Does the injury deadline pause for my child until they turn 18 in Georgia?

· 3 min read

Georgia law does pause, or “toll,” the personal-injury limitation period for a child, so the two-year clock generally does not run against a minor while they are still under age. The effect is that an injured child’s own deadline to sue is delayed, typically until the child reaches adulthood, after which the standard period applies.

How tolling for minors works

Because a minor cannot file a lawsuit on their own behalf, Georgia tolls the limitation period during childhood rather than letting it expire while the child lacks the legal capacity to sue. The two-year personal-injury period is set by O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, and the tolling rule for minors is found in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-90, which gives a person who is a minor when the cause of action accrues the same time to sue after the disability is removed as other people would have. In practical terms, the clock does not run during minority and the standard two-year window generally starts when the child reaches the age of majority at 18. A child hurt at age ten, for example, would ordinarily have until around age twenty to file suit.

This protects the child’s claim. An injury suffered at a young age is not lost simply because years pass before the child can act for themselves.

The role of a parent or guardian

Tolling the child’s own deadline does not mean nothing can happen in the meantime. A parent or guardian can usually bring a claim on the child’s behalf before the child turns 18. A parent’s own separate claim for related losses, such as the child’s medical expenses, is generally not tolled and must be brought within its ordinary two-year period. So while the child’s individual claim is preserved by tolling, related claims held by an adult are not necessarily paused.

This distinction matters because a family may have more than one claim arising from a child’s injury, and they may not all share the same timeline.

Limits and cautions

A few points keep the rule in perspective:

  • Tolling applies to the minor’s own claim; it does not automatically extend every related claim.
  • Certain claim types and defendants, such as government entities, carry special notice rules that can apply regardless of age.
  • Specific deadlines and the precise effect of tolling should be confirmed for the particular claim, since details can affect the calculation.

Relying on tolling without checking how it interacts with other rules can be risky.

The bottom line

Yes, Georgia generally tolls the two-year personal-injury deadline for a child, so the clock does not run during minority and the standard period typically begins when the child turns 18. A parent or guardian can still pursue a claim earlier, and related adult claims may follow their own timelines. Because special rules and exceptions exist, the exact deadlines for a child’s claim are worth confirming rather than assuming.

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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