Georgia focuses on the concrete economic losses caused by the crime, and does not include punitive damages or compensation for pain and suffering. (Ga. Code § 17-14-2 (2025).)

Workers' compensation claims. If you're injured on the job, you may be entitled to compensation under Georgia's workers' compensation law. Similarly, if someone is killed by a workplace accident, or an illness contracted on the job, their surviving dependents may be entitled to compensation. This compensation is two-thirds of the the deceased's average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $800 per week.

Do I Need a Lawyer for a Georgia Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

There are some kinds of injury claims that don't necessarily require a lawyer's expertise and assistance, but a wrongful death lawsuit isn't usually one of them. Wrongful death claims can be complicated from both a legal and procedural standpoint, especially when the time comes to attach an economic value to different categories of losses when calculating damages.

A Georgia injury lawyer will have the knowledge to apply complex state laws to your situation, the experience to put your best case together against the defendant, and the expertise to make sure you get the best result. Learn more about finding, hiring, and working with a personal injury lawyer.