USA – GEORGIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Michael Weiss and Jamie Carroll, Carroll & Weiss
Carroll & Weiss 2870 Peachtree Rd. NW, Ste. 193 Atlanta GA 30305-2918 USA Tel: +1 404 514 5061 Email: jcarroll@carrollweiss.com Web: www.carrollweiss.com
Damages The first new statute changes how damages in per - sonal injury cases, including product liability cases, are presented to the jury. • First, parties are now able to present evidence of the amount actually paid to resolve medical bills, rather than only the amount originally billed. (In many instances, providers accept less than the full rate from insurers and even individuals.) The jury can use this information to determine the reason - able cost of any medical care. • Second, counsel are no longer allowed to “anchor” a request for pain and suffering damages to a par - ticular number (such as a defendant corporation’s net worth) and must wait until closing arguments to ask for a specific amount for pain and suffering. Permitted evidence Previously, the jury was prohibited by statute from learning if a person injured in a car wreck was not wearing a seatbelt (though there were some excep - tions). The new statute allows such evidence to be admitted so jurors may consider its impact on com - parative fault and injury causation. The evidence may still be excluded if the judge determines that it would unfairly prejudice the plaintiff’s case. Trial procedures There are three main changes to the way product liability litigation and trials are conducted. • The new statute expressly requires that the trial in any case alleging personal injury or wrongful death be split into phases at the request of any party, with the jury first deciding whether the defendant
Introduction Product liability law in Georgia has undergone signifi - cant changes in the past few years, led by the first major revisions to the state’s product liability statutes in two decades. Long a priority of Governor Brian Kemp, a pair of bills enacted by the Georgia Gen - eral Assembly in 2025 limit certain evidence, change how damages can be calculated, and regulate out - side funding of litigation. Coupled with important court decisions on issues such as the statute of repose in claims involving injury from long-term use of a prod - uct and how a third-party’s wrongful use of a product impacts an injured person’s claim, there are a number of key developments of which both lawyers and com - panies should be aware. Changes to Georgia’s Product Liability and Related Statutes At the start of the 2025 legislative session, Governor Kemp announced that “tort reform,” or changes to the laws that regulate claims for personal injury and product damage, was his top priority. He argued that current laws unfairly favoured plaintiffs and giant jury awards – and the threat of such awards – have led to skyrocketing insurance premiums and have hurt efforts to recruit businesses to the state. The result was a pair of bills making major changes to many aspects of personal injury litigation, including medi - cal malpractice and premises liability. Tort reform advocates hailed the new laws, with the American Tort Reform Association removing Georgia from its annual “Judicial Hellholes” list of jurisdictions it con - siders unfavourable to corporate defendants. Here are the key provisions that affect product liability cases.
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