Malpractice Damages Cap FAQs

Medical malpractice wrongful death cases require specialized knowledge, substantial resources, and the willingness to go up against well-funded hospital systems and insurance companies. At HBLG Law, we stay current on every development in Georgia wrongful death law — including rulings like Blasingame v. Cayamcela — so that we can build the strongest possible case for your family. Experience and preparation make a real difference in outcomes.

We handle wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing upfront and owe no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for your family. You can focus on grieving and healing while we focus on fighting for the justice your family deserves.

Georgia law measures wrongful death damages by the “full value of the life” of the deceased — which includes both economic contributions (earning capacity, household services) and noneconomic elements (the value of the person’s life to themselves and their family). Juries weigh many factors, including the deceased’s age, health, relationships, career, and life expectancy. With damages caps increasingly unenforceable, juries now have greater freedom to award compensation that truly reflects the magnitude of the loss.

Under Georgia’s Wrongful Death Act, the right to bring a claim belongs first to the surviving spouse. If there is no surviving spouse, the right passes to surviving children. If there are no children, the deceased’s parents may bring the claim. In some circumstances, the administrator of the estate may also bring certain claims on behalf of the estate itself.

In Georgia, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim is generally two years from the date of the deceased person’s death. Missing this deadline can permanently bar your family from recovering any compensation, regardless of how strong your case is. Contact an attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights.

Noneconomic damages are the non-financial losses that result from a loved one’s death. In Georgia wrongful death cases, these can include:

• Pain and suffering experienced by the deceased before death
• Loss of consortium — the loss of companionship, love, and support suffered by a spouse
• Loss of society and relationships suffered by surviving children or parents
• Emotional distress of surviving family members

These damages are separate from economic damages like lost wages, medical bills, and funeral expenses, which are not subject to caps.

Not entirely — but this ruling significantly weakens their enforceability. The Rockdale County Superior Court found Georgia Code Section 51-13-1 unenforceable on six independent grounds in this case. While this is a trial court ruling (not yet a Supreme Court decision), it is a powerful, well-reasoned order that defense attorneys will have difficulty overcoming. The legal trajectory in Georgia has been moving against damages caps since the Supreme Court’s Nestlehutt decision in 2010, and this ruling continues that trend.

Medical malpractice wrongful death cases are among the most complex in Georgia civil litigation. The stakes are high, the legal landscape is constantly evolving, and defense attorneys and insurance companies will use every available tool to minimize what your family recovers.

At HBLG Law, we represent families who have suffered the unimaginable loss of a loved one due to medical negligence. Our attorneys stay at the forefront of developments like the Blasingame v. Cayamcela ruling so that we can maximize the value of your claim and protect your rights at every stage of litigation.

If you have lost a family member due to medical malpractice, contact HBLG Law today for a free consultation. Time limits apply to wrongful death claims in Georgia, so it is important to act quickly.

Medical malpractice wrongful death cases arise when a healthcare provider’s negligence causes a patient’s death. Common causes include:

• Surgical errors
• Failure to diagnose cancer or other serious conditions
• Medication errors
• Anesthesia mistakes
• Hospital-acquired infections from negligent care
• Failure to monitor or respond to deteriorating patient conditions

The families left behind — spouses, children, parents — are entitled to seek compensation not just for financial losses, but for the profound noneconomic harm of losing a loved one.

This ruling is significant for Georgia families pursuing medical malpractice wrongful death claims for several reasons:

• Higher potential verdicts. Without an enforceable cap, juries can award the full measure of noneconomic damages they believe is appropriate — unconstrained by an arbitrary statutory ceiling.
• Defense tactics may be challenged. Defendants who try to invoke the cap late in litigation, as happened here, may find the argument waived.
• The constitutional landscape continues to shift in favor of plaintiffs. Courts are increasingly unwilling to allow statutory caps to override jury determinations in medical malpractice cases.

Georgia courts struck down the malpractice damages cap as unconstitutional. Learn how waiver, jury trial rights & equal protection affect your malpractice claim.

Georgia Code Section 51-13-1, enacted as part of Senate Bill 3 in 2005, placed a cap on noneconomic damages — things like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium — in medical malpractice cases. For years, insurance companies and healthcare defendants used this cap to limit what injured patients and grieving families could recover, regardless of how severe the harm or how egregious the negligence.

The cap had long been controversial. In Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. v. Nestlehutt (2010), the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the cap as applied to pain-and-suffering damages, finding it violated the right to jury trial. The recent Turner decision from the Georgia Supreme Court left this holding undisturbed. The Rockdale court’s July 2025 ruling builds powerfully on that foundation.