If you suffered injuries in a Georgia accident caused by someone else, you can pursue compensation for your losses. However, you may wonder whether the law caps the damages you can recover in a personal injury case. In Georgia, the law caps an injury victim’s compensation in only a few specific circumstances.

What Are the Different Types of Damages in a Personal Injury Case?

Damages in a Georgia personal injury claim generally fall under three categories: economic, non-economic, and punitive.

Economic Damages

Economic damages compensate an injury victim for the financial losses they incur because of their injuries. Some examples of financial expenses or losses that an injured party might seek compensation for include:

Medical bills and other treatment and rehabilitation expenses, including transportation costs to seek specialist care
Long-term care or support services that help an injury victim after suffering prolonged or permanent disabilities
Lost wages or income from missed work while recovering from injuries
Reduced earnings when medical restrictions require an injured person to transfer to a part-time or light-duty position, even temporarily
Lost future earning capacity and employment benefits if an injury victim becomes permanently disabled from their job or other kinds of work

An injured person can also seek compensation for property damage they incur in the accident that caused their injuries, such as a car accident.

In wrongful death cases, economic damages may compensate for a victim’s funeral and burial expenses and the loss of the services they provided to their family and household.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate an injured person for personal or emotional losses they suffer due to their injuries. These losses may include:

Physical pain and suffering caused by injuries or medical treatment, such as post-operative pain
Emotional trauma and distress from the accident and the subsequent recovery period
Lost enjoyment or quality of life caused by physical disabilities, permanent and visible scarring, disfigurement, or reduced life expectancy that results from injuries

Punitive Damages

Another type of damages that may have a cap is punitive damages, which do not compensate an injured victim. Instead, they punish the at-fault party for their reckless, egregious, or intentional behavior. Punitive damages also deter others from engaging in similar behavior.

Why Are Damage Caps Put in Place?

Advocates of damage caps in personal injury cases argue that caps help make the cost of doing business more manageable by lowering liability insurance premiums. They also say that a large number of personal injury cases can result in excessive verdicts. Several states have imposed damage caps in medical malpractice cases to reduce insurance premiums for healthcare providers and avoid discouraging people from the medical profession.

Does Georgia Have Any Damage Caps for Personal Injury Lawsuits?

Georgia currently has a cap only for punitive damages, limiting punitive damages awards to $250,000 per case. However, this cap does not apply to product liability cases or personal injury cases where the defendant specifically intended to cause harm or was intoxicated.

Georgia previously had a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. However, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the cap was unconstitutional, holding that the cap violated the constitutional right to trial by jury.

Are There Caps on Wrongful Death Claims in Georgia?

Georgia does not impose caps on wrongful death claims. In a wrongful death case, a deceased person’s surviving family members can recover compensation for the total value of their life.

Will Punitive Damages Always Be Awarded in a Personal Injury Case?

Few personal injury cases will involve a punitive damages award. Punitive damages punish behavior that shocks the public’s conscience. Cases involving ordinary negligence will not result in an award of punitive damages. Instead, Georgia’s punitive damages law states that juries may issue an award only in cases where a plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant engaged in willful misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or conscious indifference to consequences.

Does Georgia Have Any Caps on Cases Against the Government?

In addition to the cap on punitive damages, Georgia law also imposes a cap on damages awarded against the state government. An injured person can recover up to $1 million in a claim against the state government, with the state’s total liability for an accident capped at $3 million. The law also bars awards of punitive damages against the government.

The caps in cases against the government do not violate the constitutional right to a jury trial because the state government has sovereign immunity or immunity from civil lawsuits. The state must consent to a lawsuit or waive its sovereign immunity. Georgia has laws providing a limited waiver, allowing people to file specific types of claims against the state government and limiting the compensation they can recover in such claims.

Will My Claim Be Affected If I Was Partly to Blame for the Accident?

Under Georgia’s modified comparative negligence law, an injury victim who shares some blame for an accident and their resulting injuries may still seek compensation. However, the law prevents victims from recovering compensation in a personal injury claim if they are 50 percent or more at fault for an accident.

If an injury victim is less than 50 percent at fault, they can file a claim. Any responsibility a person has for causing their injuries can reduce their compensation in proportion to their percentage of fault, though. For example, if you seek $100,000 in damages, but a judge or jury finds you 25 percent responsible for the accident that injured you, you can recover up to $75,000.

Contact a Georgia Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have more questions about Georgia injury damages caps and what compensation you might recover in a personal injury claim, contact Spiva Law Group for a free, no-obligation consultation. A knowledgeable Georgia personal injury attorney can help you understand your legal rights and options for seeking compensation.