When does a Georgia minor’s two-year clock actually begin to run?

· 2 min read

For an injured child in Georgia, the ordinary two-year personal-injury deadline does not start ticking at the moment of the injury. The law treats minority as a legal disability and holds the filing period in suspense until the child grows out of it.

The tolling rule for minors

Georgia’s general limitation for personal-injury claims is two years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. A separate tolling provision, O.C.G.A. § 9-3-90, sets that clock aside while the injured person is a minor. The practical effect is that the two-year window does not open while the child is still under the age of majority. Once the child turns 18, the disability lifts and the statute begins to run from that birthday, leaving the now-adult claimant the full statutory period to sue in their own name.

So a young child hurt in a wreck is not realistically expected to lose the claim by inaction during childhood. The right to sue is preserved through those years and then measured from adulthood.

A separate track for the medical bills

The tolling that protects the child does not automatically protect every related claim. A parent who pays a hurt child’s medical expenses may hold a distinct claim for those expenses, and that parental claim is not the child’s claim. Because it belongs to an adult under no disability, it is generally governed by the ordinary deadline measured from the injury, not from the child’s eighteenth birthday. The two claims can therefore expire at very different times, which is why families often address the child’s bills promptly rather than assuming the child’s tolling covers everything.

A few points worth keeping straight:

  • The child’s own pain-and-suffering and injury claim is the part that benefits from tolling until adulthood.
  • A parent’s claim for the child’s medical costs typically follows the standard two-year clock from the injury.
  • Other deadlines, such as shortened notice periods for claims against government entities, are not necessarily tolled the same way and can be far shorter.

The bottom line

A minor’s injury clock in Georgia generally begins at the age of majority rather than at the accident, giving the child time to pursue the claim after turning 18. But related claims held by adults, including a parent’s claim for medical expenses, can run on the normal schedule, so the protection is narrower than it first appears.

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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