What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Wrongful Death Claim in Georgia?

Georgia generally gives families two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim. Two wrinkles make this deadline less simple than it looks. A pending criminal case can pause the clock, and the wrongful death claim runs on a separate track from the estate’s own claim, with its own timing. This guide covers the two-year rule, when the clock starts, how criminal prosecution tolling works (and its limits), and how the wrongful death claim sits alongside the estate claim.

The Two-Year Rule

A wrongful death action in Georgia is governed by the same two-year limitations period that applies to personal injury under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. The claim must generally be brought within two years.

The number is the same as an ordinary injury claim. What differs is the event that starts it.

When the Clock Starts: the Date of Death

The two-year period runs from the date of death, not the date of the injury that caused it. This matters when a person survives for a time after the underlying incident. If someone is hurt in a collision and dies weeks or months later, the wrongful death clock starts on the day of death, not the day of the crash. The gap between injury and death effectively shifts the filing window forward.

Criminal Prosecution Tolling

When a death results from a crime, Georgia law can pause the limitations clock while a criminal case is pending. The tolling statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99, suspends the running of the period for a tort claim arising from a crime “until the prosecution of such crime or act has become final or otherwise terminated,” capped so “that such time does not exceed six years.”

A few practical points follow. The triggering “crime” does not require criminal intent. Georgia courts have treated even traffic violations as qualifying, which means many fatal collisions can fall within the statute. And the tolling is capped at six years, after which the two-year period proceeds.

There is an important limit, and it is easy to miss. Georgia courts have held that the tolling statute protects the claim “brought by the victim of an alleged crime.” A wrongful death claim is brought by surviving family members, not the deceased victim, so some courts have treated wrongful death and survivor claims as falling outside § 9-3-99’s tolling in certain situations. This is a contested and fact-specific area. The takeaway is not to assume a criminal case automatically buys more time on a wrongful death claim, but to treat the two-year-from-death deadline as the safe one to plan around.

How It Interacts With the Estate’s Claim

A death can produce two separate claims, and they are not the same lawsuit. The wrongful death claim compensates surviving family members for the loss of the deceased’s life. The estate’s claim is different: it can seek things like funeral expenses and the pain and suffering the deceased experienced before death.

The estate claim has its own timing features. Georgia law can toll the period during which an estate has no appointed personal representative, up to a limit, under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92. Because the two claims can run on different timelines and compensate different losses, families sometimes pursue one without the other, or both together. The detailed split between the two is its own subject, but the timing point here is that the wrongful death deadline and the estate-claim deadline are not interchangeable.

Key Takeaways

A Georgia wrongful death claim generally must be filed within two years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33).
The clock runs from the date of death, not the date of the underlying injury.
A pending criminal prosecution can toll the period up to six years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99, but courts have questioned whether that tolling reaches wrongful death claims, so it should not be assumed.
The wrongful death claim and the estate’s claim are separate, with separate timing rules.

This article provides general information about Georgia law and is not legal advice. Statutes and court decisions change, and how the law applies depends on the specific facts of a situation. For advice about a particular matter, consult a licensed Georgia attorney.