Pre-Judgment and Post-Judgment Interest in Georgia Personal Injury Cases

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A personal-injury case that takes three years to resolve quietly shifts the time value of money to the side that has not yet paid. Georgia answers that shift with two separate interest mechanisms: one that can attach before a judgment exists, and one that attaches the moment it does. They run on different triggers, different statutes, and, in tort cases, very different conditions. Knowing which one applies, and at what rate, is the difference between interest that accrues automatically and interest that never starts because a step was missed.

Two Mechanisms, Two Statutes

Post-judgment interest is the simpler of the two. Once a money judgment is entered, it bears interest automatically under OCGA 7-4-12 at the prime rate published by the Federal Reserve on the day the judgment is entered, plus 3 percent. The statute makes this interest collectable as part of the judgment whether or not the judgment recites it. With the prime rate at 6.75 percent as of June 2026, a judgment entered in this period accrues post-judgment interest near 9.75 percent annually, a figure that moves only with prime.

Pre-judgment interest is harder to reach in a tort case, and that difficulty is structural. It turns on whether the damages are liquidated or unliquidated, a distinction Georgia treats as decisive.

Liquidated Versus Unliquidated Damages

A liquidated demand is one where the sum owed is fixed or certain by agreement or calculation. Under OCGA 7-4-15, liquidated demands bear interest from the time the party becomes liable to pay them, at the legal rate of 7 percent set by OCGA 7-4-2 when no other rate is specified. Contract debts and similarly fixed obligations fall here.

Personal-injury damages are ordinarily unliquidated. Their amount depends on a factfinder’s assessment of pain and suffering, future medical needs, and lost earning capacity, none of which is fixed until a verdict speaks. That classification is why pre-judgment interest does not simply accrue from the date of injury in an ordinary injury case. The categories of economic and non-economic damages themselves are owned by the economic-versus-non-economic discussion (#53) and the pain-and-suffering valuation post (#12); this post addresses only how interest attaches to them.

The Unliquidated Damages Interest Act

Georgia provides a dedicated path for unliquidated tort damages through OCGA 51-12-14, the Unliquidated Damages Interest Act. It does not make interest automatic; it requires a specific procedure, and missing the procedure forfeits the interest.

The mechanism works as follows. A claimant serves written notice of a demand for a stated sum of unliquidated damages by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. If the defendant does not pay within 30 days of that notice, interest may be recovered, but only if the eventual judgment is for an amount not less than the sum demanded. The rate is the prime rate published on the thirtieth day after the last written notice, plus 3 percent, and it runs from that thirtieth day until judgment. The statute also gives the defendant an exit: a defendant who later offers in writing to pay the demanded amount plus accrued interest can cut off further interest if the offer is not accepted within 30 days.

Two features control the outcome. First, the demand must be specific and properly served; a vague or informal demand does not start the clock. Second, the judgment must meet or beat the demanded figure. A demand pitched above what the case proves yields no interest under this section, because the floor condition is not met.

A Worked Interest Calculation

The arithmetic is the clearest way to see the mechanics, using neutral figures that imply nothing about any case’s value. Post-judgment interest under OCGA 7-4-12 is simple interest, not compound, so it does not accrue on previously accrued interest.

Take a judgment of 500,000 dollars entered when prime is 6.75 percent, producing a post-judgment rate of 9.75 percent. Annual interest is 500,000 multiplied by 0.0975, which equals 48,750 dollars per year. Divided across 365 days, that is roughly 134 dollars per day. If an appeal delays satisfaction by eighteen months, the accrued post-judgment interest is 48,750 multiplied by 1.5, or 73,125 dollars, added to the principal. Because the interest is simple, the second year is calculated on the original 500,000, not on 548,750. These figures are illustrative of the formula only.

Component Rule Statute
Post-judgment interest Prime on entry date plus 3 percent; automatic; simple interest OCGA 7-4-12
Pre-judgment, liquidated Legal rate of 7 percent from when liability arises OCGA 7-4-15; 7-4-2
Pre-judgment, unliquidated tort Prime plus 3 percent after certified-mail demand; judgment must meet demand OCGA 51-12-14

Adjusting the Verdict Base That Interest Runs On

SB 68, effective for claims arising on or after April 21, 2025, does not change the interest statutes, but it changes the number the interest is calculated on. The reasonable-value limit on medical specials allows a defendant to introduce the amounts actually paid or accepted for care, not only the billed charges (OCGA evidence change under SB 68), which can shape the size of the underlying verdict. Because both pre-judgment interest under OCGA 51-12-14 and post-judgment interest under OCGA 7-4-12 are computed against the judgment amount, a verdict influenced by reasonable-value evidence carries its interest forward at that adjusted base. SB 68’s non-economic anchoring limits and trial-bifurcation provisions operate on valuation and procedure rather than on the interest calculation itself.

Interest and Insurance Coverage

Liability policies commonly cover post-judgment interest that accrues on a covered judgment, but the coverage interacts with policy limits, and interest attributable to amounts above the limits can fall outside the policy. The allocation of coverage across multiple policies is the subject of the multi-policy discussion (#98), and is not resolved here; the point for interest is only that the rate runs on the judgment while questions of who ultimately pays are answered by coverage terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the current post-judgment interest rate in Georgia?
Under OCGA 7-4-12 it is the prime rate on the day the judgment is entered plus 3 percent. With prime at 6.75 percent as of June 2026, that is approximately 9.75 percent annually, and it adjusts as prime changes.

Does pre-judgment interest accrue automatically in an injury case?
No. Personal-injury damages are usually unliquidated, so pre-judgment interest requires the certified-mail demand procedure of OCGA 51-12-14, and the judgment must be at least the amount demanded.

Is Georgia judgment interest simple or compound?
Simple. Interest under OCGA 7-4-12 is calculated on the principal amount of the judgment and does not accrue on previously accrued interest.

What happens to interest if the defendant appeals?
Post-judgment interest continues to accrue under OCGA 7-4-12 while the appeal is pending, which raises the cost of delay. The appeal process and supersedeas bonds are covered in the appeals post (#36).

Can a high demand defeat pre-judgment interest under OCGA 51-12-14?
It can. If the final judgment is less than the amount demanded in the written notice, the floor condition of OCGA 51-12-14 is not satisfied and interest does not attach under that section.

  • OCGA 7-4-12 (interest on judgments; prime plus 3 percent; automatic; simple interest)
  • OCGA 7-4-15 (when interest runs on liquidated demands)
  • OCGA 7-4-2 (legal rate of interest, 7 percent, where no rate specified)
  • OCGA 51-12-14 (Unliquidated Damages Interest Act; certified-mail demand procedure; prime plus 3 percent; judgment must meet demand)
  • SB 68 (2025), effective for claims arising on or after April 21, 2025 (reasonable-value limit on medical specials affecting the underlying judgment base)
  • Federal Reserve H.15 release (prime rate, 6.75 percent as of June 2026)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about pre-judgment and post-judgment interest under Georgia law and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Interest availability, rate, and accrual depend on case-specific facts, proper procedure, and current Georgia law and prime rates. Anyone facing a specific situation should consult a licensed Georgia attorney.

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