How Does Georgia’s 50% Comparative Fault Rule Work?
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If you are partly responsible for your own injury, the jury sets your percentage of fault and the judge reduces your damages by that percentage (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33(a)). If your share is 50 percent or more, you recover nothing: under § 51-12-33(g), “the plaintiff shall not be entitled to receive any damages if the plaintiff is 50 percent or more responsible for the injury or damages claimed”. At 49 percent you still recover 51 percent of your damages; at 50 percent you recover zero.
The two steps
- Reduction. Under subsection (a), the trier of fact “shall determine the percentage of fault of the plaintiff and the judge shall reduce the amount of damages otherwise awarded to the plaintiff in proportion to his or her percentage of fault”.
- The bar. Subsection (g) applies “notwithstanding the provisions of this Code section or any other provisions of law which might be construed to the contrary”.
Worked examples
All three assume total damages of $100,000.
| Your share of fault | Calculation | You recover |
|---|---|---|
| 30 percent | $100,000 minus 30 percent ($30,000) | $70,000 |
| 49 percent | $100,000 minus 49 percent ($49,000) | $51,000 |
| 50 percent | Barred by § 51-12-33(g) | $0 |
The step from 49 to 50 percent changes the result from $51,000 to nothing, so in a close case the plaintiff’s percentage can decide the whole claim.
Where the rule reaches
- Wrongful death. The decedent’s own share of fault is measured the same way; see how the deceased person’s own fault affects a wrongful death claim.
- Seat belts. For cases commenced on or after April 21, 2025, failure to wear a seat belt may be considered on comparative negligence and apportionment, subject to the court’s evidence rulings; see whether not wearing a seatbelt can be used against you.
- Avoidable consequences. Separately, § 51-11-7 provides that if the plaintiff “by ordinary care could have avoided the consequences to himself caused by the defendant’s negligence, he is not entitled to recover”.
How the remaining fault is divided among several defendants and nonparties is explained in how damages are divided among multiple defendants.
Evidence that moves your percentage
- The police report and any citations issued.
- Photographs, video, and vehicle event data showing speed, braking, and position.
- Witness statements about what each person did in the seconds before the injury.
- Any expert reconstruction of how the crash or fall happened.
Sources
- O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 (text as published March 2024); § 51-11-7 (text as published in October 2016 on a mirror site; no amendment recorded in the 2022 to 2026 legislative summaries).
General information about Georgia law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.