What counts as special damages in a Georgia personal injury claim?

· 3 min read

Special damages are the quantifiable financial losses a person can prove with documentation after an injury. Georgia law defines them by a single feature: they must be shown by evidence to be recovered, rather than presumed from the wrong itself.

O.C.G.A. § 51-12-2 distinguishes general from special damages and provides that special damages are those that actually flow from a tortious act. The practical consequence is the burden of proof. A claimant cannot simply assert a figure; the loss has to be supported with bills, records, statements, or expert testimony tying the dollar amount to the injury. That requirement is what separates special damages from general damages, which the law presumes and which need no proof of a specific sum.

Common categories

Special damages in an injury claim usually fall into a handful of recurring groups:

  • Medical expenses. Emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, imaging, physical therapy, medication, and future treatment supported by medical opinion.
  • Lost income. Wages, salary, and benefits missed because the injury kept the person from working, plus reduced future earning capacity where proven.
  • Property damage. Repair or replacement of a vehicle and other personal property damaged in the incident.
  • Incidental out-of-pocket costs. Mileage to appointments, assistive devices, home or vehicle modifications, and similar documented expenses.

Each of these is recoverable only to the extent it is reasonable, necessary, and connected to the injury.

Proving the amount

Because the statute requires proof, the strength of a special-damages claim depends on records. Itemized medical bills, treatment notes, wage statements or employer letters, repair estimates, and receipts build the foundation. For losses extending into the future, such as ongoing care, Georgia generally requires competent evidence, often expert testimony, to support a projected amount rather than a guess. Under Georgia’s common-law collateral source rule, a defendant generally cannot reduce what it owes just because the claimant’s own insurance or benefits absorbed part of the loss first, though recent tort-reform changes affect how medical-bill evidence is presented.

How fault affects recovery

Even meticulously documented special damages still answer to Georgia’s apportionment statute. O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 pares the total down by whatever fault percentage lands on the injured person, and anyone carrying 50% or more of the blame takes home nothing. The documented special damages establish the economic starting figure, and the fault split then works on that number.

The bottom line

Special damages are the provable, dollar-figure losses, mainly medical bills, lost income, and property damage, that a Georgia claimant must back with evidence. Their defining trait is that they must be proven, not presumed, which makes documentation the heart of the claim.

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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