Medical malpractice in Georgia
Last checked Aug 15, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
Elements
1
Provider-patient relationship
The defendant undertook to treat the patient.
2
Standard of care
What a reasonably careful similar provider would have done under similar circumstances.
3
Breach
The care fell below that standard.
4
Causation and injury
The breach more likely than not caused a compensable injury, not merely a bad outcome.
Burden of proof
Preponderance of the evidence, usually with expert testimony on the standard of care.
A Georgia fact pattern
Medical malpractice in georgia.
Statute of limitations
2 years
O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71(a)
Two years from the injury or death arising from the act or omission. Georgia is often an occurrence clock, not a discovery clock.
Repose: 5 years.
- Five-year statute of repose from the act or omission, § 9-3-71(b). That outer wall is the point of the subsection.
- Foreign-object and other article 4 exceptions exist. Confirm § 9-3-72 and § 9-3-73.