Georgia Wrongful Death Lawyer

Did you lose a family member because of someone else’s negligence in Georgia?

At Burrow & Associates, LLC, we are wrongful death lawyers who pursue full recovery for families across Georgia.

If negligence killed someone in your family, Georgia allows for two separate claims. The wrongful death claim recovers the full value of the life that was lost, measured from your relative’s perspective. A second claim, brought by the estate, recovers medical bills, funeral costs, and any conscious pain and suffering before death. A Georgia wrongful death lawyer at Burrow & Associates, LLC brings both and handles the probate steps required to do it. Consultations are free and we work on contingency.

Wrongful Death Lawyer Georgia

A wrongful death claim arises when a person dies because of another party’s negligent, reckless, or intentional conduct. Georgia treats the death and the losses the estate absorbed as distinct claims with different measures of recovery. In some cases, different people are entitled to bring them. Understanding which claim covers which loss is the first step in valuing a case correctly.

Georgia recorded 1,615 traffic deaths in 2023, according to Georgia traffic safety facts compiled from federal crash data. Motor vehicle collisions are the most common source of these claims, though far from the only one. Fatal falls, medical errors, defective products, workplace incidents, and neglect in licensed care facilities produce wrongful death claims every year in this state, and each requires a different kind of proof.

Types of Wrongful Death Cases We Handle in Georgia

A wrongful death claim takes its shape from the underlying cause of death. Our attorneys handle fatal cases arising from the following matters throughout Georgia.

• Car accidents. Fatal collisions caused by speeding, impairment, distraction, or failure to yield. These claims often involve multiple policies and more than one at-fault party.
• Semi-truck accidents. Commercial carriers operate under federal rules on driver hours, maintenance, and loading. Violations become central evidence, and the policies behind these vehicles are substantially larger.
• Motorcycle accidents. Riders have no structural protection, and a collision that injures a driver frequently kills a motorcyclist.
• Medical malpractice. Deaths caused by misdiagnosis, surgical error, medication mistakes, or failure to monitor. These cases require expert testimony from the outset.
• Nursing home abuse. Fatal neglect, pressure injuries, falls, dehydration, and medication errors in licensed facilities. Staffing records and care plans carry the proof.
• Product liability. Deaths caused by defective design, manufacturing flaws, or inadequate warnings. Liability can reach manufacturers and distributors alike.
• Slip and fall. Fatal falls on unsafe property, particularly among older adults, where a hip fracture begins a decline that ends in death months later.
• Dog bites. Fatal attacks, most often involving young children. Owner knowledge of prior aggression shapes liability.
• Boat accidents. Drownings and collisions on Georgia lakes and coastal waters, frequently involving operator impairment.
• Daycare abuse. Deaths from unsafe sleep practices, inadequate supervision, or hot vehicle exposure at licensed childcare providers.

Why Choose Burrow & Associates, LLC as my Wrongful Death Lawyer in Georgia?

A Practice Limited to Injured Plaintiffs

This firm does not defend insurance companies, hospitals, or transportation carriers. It represents people, and it has done so since 1996. Darrell L. Burrow built the practice after his 1992 admission to the State Bar of Georgia and his graduation from the University of Alabama School of Law. Martindale-Hubbell gives him an AV Preeminent peer review rating. He is a member of The National Trial Lawyers and has been recognized under Super Lawyers standards.

Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for Georgia families and injured clients. Results include:

• $885,000 in a wrongful death claim, tendered as the remaining policy limits after the loss of a client’s loved one
• $1,000,000 in an auto accident claim, twenty times the $50,000 policy limit, after the carrier refused in bad faith to pay
• $800,000 in a premises liability claim
• $637,500 against a rideshare company that disputed liability

Past results do not guarantee the outcome of any future case.

Six Offices Serving Families Across Georgia

We maintain offices in Duluth, Conyers, Athens, Morrow, Kennesaw, and Gainesville, which lets us meet families where they are rather than asking them to travel during the worst weeks of their lives. Wrongful death claims also carry procedural weight that ordinary injury claims do not, including the appointment of an estate representative and the allocation of any recovery among survivors. Our personal injury lawyer in Georgia handles those aspects so the family does not have to deal with probate while grieving. These cases are taken on contingency, and the first meeting costs nothing.

What Is Important to Understand About a Wrongful Death Case?

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Wrongful Death Cases

Georgia splits the recovery between two claims. The distinction determines who receives what, and it is the reason both claims must be brought together.

1. The wrongful death claim recovers the full value of the life of the deceased, measured from the perspective of the person who died rather than from what the family lost financially. It includes both the economic value of the deceased’s life, such as projected earnings and services, and the intangible value of living itself.
2. The estate claim recovers what the estate absorbed. That means medical expenses from the final injury, funeral and burial costs, and compensation for conscious pain and suffering between the injury and death.
3. Punitive damages may be available through the estate claim where the conduct was willful, wanton, or showed conscious indifference to consequences.

