Lost a loved one in a fatal car crash in Rockdale County? You do not have to face the questions alone.

If you are weighing a fatal car crash wrongful death claim in Rockdale County, you probably have many questions at once. Who can file? What can the claim cover? What should you do first? This guide answers those questions using Georgia law. The same rules apply in Conyers and across the state.

What a Fatal Car Crash Wrongful Death Claim Is and Who It Is For

A wrongful death claim is a legal claim brought after someone dies because of another party’s wrongful act, such as negligent driving. Georgia law defines homicide to include a death caused by criminal or other negligence, and a death from defectively manufactured property O.C.G.A. § 51-4-1-2017-pdf.pdf)-2017-pdf.pdf)-2017-pdf.pdf).

In a car crash, a common example is a driver who speeds, drives impaired, or fails to watch the road, and causes a fatal collision.

When there is no person entitled to bring an action under Code Section 51-4-2 or 51-4-4, the administrator or executor of the decedent may bring an action for the benefit of the next of kin under § 51-4-5-2017-pdf.pdf).

A civil claim for money damages is separate from any criminal case against the driver. Both can come from the same crash, but they move on different tracks.

What a Wrongful Death Claim Can Cover

A wrongful death claim can seek the full value of the decedent’s life, along with specific losses tied to the death and the injury.

• Full value of life. Georgia measures the decedent’s life without subtracting the personal or necessary expenses the person would have had if they had lived § 51-4-1-2017-pdf.pdf)-2017-pdf.pdf)-2017-pdf.pdf).
• Funeral and medical costs. When a death results from a crime or from criminal or other negligence, the personal representative may recover funeral, medical, and other necessary expenses § 51-4-5-2017-pdf.pdf)-2017-pdf.pdf)-2017-pdf.pdf).
• Medical charges. Medical damages are limited to the reasonable value of medically necessary care § 51-12-1.1-pdf.pdf)-pdf.pdf)-pdf.pdf).
• The cause of action passes to the personal representative of the deceased plaintiff if there is no right of survivorship in any other person § 9-2-41-2023-pdf.pdf)-2023-pdf.pdf)-2023-pdf.pdf).
• Future losses. Future economic losses may be reduced to present value, using a 5 percent rate or another rate the fact-finder considers appropriate § 51-12-13-2017-pdf.pdf)-2017-pdf.pdf)-2017-pdf.pdf).

A surviving spouse receives no less than one-third of a recovery under the main wrongful death section § 51-4-2-pdf.pdf)-pdf.pdf)-pdf.pdf). Amounts depend on the family’s losses and the facts. No one can predict a figure at the start of a case.

The First Days After a Fatal Crash in Rockdale County

In the first days, focus on records and evidence. Protect your rights before you speak with any insurer.

1. Request the crash report. Ask the investigating agency, such as the Georgia State Patrol or local police, for the report. Write down the report number.
2. Keep a contact log. Record names, dates, and details from talks with hospitals, the medical examiner or coroner, and the funeral home.
3. Save evidence. Keep photos, vehicle details, witness names, and any dashcam or phone video.
4. Pause on statements. Don’t give recorded statements or sign insurance releases until you’ve had advice.
5. Keep work records. Save pay records. If work travel was involved, tell the employer.
6. Preserve accounts. Leave the decedent’s phone, email, and social media as they are. Don’t delete anything.

Speed is one fact investigators examine. The IIHS speed research reports that speeding can increase the likelihood and severity of a fatal crash.

Commercial Trucks, Company Vehicles, and Insurance Coverage

A crash with a commercial truck or company vehicle can involve more than one at-fault party. That can change who may be responsible.

• Several parties. The driver, the employer, the vehicle owner, or another company may share fault. Georgia considers the fault of all persons who contributed to the injury, named or not; a nonparty’s fault is considered if the plaintiff settled with that nonparty or if a defending party gives notice, no later than 120 days before trial, that the nonparty was wholly or partially at fault § 51-12-33-pdf.pdf)-pdf.pdf)-pdf.pdf).
• Separate shares. Damages are apportioned among liable persons. They are not joint liability and are not subject to contribution § 51-12-33-pdf.pdf)-pdf.pdf)-pdf.pdf). Each party’s insurance limits therefore matter.
• Federal ruling.
• Uninsured drivers. Under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11-pdf.pdf), an automobile liability policy issued or delivered in Georgia must include uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury, loss of consortium or death of an insured caused by the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, unless an insured named in the policy rejects that coverage in writing, and the insured may affirmatively choose uninsured motorist limits in an amount less than the liability limits. A family’s own policy may matter, so review its coverage early.

How a Wrongful Death Claim Works, Step by Step

A wrongful death claim usually moves from a case review to investigation, an insurance demand, negotiation, and, if needed, a lawsuit.

1. Case review. The process starts with a first call. The firm reviews the crash facts, the death, and the family’s losses.
2. Investigation. The team gathers reports, medical and funeral records, and other evidence. Some cases use crash reconstruction.
3. Insurance claim. The claim goes to the at-fault party’s insurer, often with a demand package.
4. Negotiation. Many matters resolve through negotiation. Timing varies.
5. Lawsuit. If needed, a suit is filed in the proper Georgia court. Discovery, mediation, and possibly trial follow.

Medical treatment sometimes happens under a letter of protection, an arrangement where a provider waits for payment from a claim.

Why Families Work With Ugwonali Law Group

Ugwonali Law Group is a personal injury firm at 3400 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia. Adanna Ugwonali is the responsible attorney for this page. The firm’s support staff help families with records and intake questions.

• Practice areas: truck accidents, car accidents, wrongful death, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, catastrophic injury, premises liability, and slip and fall.
• Areas served: metro Atlanta, Rockdale County, Conyers, and statewide Georgia.
• Language: intake is available in English or Spanish.
• First consultation: The firm offers a free first consultation that is confidential, with no obligation to continue. (Spanish: consulta inicial gratuita, confidencial y sin compromiso.)

Common Questions About Wrongful Death Claims in Georgia

Georgia’s general deadline for actions for injuries to the person is two years after the right of action accrues § 9-3-33-2023-pdf.pdf)-2023-pdf.pdf)-2023-pdf.pdf).

Talk With Our Team About a Fatal Crash in Rockdale County

A family that lost someone in a crash on a Rockdale County road or in Conyers can talk with our intake team about its options and deadlines. Our team can walk through the crash facts and the rules above with you. You can request a case evaluation or chat with intake in English or Spanish.

Office: 3400 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia. Responsible attorney: Adanna Ugwonali.