A wrongful death claim against a hospital in Georgia raises a question that does not arise with a purely private hospital: whether the hospital is a government-connected entity protected by some form of immunity. Many hospitals in Georgia are operated by or affiliated with public entities known as hospital authorities. Whether and how such a hospital can be sued for wrongful death depends on how the entity is organized and operated. This guide explains the legal framework that applies.
Hospital Authorities in Georgia
Georgia has a statutory framework, often called the Hospital Authorities Law, that allows counties and municipalities to create hospital authorities. A hospital authority is a public body that can own and operate hospitals and related health care facilities. Many Georgia community hospitals trace their ownership to a county or regional hospital authority.
Because a hospital authority is a public entity, claims against it implicate the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity is the principle that government and its instrumentalities cannot be sued unless immunity has been waived. In Georgia, sovereign immunity has constitutional status, and a waiver generally must come from a statute or a constitutional provision.
How Immunity Applies to Hospital Authorities
The treatment of hospital authorities under Georgia’s immunity rules has some important features.
The Georgia Tort Claims Act waives sovereign immunity, within limits, for tort claims against the State of Georgia and its departments and agencies. That Act, however, does not cover local government entities. The Tort Claims Act expressly excludes counties, municipalities, school districts, hospital authorities, and other local authorities from its waiver. As a result, a hospital authority cannot be sued under the State Tort Claims Act, and the route to recovery against a state agency does not apply to it.
This does not mean a hospital authority is always entirely beyond suit. Georgia courts have addressed the immunity of hospital authorities, and the analysis can turn on the nature of the function involved and on how the facility is operated. One recurring and significant distinction concerns whether the hospital is operated directly by the authority or instead through a separate private nonprofit corporation.
The Significance of Operation Through a Private Corporation
Many facilities connected to a hospital authority are actually operated day to day by a separate nonprofit corporation rather than by the authority itself. Georgia case law has recognized that this structure matters.
The Georgia Supreme Court addressed this issue in Thomas v. Hospital Authority of Clarke County. When a hospital is owned by a public hospital authority but is leased to and operated by a private nonprofit corporation, that private operating corporation does not receive the sovereign immunity that the authority itself might claim. A private corporation operating the hospital can be subject to ordinary tort liability, including wrongful death claims based on negligence or medical malpractice, in the same way other private health care providers can.
The practical consequence is that the question “can you sue a Georgia public hospital for wrongful death” often turns on identifying the correct legal entity. If the negligent care was provided by a private operating corporation, that corporation may be a proper defendant subject to normal liability rules. If the authority itself is the operator and is acting in a capacity protected by sovereign immunity, the analysis is different and more restrictive.
Other Public and Quasi-Public Hospitals
Not every government-connected hospital in Georgia is a county hospital authority. Some hospitals are connected to the state, for example through a state university or a state department. A claim against a hospital that is genuinely a state entity would fall under the Georgia Tort Claims Act, which has its own waiver, its own monetary limits, and its own pre-suit notice requirements.
Federal facilities, such as a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital located in Georgia, are governed by federal law, particularly the Federal Tort Claims Act, rather than by Georgia’s immunity statutes. That federal framework has its own administrative claim process and deadlines.
Because of these overlapping systems, the identity and legal character of the hospital is the central question in determining whether and how a wrongful death claim may proceed.
Procedural Requirements for Government-Connected Hospitals
When a hospital is a government entity rather than a private operator, special pre-suit procedures may apply.
If the hospital is part of a city or county, ante litem notice requirements may apply, with deadlines of six months for municipalities and twelve months for counties. If the hospital is a state entity under the Tort Claims Act, that Act’s separate notice rules and deadlines apply.
A wrongful death claim arising from hospital care often involves medical malpractice allegations. Georgia imposes additional procedural requirements on professional negligence claims, including the requirement under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1 that the complaint be accompanied by an expert affidavit setting out at least one negligent act or omission. Georgia generally applies a two-year statute of limitations to wrongful death claims under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, and medical malpractice claims are subject to their own limitation and repose provisions. The interaction of these rules can be nuanced.
Conclusion
A Georgia public hospital can sometimes be sued for wrongful death, but the answer depends heavily on how the hospital is organized. Hospital authorities are local public entities and are excluded from the Georgia Tort Claims Act, so claims against the authority itself implicate sovereign immunity. However, where a facility owned by a hospital authority is operated by a separate private nonprofit corporation, Georgia case law, including Thomas v. Hospital Authority of Clarke County, holds that the private operator does not enjoy that immunity and may be subject to ordinary wrongful death liability. State hospitals fall under the Tort Claims Act, and federal hospitals fall under federal law. Identifying the correct entity is the starting point for determining whether a claim may proceed and what procedures apply.
Disclaimer
This article is provided strictly for general educational and informational purposes. It is intended to explain how Georgia law works as a matter of public legal education, and it does not constitute legal advice, a legal opinion, or a recommendation about any particular course of action. Reading this article, or contacting the website on which it appears, does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and any law firm, attorney, or author.
The law changes over time. Statutes, regulations, court rules, and judicial decisions discussed here may have been amended, repealed, superseded, or reinterpreted after the date of publication, and citations to specific code sections or cases reflect the law only as it was understood when this article was written. The application of any legal principle also depends heavily on the specific facts and circumstances of an individual matter, and outcomes vary from case to case.
For these reasons, no one should rely on this article as a substitute for advice from a licensed Georgia attorney who can review the particular facts involved. The author and publisher make no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or applicability of the information provided, and disclaim any liability for any action taken or not taken based on this content.