If a medical error in Atlanta has left you with new medical bills, lost income, or a permanent injury, you may be asking what a malpractice claim can recover. Our Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer can document each category of loss and explain how Georgia law applies to your case. Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers prepared this guide to explain the types of damages available and the current rules that affect them.
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover the financial losses an injury causes. They can include:
- Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, rehabilitation, therapy, and medication
- Long-term care, home health services, and equipment
- Lost wages during recovery
- Reduced ability to earn in the future
These losses are proven through bills, employment records, and testimony about future needs. For a permanent brain injury, a life care planner may project the cost of care for decades, and an economist may calculate its present value. In birth injury claims, those projections can cover a child’s entire lifetime.
Georgia changed how medical expenses are presented in 2025. Under Senate Bill 68, signed April 21, 2025, a jury may consider both the amounts a provider charged and the amounts actually needed to satisfy those charges under the patient’s health insurance. That rule applies to causes of action arising on or after April 21, 2025.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate for losses that do not come with a receipt. They can include:
- Physical pain and emotional distress
- Disfigurement and physical impairment
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- A spouse’s loss of consortium
Senate Bill 68 also changed how these damages are argued at trial. Attorneys may suggest a dollar amount only after the close of evidence, and the amount must be rationally related to the evidence of non-economic damages. The law regulates how the amount is argued. It does not set a limit on what a jury may award.
Does Georgia Cap Non-Economic Damages?
Georgia’s 2005 tort reform law, O.C.G.A. § 51-13-1, set a $350,000 limit on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. In 2010, the Georgia Supreme Court held in Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. v. Nestlehutt that applying the limit to damages for pain and suffering and loss of consortium violates the Georgia Constitution’s right to trial by jury.
The court revisited the issue in Clark v. Leigh, decided June 16, 2026. The court reaffirmed Nestlehutt and held that the statutory cap cannot be applied to a verdict that includes damages for the patient’s pain and suffering. The court did not decide whether the cap could apply to wrongful death damages awarded on their own. That question remains open, and the opinion is subject to revision before its final publication.
In practical terms, the $350,000 cap cannot currently be applied to a verdict that includes pain and suffering damages. Whether any limit affects a particular case depends on the claims and damages involved.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are not compensation. Their purpose is to punish or deter a defendant. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1, they may be awarded only when clear and convincing evidence shows willful misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or an entire want of care that raises a presumption of conscious indifference to consequences.
Most malpractice claims involve negligence, which does not meet that standard. In the tort actions the statute does not otherwise address, punitive damages are generally limited to $250,000. The statute sets out limited exceptions to that limit. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the $250,000 limit in 2023 for a case without allegations of intentional misconduct, as the Clark v. Leigh opinion explains.
How Damages Work in Wrongful Death Cases
When a patient dies, Georgia law recognizes two separate claims:
- The wrongful death claim. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, the surviving spouse, or the children if there is no spouse, may recover the full value of the life of the person who died.
- The estate’s claim. The estate may recover the patient’s medical expenses and the conscious pain and suffering the patient experienced before death. In Clark v. Leigh, the jury awarded damages on both claims.
The two claims are brought by different parties, even though they arise from the same medical care. Families pursuing a wrongful death claim generally must file within two years of the death, as explained in our guide to Georgia filing deadlines. Our article on anesthesia wrongful death claims looks at how these claims arise after surgery.
Proving and Paying for Damages
Damages are the final element of a malpractice claim, and they must be proven with evidence. Our guide to proving a malpractice claim explains how damages fit with duty, breach, and causation. Documenting future losses often requires life care planners, economists, and treating physicians, which adds to the cost of a case. Our guide to how contingency fees work explains how those costs are typically handled.
Talk With Our Attorneys About Your Losses
Continue any medical care you need and follow the advice of a treating physician about your health. This guide explains general legal rules. The damages available in your case depend on its facts, and no outcome can be promised.
Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers represents patients and families in Atlanta and nearby communities, including Stonecrest. Contact us to schedule a free consultation and have our attorneys review your losses.
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