A criminal acquittal does not prevent a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia. A criminal prosecution and a civil wrongful death action are separate proceedings with different parties, different purposes, and, importantly, different standards of proof. Because of these differences, a person who is found not guilty in a criminal case can still be held legally responsible for the same death in a civil wrongful death case.
Two Separate Types of Cases
A criminal case is brought by the government, through a prosecutor, on behalf of the public. Its purpose is to determine whether a person committed a crime and, if so, to impose punishment such as imprisonment or fines. The defendant in a criminal case faces the loss of liberty.
A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil case. It is brought by surviving family members under Georgia’s Wrongful Death Act, found at O.C.G.A. Sections 51-4-1 through 51-4-6. Its purpose is not to punish but to provide compensation for the loss caused by a death. Under O.C.G.A. Section 51-4-2, the surviving spouse holds the right to bring the claim, and if there is no surviving spouse, the right passes to the children, with the right resting elsewhere if there is neither.
Because these are distinct proceedings, the outcome of one does not automatically control the other. The government’s decision to prosecute, and the result of that prosecution, are separate from the family’s independent civil right to seek compensation.
The Difference in the Burden of Proof
The central reason an acquittal does not bar a wrongful death lawsuit is the difference in the standard of proof.
In a criminal case, the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the highest standard in the legal system, and it reflects the seriousness of a criminal conviction and the liberty at stake.
In a civil wrongful death case, the plaintiff must prove the claim by a preponderance of the evidence. This standard requires showing that it is more likely than not, meaning more than a fifty percent likelihood, that the defendant’s conduct caused the death. It is a lower standard than the criminal standard.
An acquittal means only that the prosecution did not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It does not establish that the defendant was uninvolved or that the conduct did not occur. A jury in a civil case, applying the lower preponderance standard, can find a defendant responsible for the same death even after a criminal jury declined to convict. The two results are not contradictory because they answer different questions under different standards.
Wrongful Death Does Not Require a Crime
A wrongful death claim in Georgia does not depend on the existence of a crime at all. The Wrongful Death Act allows recovery when a death is caused by a wrongful act, which includes ordinary negligence. Many wrongful death cases arise from conduct that is negligent rather than criminal, such as a careless driver or a negligent property owner. Because the civil claim is grounded in wrongful conduct broadly, and not in criminal guilt, a criminal proceeding is not a prerequisite, and its absence or its outcome does not control the civil claim.
What an Acquittal Generally Does Not Do
An acquittal in a criminal case does not, as a general matter, prevent the civil case from going forward or bind the civil jury. Georgia law treats the proceedings as separate, and the civil case is decided on its own evidence under its own standard. Evidence presented in the criminal trial may or may not be admissible in the civil case under the rules of evidence, but the verdict of acquittal itself does not resolve the civil claim.
It is worth noting that a criminal conviction, the opposite outcome, can have a different effect. Because a conviction is reached under the higher beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard, it may carry weight in a related civil case. An acquittal, reached only as a failure to meet that higher standard, does not carry the same effect.
Timing and the Statute of Limitations
A wrongful death claim is generally subject to a two-year statute of limitations under O.C.G.A. Section 9-3-33, ordinarily measured from the date of death. When a related criminal prosecution is pending, O.C.G.A. Section 9-3-99 may toll, or pause, the running of the limitations period for the civil tort claim until the prosecution concludes, subject to a cap of six additional years. This tolling provision recognizes that a criminal case and a civil case can proceed on different timelines, and it can preserve the civil claim while the criminal matter is resolved.
Conclusion
A criminal acquittal does not prevent a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia. The two proceedings are separate, they serve different purposes, and they apply different burdens of proof. A criminal acquittal means only that guilt was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, while a wrongful death claim requires proof only by a preponderance of the evidence. A wrongful death claim also does not require a crime at all, since it can be based on negligence. As a result, a person found not guilty in a criminal case may still be held civilly responsible for the same death, and the family’s right to pursue a wrongful death claim remains independent of the criminal outcome.
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.