What Type of Tort Is Wrongful Death in Georgia?

Wrongful death is a civil tort. A tort is a civil wrong that harms another person. A wrongful death claim asks a court for money damages after someone’s wrongful act or negligence causes a death. It is not a criminal charge. Families bring it, not the government.

If you are reading this, you may be grieving a loss you did not expect. You may also be trying to understand a legal process you did not choose. This guide explains the basics in plain language, using Georgia law, so you can understand the claim before you decide anything.

The Short Answer: Wrongful Death Is a Civil Tort

Wrongful death is a civil tort claim for money damages, brought by surviving family members. The claim exists because one person’s wrongful act or negligence caused another person’s death.

Many people search this question while still in shock. A death after a crash, a fall, or another preventable event can leave a family with hard questions. Who is responsible? What can the law do? The law treats the death as a civil wrong. It gives certain family members a way to seek compensation through the courts.

Georgia’s wrongful death rules are written into the state code. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, a surviving spouse may recover for the homicide of a spouse or parent. If there is no surviving spouse, a child or children may recover. The statute measures the recovery as the full value of the decedent’s life, as shown by the evidence.

What a Tort Is and Where Wrongful Death Fits

A tort is a civil wrong that causes harm to another person. When a tort causes injury or death, the injured person or the family can ask a court to award money damages.

Civil and criminal cases are different. A criminal case is brought by the government and can lead to punishment. A civil case is brought by a private person or family and asks for money. Civil cases use a lower standard of proof than criminal cases. Every claim depends on its own facts, and the evidence that supports those facts is an important part of the process.

Wrongful death sits inside personal injury law. Personal injury claims cover harm to a person. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, the surviving spouse or, if there is no surviving spouse, a child or children, either minor or sui juris, may recover for the homicide of the spouse or parent the full value of the life of the decedent, as shown by the evidence. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-2-41, an action for injury to the person does not abate by the death of either party. If there is no right of survivorship in any other person, it survives to the personal representative of the deceased plaintiff. Georgia’s wrongful death statute, O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, provides that a surviving spouse or, if there is no surviving spouse, a child or children may recover for the homicide of the spouse or parent the full value of the life of the decedent, as shown by the evidence.

Georgia law also keeps these claims alive. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-2-41, a claim for homicide or injury to the person does not end because either party dies. If the plaintiff dies and there is no right of survivorship in any other person, the claim can pass to a personal representative.

Negligence: The Most Common Basis for a Wrongful Death Claim

Yes, most wrongful death claims rest on negligence, though the law also recognizes other wrongs. Negligence means failing to use the care a reasonable person would use in the same situation.

The absence of that care is called ordinary negligence. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-6, when the law requires a person to perform an act for the benefit of another or to refrain from doing an act which may injure another, the injured party may recover for breach of that duty if they suffer damage.

Here are two examples. A truck driver who does not keep a proper lookout may cause a fatal collision. A property owner who fails to fix a known hazard may cause a visitor’s fatal fall. Georgia law says an owner or occupier who invites people onto the property must use ordinary care to keep the premises and approaches safe. See O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1.

Negligence is not automatic. Whether it can be shown depends on the facts, and the other side can dispute it. Georgia also reduces damages by the injured person’s share of fault. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, damages are reduced in proportion to fault. A person who is 50 percent or more responsible for the injury cannot recover damages.

Other Tort Theories That Can Lead to a Death Claim

Other tort theories can also support a death claim, depending on what happened. Tort law is broader than negligence. It includes intentional wrongs and some claims where a defect causes harm.

O.C.G.A. § 51-4-1(2) defines homicide to include deaths that result from a crime, from criminal or other negligence, or from property that was defectively manufactured. For property that has been defectively manufactured, the definition applies whether or not negligence was involved. See O.C.G.A. § 51-4-1(2). So a death tied to a defective product can fall within the statute.

The specific facts decide which theory fits. The theory also changes how the case is built. A negligence case focuses on what someone did or failed to do. A product case focuses on the product and how it was made. Waiting to learn which theory applies can let key evidence be lost. Photos, vehicle data, maintenance records, and witness names are worth keeping from the start.

Who Can Bring a Georgia Wrongful Death Claim

The surviving spouse usually brings the claim. If there is no surviving spouse, a child or children may bring it.

The surviving spouse receives no less than one-third of the recovery. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2(d), any amount recovered is equally divided, share and share alike, among the surviving spouse and the children per capita, and the descendants of children take per stirpes, with the surviving spouse’s share being no less than one-third of such recovery.

If no one is entitled to sue under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2 or § 51-4-4, the administrator or executor may bring the action for the next of kin, as provided in O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5(a). Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5, the personal representative may also recover funeral, medical, and other necessary expenses when a death results from a crime or from criminal or other negligence.

A Civil Claim Is Separate From Any Criminal Case

A wrongful death lawsuit does not depend on whether anyone is charged or convicted of a crime. The two tracks run separately, and each has its own goal.

Families often learn about a criminal case first. An arrest, a police report, or a court date may come before any civil filing. The criminal case aims at punishment by the government. The civil case seeks money damages for the family’s losses.

Timing matters. Georgia law can pause the civil filing clock while a criminal prosecution is pending. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99, that pause for a tort action tied to an alleged crime cannot exceed six years, except as provided in § 9-3-33.1. Families should not assume the clock is paused. The rules have limits and exceptions.

Common Situations That Lead to Wrongful Death Claims in Georgia

Wrongful death claims often arise from fatal truck crashes, fatal car crashes, and fatal falls on unsafe property. They can also follow catastrophic injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or spinal cord injuries. Our team’s work includes truck accidents, car accidents, premises liability, slip and fall, catastrophic injury, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and wrongful death.

Serious injuries often come before a death. A person may spend days or weeks receiving hospital care before they die. Spinal cord injuries can result from trauma or accidents, and their effects vary with the injury’s type and location, according to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.

The timeline matters. Medical records show when the injury happened, what treatment followed, and when the death occurred. Families who keep discharge papers, bills, and visit notes make that timeline easier to follow.

Wrongful death cases in metro Atlanta can be heard in civil courts.

Liability can be disputed. The other side may argue that someone else caused the death or that the person who died shared the fault. Those arguments are part of how these cases are decided.

If You Are Researching a Wrongful Death for a Family Member

If you are researching this for someone you love, you may be handling questions you never planned to face. You may be reading for a parent, spouse, or child who has died.

Our team can help you think through what happened and what the law allows. If you want to talk it through, our team offers a free, confidential first consultation, with no obligation to continue. Intake is available in English or Spanish. You can reach our intake team at the contact page.

Common Questions

This page is general information, not legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Results depend on the facts of each case, and no outcome is promised. Responsible lawyer: Adanna Ugwonali, Ugwonali Law Group, 3400 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia.