Wrongful Death
When a loved one is killed by someone else's negligence, surviving family members may have mixed feelings about making a monetary claim for the death. Certainly no amount of money can bring the departed loved one back to life.
However, a monetary award is the only way civil law can recognize the value decedent's life, compensate for the death, and penalize the party at fault.
In Georgia, the measure of damages for wrongful death is the full value of the life of the deceased, from the perspective of the decedent. It includes both economic damages (projected lifetime income, with no deduction for living expenses or income taxes, value of services, etc.) and intangible factors such as the enjoyment of the experience of living.
The "full value of the life" is determined solely by the enlightened conscience of an impartial jury. Unlike some states, Georgia imposes no statutory formula or arbitrary limit on the damages awarded in a wrongful death case.
However, Georgia juries tend to follow the state motto of "wisdom, justice and moderation" in their exercise of this broad discretion. It is common for jurors to assign more value to a life when the money would go to the support of a surviving spouse and minor children than when it would go to distant relatives who were not dependent on the deceased.
The economic component of the value of the life may be reduced to present value under Georgia wrongful death law, but the intangible aspects of the value of the life are not reduced to present value.
Because valuation of a wrongful death claim is affected by many factors, including disputed issues of liability, contributory negligence comparative negligence, assumption of risk, and proximate causation, it is important not to confuse the value of a case with the true value of the departed loved one's life.
A surviving spouse has the right to sue for wrongful death in Georgia, but must share the recovery equally with surviving children of the decedent. Where the surviving spouse is required to share a wrongful death recovery with the decedent's minor child, the child's share up to $15,000 may be held by the child's natural guardian without posting a bond. If a minor child's share of the recovery is $15,000 or more, a guardian of the child's property must be qualified in probate court, and a bond posted. The bond requirement may be avoided if the probate court approves a structured settlement with annuity payments going to the child after attaining age 18, with the cash held by the child's natural guardian remaining less than $15,000.
If there is no surviving spouse, the right goes to surviving children. If the surviving spouse is missing, a court may permit the children to pursue the death claim alone.
If there is neither a spouse nor child surviving, then the decedent's parents have the right to sue under Georgia law. If the parents of a deceased child are divorced or living apart, the trial court has full discretion to allocate the wrongful death recovery between them, considering any pertinent factors.
There have been cases of an uninvolved absentee father being limited to as little as one half of one percent of the total recovery for the wrongful death of a child.
In the absence of a surviving spouse, child or parent, the administrator of the decedent's estate can sue on behalf of the next of kin. Even if the next of kin is a minor, e.g., a sibling, an anomaly in current Georgia law requires that an administrator file suit within two years from the date of death.
Georgia's wrongful death statute, dating back to before the Civil War, is one of the best in the US at respecting the value of human life. However, the statute does have several potential "trapdoors" due to court interpretations of the patchwork of awkwardly worded nineteenth century phrases in the statute. It is important to have an experienced Georgia lawyer who is familiar with those "trapdoors."
In addition to the wrongful death claim for the full value of the life, the administrator or executor of the decedent's estate has a claim for the decedent's medical and funeral expenses, and for conscious pain and suffering before death. Punitive damages may be awarded in connection with such a survival action on behalf of the estate.
Within the requirements of allocation of damages to the spouse and children, survivors can choose to put a monetary award for wrongful death to any good use, whether to support a family deprived of the breadwinner, to educate children, or to fund a charity in the memory of the deceased.
The laws governing wrongful death actions, evidence and procedure in other states may differ significantly from Georgia law. Each case is unique. If the events and parties causing a death involve more than one state, we try to consider all the options with regard to choice of law and choice of the court in which a case should be filed. When appropriate, we have occasionally associated local counsel in another state and obtained admission to practice pro hac vice, in order to litigate individual wrongful death cases in states other than Georgia.
However, a monetary award is the only way civil law can recognize the value decedent's life, compensate for the death, and penalize the party at fault.
In Georgia, the measure of damages for wrongful death is the full value of the life of the deceased, from the perspective of the decedent. It includes both economic damages (projected lifetime income, with no deduction for living expenses or income taxes, value of services, etc.) and intangible factors such as the enjoyment of the experience of living.
The "full value of the life" is determined solely by the enlightened conscience of an impartial jury. Unlike some states, Georgia imposes no statutory formula or arbitrary limit on the damages awarded in a wrongful death case.
However, Georgia juries tend to follow the state motto of "wisdom, justice and moderation" in their exercise of this broad discretion. It is common for jurors to assign more value to a life when the money would go to the support of a surviving spouse and minor children than when it would go to distant relatives who were not dependent on the deceased.
The economic component of the value of the life may be reduced to present value under Georgia wrongful death law, but the intangible aspects of the value of the life are not reduced to present value.
Because valuation of a wrongful death claim is affected by many factors, including disputed issues of liability, contributory negligence comparative negligence, assumption of risk, and proximate causation, it is important not to confuse the value of a case with the true value of the departed loved one's life.
A surviving spouse has the right to sue for wrongful death in Georgia, but must share the recovery equally with surviving children of the decedent. Where the surviving spouse is required to share a wrongful death recovery with the decedent's minor child, the child's share up to $15,000 may be held by the child's natural guardian without posting a bond. If a minor child's share of the recovery is $15,000 or more, a guardian of the child's property must be qualified in probate court, and a bond posted. The bond requirement may be avoided if the probate court approves a structured settlement with annuity payments going to the child after attaining age 18, with the cash held by the child's natural guardian remaining less than $15,000.
If there is no surviving spouse, the right goes to surviving children. If the surviving spouse is missing, a court may permit the children to pursue the death claim alone.
If there is neither a spouse nor child surviving, then the decedent's parents have the right to sue under Georgia law. If the parents of a deceased child are divorced or living apart, the trial court has full discretion to allocate the wrongful death recovery between them, considering any pertinent factors.
There have been cases of an uninvolved absentee father being limited to as little as one half of one percent of the total recovery for the wrongful death of a child.
In the absence of a surviving spouse, child or parent, the administrator of the decedent's estate can sue on behalf of the next of kin. Even if the next of kin is a minor, e.g., a sibling, an anomaly in current Georgia law requires that an administrator file suit within two years from the date of death.
Georgia's wrongful death statute, dating back to before the Civil War, is one of the best in the US at respecting the value of human life. However, the statute does have several potential "trapdoors" due to court interpretations of the patchwork of awkwardly worded nineteenth century phrases in the statute. It is important to have an experienced Georgia lawyer who is familiar with those "trapdoors."
In addition to the wrongful death claim for the full value of the life, the administrator or executor of the decedent's estate has a claim for the decedent's medical and funeral expenses, and for conscious pain and suffering before death. Punitive damages may be awarded in connection with such a survival action on behalf of the estate.
Within the requirements of allocation of damages to the spouse and children, survivors can choose to put a monetary award for wrongful death to any good use, whether to support a family deprived of the breadwinner, to educate children, or to fund a charity in the memory of the deceased.
The laws governing wrongful death actions, evidence and procedure in other states may differ significantly from Georgia law. Each case is unique. If the events and parties causing a death involve more than one state, we try to consider all the options with regard to choice of law and choice of the court in which a case should be filed. When appropriate, we have occasionally associated local counsel in another state and obtained admission to practice pro hac vice, in order to litigate individual wrongful death cases in states other than Georgia.