Who may bring the wrongful death claim follows an order of priority under Georgia law. A surviving spouse comes first and brings the claim on behalf of any minor children, with a guaranteed minimum share. If there is no spouse, the claim passes to the children, then to the parents, and then to the estate’s representative. The rules on who can file matter enormously, because a claim brought by the wrong party can be dismissed.

Liability rests on negligence. Georgia applies modified comparative fault under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, so a court reduces the award by the share of fault assigned to the person who died, and a recovery is barred entirely if that share reaches 50 percent.

What Are Important Aspects of a Wrongful Death Case?

Wrongful death claims are very different from personal injury cases. These aspects are important for families to understand.

• The two-claim structure means an estate must usually be opened before suit, which takes time families have not planned for.
• Medical bills from the final illness or injury do not disappear, and a hospital lien can attach to the recovery before the family sees any of it.
• Insurance limits frequently cap what is available, so identifying every policy, including uninsured motorist coverage on the decedent’s own vehicles, changes outcomes materially.
• Grief is not compensable in Georgia, though emotional distress compensation can arise in specific circumstances connected to the death.
• Allocation among survivors can become contested, particularly in blended families, and resolving it early prevents a second dispute after settlement.

What Should You Bring to Your Wrongful Death Consultation?

Our attorney recognizes how emotionally challenging wrongful death cases are. Bring any documentation you can, but don’t delay scheduling a consultation if you have incomplete information. If you choose to move forward, we will help build the file.

• The death certificate, or the funeral home’s information if it has not been issued
• Any incident, crash, or investigative report, including the responding agency’s name
• Medical records and bills from the final injury or illness
• The decedent’s own insurance policies, including auto, health, and life
• Information on surviving family members, including spouse, children, and parents
• Any will or estate paperwork, and the name of anyone already appointed as representative

We will explain which claims apply, who holds the right to bring them, and what the case realistically supports.

What Is The Wrongful Death Case Timeline?

These cases run longer than ordinary injury claims because of the estate work and the depth of proof required.

• Opening the estate. A representative is appointed through probate court so the estate claim can proceed alongside the wrongful death claim.
• Investigation. We obtain the investigative file, autopsy and medical records, employment and earnings history, and witness statements, and we retain the experts the cause of death requires.
• Damages development. Economists and life care professionals quantify the economic component, while family testimony establishes the intangible value of the lost life.
• Demand and negotiation. We present the claim to every applicable carrier, with allocation among survivors addressed in advance.
• Litigation. When the offer does not reflect the loss, we file suit and prepare the case for trial.

Actions for injuries to the person, including wrongful death, must generally be brought within two years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. Certain circumstances, including a pending criminal prosecution or an unopened estate, can affect that calculation, which is another reason to consult early.

Most Dangerous Locations for Fatal Accidents in Georgia

Fatal collisions in Georgia concentrate on the interstate network and in the metro counties that carry the heaviest traffic volume.

Interstates and highways with the highest fatal crash volume:

• Interstate 285. The Atlanta perimeter, carrying heavy truck traffic and continuous merging conflicts.
• Interstate 75. The state’s primary north-south route, running from Tennessee through Atlanta to Florida.
• Interstate 20. An east-west corridor linking Alabama, Atlanta, and Augusta.
• Interstate 95. The coastal route with sustained high speeds and long rural stretches.
• Interstate 16. A two-lane-each-way connector between Macon and Savannah, known for severe crossover collisions.
• Georgia 400 and US 41. High-volume arterials serving north metro commuter traffic.

Counties recording the most traffic deaths in 2023:

• DeKalb County. 151 traffic deaths, the highest in the state.
• Fulton County. 112 traffic deaths.
• Gwinnett County. 67 traffic deaths.
• Cobb County. 54 traffic deaths.
• Richmond County. 52 traffic deaths.

The ten highest counties together accounted for 603 of Georgia’s 1,615 traffic deaths that year. National fatality data is published through the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Families can request the investigative file through Georgia crash reports, and the state’s designated trauma centers are coordinated through Georgia trauma care. Impairment remains a recurring factor, and NHTSA drug-impaired driving research tracks a cause that often goes unmeasured at the scene.

Reach Out to Burrow & Associates, LLC to Schedule a Consultation

Nothing a court awards replaces the person your family lost. What a claim can do is hold the responsible party accountable and secure the financial footing your family needs going forward. Our attorneys will explain both claims, identify who holds the right to bring them, and handle the estate steps required. We work on a contingency fee basis, and the consultation is free and carries no obligation. Contact us to speak with a Georgia wrongful death attorney.