Can fault be apportioned to a criminal or intentional wrongdoer in a Georgia negligence case?

· 3 min read

Georgia allows a jury in a negligence case to assign a share of fault to a person who acted criminally or intentionally, even though that wrongdoer’s conduct was deliberate rather than careless. The apportionment statute speaks in terms of fault broadly, and a recent reform specifically addresses how this works in cases involving criminal acts.

Fault can include intentional conduct

O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 has the jury divide responsibility among everyone whose conduct contributed to the injury. That can include a third person who committed an intentional or criminal act, such as an assailant in a case where the plaintiff also sues a property owner for failing to provide adequate security. The defendant who allegedly enabled the harm through negligence can ask the jury to recognize that the criminal actor bears responsibility too, which spreads the blame beyond the merely negligent party.

The criminal actor is frequently a non-party, because that person may be unidentified, unavailable, or not worth suing. The notice and evidence rules for non-party fault apply, so the defense still has to identify the wrongdoer and support the allegation.

The negligent-security reform

The 2025 tort-reform legislation sharpened this area for negligent-security claims, where someone is hurt by a crime on another’s premises. In those cases the jury must apportion fault among the owner or occupier, the person who committed the wrongful act, and any other responsible party. Built into the new rule is a thumb on the scale: if the criminal actors end up with a smaller combined slice than the owners and other non-criminal parties, that split is presumed unreasonable, though the presumption can be rebutted. When a verdict fails to pin a meaningful degree of blame on whoever actually committed the crime, the trial court is directed to set it aside and order a new trial.

The effect is to push juries toward recognizing meaningful responsibility on the part of the actual criminal, rather than concentrating blame on the property owner alone.

Practical consequences for an injured person

This framework cuts in more than one direction:

  • Blame placed on a criminal actor can reduce what a negligent property owner pays.
  • The criminal actor is often judgment-proof or absent, so that share may not be collectible.
  • The plaintiff may need to show why the owner’s failures, not just the crime, were a substantial cause of the harm.

The bottom line

Yes, a Georgia jury can apportion fault to a criminal or intentional wrongdoer in a negligence case, and in negligent-security claims the law now directs the jury to weigh that wrongdoer’s responsibility seriously. Because the criminal actor is often an absent non-party, the allocation can lower the recovery available from the negligent defendant, which makes proving the defendant’s own contribution to the harm especially important.

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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