Georgia Personal Injury Statute of Limitations: Deadlines That Kill Claims

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A delivery driver rear-ended on I-285 in 2024 may hold a clean liability picture, six figures in medical bills, and a cooperative witness, and still lose everything by doing nothing for twenty-five months. In Georgia, the calendar decides survival before a jury ever weighs the facts. The statute of limitations is the one defense that needs no proof of innocence, only proof that the courthouse clerk stamped the complaint a day too late.

Because deadlines turn on the type of claim and the identity of the defendant, the most dangerous moment is the assumption that “the injury case” carries a single date. It does not. Several clocks run at once, several exceptions can stop them, and a handful of statutes can shorten the window to months.

The Two-Year Spine and Its Cousins

OCGA 9-3-33 sets the core rule: an action for injuries to the person must be brought within two years after the right of action accrues, and the same section sets one year for injuries to reputation and four years for loss of consortium. That two-year window covers car wrecks, falls, and most negligence claims, so a single event can spawn claims that expire on different days.

Property damage stands apart. A claim for the totaled vehicle itself is a claim for injury to personalty, which carries a four-year period under OCGA 9-3-32 (recovery of, or damage to, personal property) and the parallel injuries-to-personalty rule in OCGA 9-3-31; damage to land or a structure runs four years under OCGA 9-3-30. That is why a bodily-injury claim can be time-barred at two years while the vehicle claim survives for two more. Medical malpractice adds a second layer under OCGA 9-3-71: the two-year limitation period runs alongside an outer five-year statute of repose that bars the action five years after the negligent act regardless of when the harm is discovered, and that repose period cannot be tolled.

Wrongful death follows the two-year period, but the clock runs from the date of death rather than the date of the original injury. When an injury proves fatal months later, a fresh two-year window opens for the death claim while the decedent’s own pre-death claim follows the survival-action rules owned by the survival-actions discussion (#157).

Deadlines at a Glance

The figures below are statutory and verified to current Georgia law; specific accrual dates turn on facts.

  • Personal injury (negligence): 2 years from accrual, OCGA 9-3-33
  • Loss of consortium: 4 years, OCGA 9-3-33
  • Property damage to a vehicle: 4 years, OCGA 9-3-32 (injuries to personalty, OCGA 9-3-31)
  • Wrongful death: 2 years from the date of death
  • Medical malpractice: 2 years, with a 5-year repose, OCGA 9-3-71
  • Claim against a Georgia city: ante litem notice within 6 months, OCGA 36-33-5
  • Claim against a Georgia county: ante litem notice within 12 months, OCGA 36-11-1
  • Claim under the Georgia Tort Claims Act: ante litem notice within 12 months, OCGA 50-21-26

The municipal six-month figure is the trap that closes earliest. The detailed mechanics of those notices belong to the municipal (#59) and state-agency (#48) discussions; the point here is that the notice deadline can extinguish a claim long before the two-year limitation period would.

To see how the dates layer, consider one crash with a single accrual date. Suppose the right of action accrues on March 1, 2025. Under OCGA 9-3-33 the bodily-injury complaint must be filed on or before March 1, 2027; the vehicle-damage claim under OCGA 9-3-32 survives until March 1, 2029. If a Georgia city is the defendant, the OCGA 36-33-5 ante litem notice would already have been due by September 1, 2025, six months out, long before either limitation period closes. Three deadlines, one event, none interchangeable.

When the Clock Stops Running

Georgia recognizes several tolling doctrines that suspend, rather than reset, the limitation period.

Minors are protected under OCGA 9-3-90: the period is tolled until age 18, so a child hurt at ten generally has until age twenty to sue. Medical malpractice involving minors carries its own narrower timetable under OCGA 9-3-73. Mental incapacity at the time the cause of action accrues also tolls the clock under OCGA 9-3-90 until capacity returns, a question that turns on medical proof rather than convenience.

The discovery rule addresses injuries that hide. A surgical instrument left inside a patient is the textbook example: the period does not begin until the injury and its cause are discovered or should have been discovered through reasonable diligence. Fraudulent concealment under OCGA 9-3-96 tolls the period when a defendant’s active deception, not mere silence, prevents discovery of the claim. And under OCGA 9-3-99, the limitation period for a tort tied to a crime can be tolled while the criminal prosecution is pending, capped at six years.

The Renewal Statute and Filing Mechanics

A timely but later-dismissed case is not always dead. OCGA 9-2-61, the renewal statute, allows a suit commenced within the limitation period and then voluntarily dismissed or discontinued to be recommenced within the original period or within six months after the dismissal, whichever is later. The statute states expressly that where the dismissal occurs after the limitation period has already expired, this renewal privilege may be exercised only once, which makes the second filing unforgiving.

Filing itself is a physical event. The complaint must reach the clerk and be marked filed; mailing on the final day does not satisfy the deadline, and electronic filing systems carry their own cutoff times. A claim arising on or after April 21, 2025 is governed by the current SB 68 framework, though that 2025 tort-reform package altered evidence and trial rules rather than the limitation periods themselves, so the dates above are unchanged by it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the two-year period start on the accident date or the date treatment ends?
Under OCGA 9-3-33 the period generally accrues on the date of the injury, not the date treatment concludes. Continued medical care does not extend the deadline absent a recognized tolling doctrine.

Do settlement negotiations with an insurer pause the limitation period?
No. Negotiation does not toll the statute. An insurer may continue discussions while the deadline passes, after which the limitation defense becomes available.

Is the property-damage deadline really longer than the injury deadline?
Yes. Vehicle property damage carries a four-year period under OCGA 9-3-32, while injuries to the person carry two years under OCGA 9-3-33, so the two claims from one crash can expire on different dates.

How does SB 68 affect these deadlines?
SB 68, effective for claims arising on or after April 21, 2025, changed medical-expense evidence, anchoring arguments, trial bifurcation, premises-security liability, seatbelt admissibility, and attorney-fee proof. It did not shorten or lengthen the limitation periods in OCGA 9-3-33.

  • OCGA 9-3-33 (personal injury, consortium, reputation limitation periods)
  • OCGA 9-3-30, 9-3-31, 9-3-32 (four-year periods for damage to realty and to personalty/vehicles)
  • OCGA 9-3-71, 9-3-73 (medical malpractice limitation and five-year repose; minors)
  • OCGA 9-3-90, 9-3-96, 9-3-99 (tolling: disability, fraud, related crime)
  • OCGA 9-2-61 (renewal of dismissed actions)
  • OCGA 36-33-5, 36-11-1, 50-21-26 (ante litem notice: municipal, county, state)
  • SB 68 (2025 Georgia tort reform), effective for claims arising on or after April 21, 2025

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Georgia limitation periods and is not legal advice. Limitation and tolling questions depend on the type of claim, the identity of the defendant, and specific facts. Anyone facing a potential Georgia deadline should consult a licensed Georgia attorney about the particular situation.

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