When a resident of a nursing home or long-term care facility dies, and the death was caused by the facility’s negligent, reckless, or wrongful conduct, Georgia law allows a wrongful death claim to be brought. A nursing home is not exempt from the Georgia Wrongful Death Act. Like any other person or entity, a facility can be held legally responsible when its conduct causes a death.
This guide explains how Georgia wrongful death law applies to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
The Legal Basis for a Claim Against a Facility
A wrongful death claim against a nursing home arises under the Georgia Wrongful Death Act, O.C.G.A. Sections 51-4-1 through 51-4-5. The Act applies whenever a person dies because of the wrongful act, negligence, or default of another. A corporate entity that operates a nursing home is among the parties that can be subject to such a claim.
A nursing home wrongful death case generally rests on the idea that the facility owed a duty of care to its resident, that the facility breached that duty, and that the breach caused the resident’s death. The legal theory may be framed as ordinary negligence, as professional negligence, or as a combination, depending on the nature of the conduct involved.
The Duty of Care Owed to Residents
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities owe their residents a duty of reasonable care. For professional staff providing skilled nursing or medical services, the standard is generally measured by the degree of care and skill ordinarily exercised by similar facilities and similarly trained professionals under similar circumstances.
Georgia facilities are also subject to state licensing rules and regulations, and facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid are subject to federal regulations under the Nursing Home Reform Act, which is part of OBRA 1987. Those federal rules require participating facilities to help each resident attain or maintain the highest practicable level of physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being. A violation of these state or federal standards does not automatically establish civil liability, but it can serve as evidence relevant to whether the facility met the required standard of care.
Conduct That May Support a Claim
A wrongful death claim against a nursing home can arise from many kinds of conduct. Examples that are commonly described in this area include failure to provide adequate medical care or supervision, neglect of basic needs such as nutrition, hydration, or hygiene, failure to prevent or treat pressure injuries, medication errors, failure to protect residents from falls or from harm by others, and abuse by staff. Inadequate staffing, poor training, or failure to follow care plans can also be relevant. The central question is whether the facility’s conduct fell below the applicable standard of care and caused the resident’s death.
Negligence Versus Medical Malpractice
Some claims against a nursing home are treated as ordinary negligence, while others are treated as professional negligence, sometimes called medical malpractice. The distinction matters because Georgia imposes additional procedural requirements for professional negligence claims, including the requirement under O.C.G.A. Section 9-11-9.1 that the plaintiff file an expert affidavit setting out at least one negligent act or omission. Whether a particular nursing home claim is classified as ordinary or professional negligence depends on the specific conduct at issue, and a single case can involve both types of claims.
Who May Bring the Claim
The wrongful death claim itself is brought according to the order of priority in O.C.G.A. Section 51-4-2. The surviving spouse has the primary right to bring the claim, followed by the decedent’s children if there is no surviving spouse, then the decedent’s parents, and finally the estate representative if there is no surviving spouse, child, or parent. A separate estate claim under O.C.G.A. Section 51-4-5, covering the decedent’s medical expenses, funeral expenses, and any conscious pain and suffering, is brought by the administrator or executor of the estate.
Damages
Georgia measures wrongful death damages by the full value of the life of the decedent, which includes both an economic component and an intangible, non-economic component. The full value of the life is measured from the decedent’s perspective and is not limited to financial dependency. The separate estate claim addresses medical expenses, funeral and burial expenses, and pre-death pain and suffering. Georgia does not impose a general statutory cap on these damages. A prior statutory cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases was struck down by the Georgia Supreme Court and has not been reinstated.
Arbitration Agreements
Many nursing home admission documents contain arbitration agreements. Such an agreement may direct certain disputes to private arbitration rather than to a courtroom. Whether an arbitration agreement is enforceable, and whether it reaches a wrongful death claim brought by survivors who did not personally sign it, are issues that courts examine based on the language of the agreement and the governing law. The presence of an arbitration clause does not eliminate the underlying right to pursue a wrongful death claim; it may affect the forum in which the claim is resolved.
The Filing Deadline
A wrongful death claim against a nursing home is generally subject to Georgia’s two-year statute of limitations under O.C.G.A. Section 9-3-33, measured from the date of death. Professional negligence claims and estate claims can involve additional timing rules, and Georgia also imposes an outer limit known as a statute of repose for certain medical malpractice claims. The interaction of these deadlines depends on how a particular claim is classified.
Summary
A nursing home can be sued for wrongful death in Georgia when its negligent, reckless, or wrongful conduct causes the death of a resident. The claim arises under the Georgia Wrongful Death Act and rests on the facility’s breach of the duty of care owed to residents, informed by state licensing rules and federal nursing home regulations. Claims may be framed as ordinary or professional negligence, with professional negligence claims carrying an expert affidavit requirement. Survivors bring the claim in the statutory order of priority, damages are measured by the full value of the life, and the action is generally subject to a two-year statute of limitations, with arbitration agreements potentially affecting the forum.
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.