Can I recover the cost of lifetime attendant or in-home nursing care in Georgia?

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The cost of attendant and in-home nursing care over a lifetime is a recoverable element of damages in Georgia when the injury makes that care reasonably necessary. For someone left with a permanent disability, this is often the single largest item of future loss, sometimes dwarfing the medical treatment itself.

Why this care is compensable

Georgia allows an injured person to recover the reasonable expense of medical and related care made necessary by another’s negligence, and attendant care falls within that category. The care can take several forms, from skilled nursing to help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, transferring, and managing medications. What matters is that the need flows from the injury and is reasonably necessary, not whether it is delivered in a hospital, a facility, or the home.

To recover these costs, the evidence must establish both that the care is required and what it costs. That usually means:

  • Physician testimony that ongoing attendant or nursing care is medically necessary.
  • A life-care plan detailing the level, hours, and duration of care.
  • Cost evidence reflecting current local rates for that level of service.

Proving the lifetime figure

Because the claim spans a lifetime, the projection rests on expert opinion. A life-care planner, working from the treating physicians’ prognosis, specifies whether the person needs occasional help, several hours a day, or around-the-clock skilled care, then prices it. An economist may then reduce the future total to present value, as O.C.G.A. § 51-12-13 permits the jury to do for economic damages, using a 5 percent or other appropriate discount rate.

The expert opinions supporting this care must satisfy O.C.G.A. § 24-7-702, the standard Georgia courts apply through the Daubert framework, so the projections need a reliable medical and factual foundation rather than guesswork.

The bottom line

Lifetime attendant and in-home nursing care is recoverable in Georgia when the injury makes it reasonably necessary and the evidence reliably establishes the need and the cost. With physician support, a credible life-care plan, and a present-value calculation, this future care can become a substantial and well-grounded part of the damages.

This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.

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