If someone else’s actions caused your loved one’s death, you may be eligible to recover compensation by filing a lawsuit for wrongful death in Georgia. The individuals who can file a wrongful death lawsuit include the deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, parents, and personal representative.
An experienced wrongful death attorney can review the incident that caused your loved one’s death and go over your options for holding the at-fault party or parties financially responsible.
What’s the Difference Between a Survival Action and a Wrongful Death Claim?
Wrongful death claims and survival actions are two distinct legal actions that often arise from the same wrongful death scenarios. However, to understand the difference, you first must understand what counts as a wrongful death.
Under Georgia law, a wrongful death results from another party’s negligent or intentional actions. Examples of wrongful death causes include car accidents, defective products, and homicides.
Wrongful death claims compensate survivors for the losses their deceased loved one suffered by having their life tragically cut short by a wrongful act. Survival actions, on the other hand, compensate the deceased person’s estate for the losses they suffered before their death.
For example, if your loved one suffered a fatal injury in a pedestrian accident, a wrongful death claim could provide compensation for the income they would have provided your family had they not died. A survival action, meanwhile, could recover compensation for medical bills incurred after the accident.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Wrongful Death in Georgia?
Establishing liability is a critical part of any successful wrongful death case. Depending on the circumstances of the incident, several parties could be responsible for your loved one’s death, including the following:
- Other drivers – If your loved one died in a car accident, the other driver who caused the accident may be liable, and you could recover compensation through their auto insurance policy.
- Property owners – When a death occurs due to a hazardous property condition, such as if your loved one slipped and fell on a wet floor, you may be able to hold the property owner liable and file a claim against their homeowner’s or business insurance.
- Medical professionals – Many wrongful death cases arise from medical malpractice, including misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses. The medical professional or hospital could be liable.
- Product manufacturers – Deaths caused by defective products leave manufacturers open to strict liability, meaning you only need to show that the defect exists and caused the death, not that the manufacturer was negligent.
- Employers – Workplace accidents can be fatal, especially in warehouses, manufacturing plants, and construction sites.
Who Is Eligible to File a Georgia Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Only specific individuals are eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia. Under Georgia’s Wrongful Death Act, the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased can bring such a lawsuit. The deceased’s personal representative, also known as the administrator or executor of their estate, can file the claim on behalf of any next of kin or other dependents.
What Compensation Is Available in a Georgia Wrongful Death Claim?
The compensation available through a Georgia wrongful death claim covers the “value of life” of the deceased, or the income the deceased would have earned throughout the rest of their life, as well as the non-economic losses they suffered due to their death.
How Is the Compensation from a Wrongful Death Claim Distributed?
Under Georgia law, the compensation from a wrongful death claim is to be distributed equally between the deceased person’s surviving spouse and children. However, the spouse cannot receive less than one-third of the total compensation. So, if there are three children, the spouse would receive one-third, and the three children would split the remaining two-thirds equally.
In cases involving the death of a minor, the parents split the compensation. And in cases where there is no surviving spouse, child, or parent, the compensation goes to the estate, through which it is distributed to the deceased’s other heirs.
Is There a Time Limit for Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Georgia?
In Georgia, surviving family members have two years to file a wrongful death action. The two-year period begins on the date of your loved one’s death, which may not necessarily be the same date on which they suffered their fatal injury.
Additionally, if the party responsible for the death is unknown, the time limit may not begin until their identity has been uncovered. This rule prevents those who are responsible for deaths from concealing their involvement until after the deadline in Georgia’s wrongful death statute of limitations expires.
How Can a Georgia Wrongful Death Lawyer Help Me With My Claim?
An experienced wrongful death lawyer can help you with your claim in the following ways:
- Investigating the incident to identify the at-fault parties
- Gathering supporting evidence
- Calculating the value of life to determine fair compensation
- Filing your lawsuit within the deadline established in the statute of limitations
- Negotiating for a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company
- Taking your case to trial and seeking the maximum compensation if a settlement can’t be reached.
Contact a Georgia Wrongful Death Attorney Today
The lawyers at Bayuk Pratt have more than 50 years of combined legal experience in Atlanta, Georgia. Our founding partners served as senior partners for two of the world’s largest and most elite defense law firms, providing our legal team with valuable insider knowledge and contributing to our firm’s recovery of more than $300 million for our deserving clients.
If you believe that someone else’s negligence caused your loved one’s death, contact our wrongful death lawyers for a free consultation about your case. We’ll help you understand your rights and the compensation you can seek through a wrongful death claim.
