The phrase full value of the life of the decedent appears throughout Georgia wrongful death law. It is the measuring stick the law uses to decide how much a wrongful death claim is worth. The phrase is more than legal shorthand. It reflects a deliberate choice by Georgia about how to value a human life that has been lost, and it sets Georgia apart from many other states. This guide explains where the phrase comes from, what it includes, and how it is applied.
Where the Phrase Comes From
Georgia’s wrongful death law is found in Chapter 4 of Title 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The definitions section, O.C.G.A. 51-4-1, defines the term. Under that section, the full value of the life of the decedent, as shown by the evidence, means the full value of the life of the deceased person without deducting for any of the necessary or personal expenses of the deceased person had the person lived.
That definition does two things. It establishes that the measure is the value of the life itself, and it expressly forbids subtracting what the deceased person would have spent on personal needs. Both points are important and both make Georgia’s approach distinctive.
A Measure Focused on the Decedent
Many states measure wrongful death damages by what the survivors lost, such as lost financial support or the survivors’ own grief. Georgia takes a different path. Georgia’s measure is the value of the life of the person who died, viewed from that person’s perspective. The question is not only what the family lost in a narrow financial sense. The question is the worth of the entire life that was cut short.
This decedent focused measure is why the recovery is described as belonging to the value of the life, even though the money is ultimately distributed to the surviving family members in the order Georgia law sets.
The Two Components of Full Value
Georgia courts have long read the full value of a life as containing two parts.
The first part is the economic value. This is the financial side of the life, including the income, earnings, and benefits the deceased person would reasonably have produced over the remainder of an expected lifetime. Evidence about the person’s work history, earning capacity, and life expectancy bears on this component.
The second part is the intangible value. This is everything about the life that is not measured in money. It includes the person’s relationships with family and friends, the enjoyment of ordinary daily life, hobbies and interests, the role the person played within a family, and the experiences and milestones the person will never reach. Georgia juries are permitted to consider these intangible elements as a genuine and substantial part of the value of the life.
Georgia is among a relatively small group of states that allows juries to assign value to the intangible enjoyment of life in this way. In states that limit wrongful death recovery to financial losses, the intangible component would not be available. Georgia’s full value standard expressly makes room for it.
No Deduction for Personal Expenses
The definition in O.C.G.A. 51-4-1 specifically prohibits deducting the deceased person’s necessary or personal expenses. In practical terms, this means the calculation generally does not subtract what the person would have spent on food, housing, clothing, and other personal consumption.
This is another way Georgia differs from many other jurisdictions. Some states reduce the economic figure by the amount the deceased person would have consumed personally, on the theory that those amounts would never have reached the survivors. Georgia rejects that deduction by statute. The result is that the economic component reflects the full productive value of the life rather than a reduced net figure. Georgia courts have also recognized that the calculation generally is not reduced for income taxes.
The Role of the Jury
The full value of a life is, by its nature, not a precise mathematical figure, especially as to the intangible component. Georgia leaves the valuation to the jury. The jury hears the evidence about the deceased person’s life, earnings, relationships, and circumstances, and then exercises its judgment, guided by the enlightened conscience of fair and impartial jurors, to arrive at the full value. There is no fixed formula for the intangible portion, and outside of defined situations such as claims against government entities, Georgia does not place a general statutory cap on it.
How It Relates to the Estate Claim
The full value of the life of the deceased person is the measure for the wrongful death claim itself. It is separate from the estate claim, sometimes called the survival claim, which belongs to the deceased person’s estate and is brought by the personal representative. The estate claim can include the deceased person’s medical expenses, funeral and burial costs, and conscious pain and suffering before death. Those categories are not part of the full value measure. The two claims address different harms and exist alongside one another.
Conclusion
Under Georgia wrongful death law, the full value of the life of the decedent is the value of the entire life that was lost, measured from the deceased person’s perspective and defined in O.C.G.A. 51-4-1. It has an economic component, covering the income and benefits the person would have produced, and an intangible component, covering relationships, the enjoyment of life, and the experiences that were lost. Georgia does not deduct the deceased person’s personal expenses from the figure, and it entrusts the valuation, particularly of the intangible portion, to the jury. The standard reflects Georgia’s choice to value the whole of a human life rather than only its financial output.
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.
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