Recent GeorgiaNews
Eight ideas for the 2011 Legislature
The General Assembly gathers this week facing a deficit of well over $1 billion. Across-the-board budget cuts are no longer sufficient to bridge the budget gap. Georgia needs more innovative, transformative ideas. The budget would appear to limit the state’s options,...
Ga. court upholds key medical malpractice changes
A sharply divided Georgia Supreme Court on Monday upheld a key part of a sweeping 2005 law that made it more difficult for patients to win medical malpractice cases involving emergency health care providers. The court's 4-3 ruling was a blow to plaintiff's attorneys...
Ga. court upholds key medical malpractice changes
A sharply divided Georgia Supreme Court on Monday upheld a key part of a sweeping 2005 law that made it more difficult for patients to win medical malpractice cases involving emergency health care providers. The court's 4-3 ruling was a blow to plaintiff's attorneys...
Current Medical Liability Laws
| Damage Caps | $250,000 cap on punitive damages. (1992) $350,000 cap on non-economic damages for a judgment against all health care provider(s); additional $350,000 cap on non- economic damages for a judgment against a single health care facility; $350,000 cap on non-economic damages for a judgment against multiple health care facilities. Maximum total award of non- economic damages is $1.05 million. (2005) (Ruled unconstitutional Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery PC v. Nestlehutt, March 2010) |
| Joint Liability Reform | Yes. Defendants are responsible only for their proportionate share of negligence. If the plaintiff is to some degree responsible for the injury or damages claimed, the judge must first decrease the damages based on the plaintiff’s degree of fault. |
| Collateral Source Reform | No |
| Attorney Fees Limited | No |
| Periodic Payments Permitted | Upon the request of either party, the court must establish a schedule of payments for future damages exceeding $350,000. |