What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Wrongful Death Claim in Georgia?
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A Georgia wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within two years, counted from the date of death rather than the date of the injury (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). A pending criminal case does not extend that deadline for the family: the Court of Appeals held in 2022 that relatives who sue for the death are not “victims” under the crime-victim tolling statute.
Two claims, two timing rules
A death can produce two lawsuits that are filed together but timed separately:
| Wrongful death claim | Estate claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who brings it | Surviving spouse, children, parents, or a personal representative, in the order set by statute | The estate's personal representative (§ 9-2-41) |
| What it recovers | The full value of the life of the person who died | What the person could have recovered had they lived: pre-death pain and suffering, medical bills, and funeral expenses |
| Base deadline | 2 years from the date of death | For the person's own injury claim, 2 years from the date of injury |
| Gap with no estate representative | Not relevant | Up to 5 years between death and appointment "shall not be counted against his estate" (§ 9-3-92) |
| Crime-victim tolling (§ 9-3-99) | Does not apply (Hicks, 2022) | Not decided by Hicks; the estate claims in that case were not dismissed |
Who may file the wrongful death claim, and in what order, is explained in who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia. How the two claims differ in substance is covered in wrongful death versus the estate’s claim.
Why the date of death matters
When a person survives for a time after an injury, the two claims start on different days. Imagine, for example, a crash on March 1 and a death on May 15. The family’s wrongful death claim runs two years from May 15. The estate’s claim for the person’s own injuries started on March 1, because it is the injured person’s claim carried forward by the estate.
What a criminal case does and does not change
Section 9-3-99 tolls “any cause of action in tort that may be brought by the victim of an alleged crime” until the prosecution “has become final or otherwise terminated, provided that such time does not exceed six years”. Two decisions define its reach:
- Traffic offenses count as crimes. In Beneke v. Parker (2009), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that a violation of a rule of the road, there following too closely, is a misdemeanor and falls within § 9-3-99, so an injured passenger’s claim was tolled until the citation was resolved. No finding of criminal intent is required.
- The family is not “the victim”. In Hicks v. Universal Health Services, Inc. (2022), parents of children killed in a shooting sued more than two years after the deaths. The Court of Appeals read “victim” in its ordinary sense, the person acted on: “the crime at issue here is murder, and the parents have not been murdered”. Their wrongful death claims were untimely. In a footnote, the court said it “would be better policy” to include such families, but that under the current text “this is a remedy that must be afforded by the legislature”.
The practical rule: the wrongful death deadline is two years from death even while a prosecution is pending, and even when a criminal trial will take longer than that. Where the only person entitled to bring the claim is a child, calendar the two-year date anyway, and check against current Georgia decisions whether § 9-3-90, the tolling statute for minors, extends it. The broader question of suing after a criminal killing, including who besides the perpetrator can be sued, is in filing a wrongful death lawsuit after a criminal death.
When the estate has no representative
Appointing someone to administer the estate can take time. Section 9-3-92 keeps that gap, up to five years, from counting against the estate, and adds that “at the expiration of the five years the limitation shall commence, even if the cause of action accrued after the person’s death”. The provision speaks to the estate; it does not appear in the wrongful death rules. It also does not extend the five-year medical malpractice repose: in Simmons v. Sonyika (2005), an estate left unrepresented for 344 days could not add that time to the repose period.
Deadlines that arrive before the two years
- Government defendants. A claim against a city requires written notice within 6 months of the event, and the time is not extended for a minor; counties and the state have 12-month notice rules. See Georgia ante litem notice deadlines.
- Medical malpractice deaths. A death caused by malpractice is also subject to the five-year repose in § 9-3-71(b), measured from the negligent act.
Sources
- O.C.G.A. §§ 9-2-41, 9-3-33, 9-3-71, 9-3-90, 9-3-92, 9-3-99 (§ 9-3-92 text as published in October 2016 on a mirror site; no amendment recorded in the 2022 to 2026 legislative summaries).
- Beneke v. Parker, 285 Ga. 733 (2009)
- Simmons v. Sonyika, 279 Ga. 378 (2005)
- Hicks v. Universal Health Services, Inc., 364 Ga. App. 769 (2022)
General information about Georgia law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.