Georgia and Delaware

Georgia vs Delaware Personal Injury Laws: A Comprehensive Legal Analysis

10 min read

  • 12 rules side by side
  • 11 sections

Delaware’s cities and counties are immune from tort suits except as a statute provides; the tort claims statute lists three exceptions, and even then liability is capped at $300,000 per occurrence unless they carry more insurance. Delaware also lets an injured person recover at 50 percent fault, which Georgia does not, requires an affidavit of merit with every malpractice complaint, bars seat belt evidence in civil cases, keeps crash costs covered by PIP out of the lawsuit, and makes dog owners liable for injuries their dogs cause.

Which state’s law applies

A Georgia court applies the law of the state where the injury happened. In Dowis v. Mud Slingers, Inc. (2005), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that “a tort action is governed by the substantive law of the state where the tort was committed.” A Delaware crash sued in Georgia is therefore decided under Delaware rules on fault and damages. Deadlines follow a different rule. In Harvey v. Merchan (2021), the Supreme Court of Georgia said that “[s]tatutes of limitations are generally procedural in nature, and therefore those of the forum state govern”, so a suit filed in Georgia generally runs on Georgia’s deadline, not Delaware’s. The exception is a foreign statute that “creates a cause of action that is not recognized in the common law and includes a specific limitation period”: that period governs when it is shorter than Georgia’s. Whether a Georgia court can hear the case at all, which depends on jurisdiction over the defendant and on venue, is a separate question that these rules do not answer. A Delaware court applies its own choice-of-law rules, which should be checked before filing there.

Side by side

Topic Georgia Delaware
Injured person's own fault Recovery reduced; barred at 50% or more (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) Recovery reduced; barred only if the plaintiff's negligence is greater than that of the defendant or the combined negligence of all defendants (10 Del. C. § 8132)
Personal injury deadline 2 years (§ 9-3-33) 2 years from when the injuries were sustained (10 Del. C. § 8119)
Wrongful death deadline 2 years from death (§ 9-3-33) 2 years from accrual (10 Del. C. § 8107)
Medical malpractice deadline 2 years from injury; 5 years from the act at most (§ 9-3-71) 2 years from the injury; 3 years if the injury could not have been discovered within 2; a child under 6 has until the 6th birthday if later (18 Del. C. § 6856)
Malpractice expert requirement Expert affidavit with the complaint (§ 9-11-9.1) Affidavit of merit and the expert's CV with the complaint, under seal; one 60-day extension for good cause (18 Del. C. § 6853)
Claims against cities and counties Notice: city 6 months, county 12 months (§§ 36-33-5, 36-11-1) Immune except for vehicles and equipment, public buildings, and sudden pollutant releases; $300,000 per occurrence unless more insurance; a local notice rule cannot bar suit if notice is given within 1 year (10 Del. C. §§ 4011 to 4013)
Claims against the State Notice within 12 months; $1 million / $3 million cap (§§ 50-21-26, 50-21-29) No liability for discretionary acts done in good faith without gross or wanton negligence; sovereignty defense waived for risks covered by the state insurance program (10 Del. C. § 4001; 18 Del. C. § 6511)
Seat belt nonuse May be evidence of negligence and reduce damages (§ 40-8-76.1, cases commenced on or after April 21, 2025) Not evidence of comparative or contributory negligence, and not admissible in any civil trial (21 Del. C. § 4802(i))
Crash costs covered by PIP No PIP system Not pleaded or proved against the at-fault driver (21 Del. C. § 2118(h))
Minimum liability limits $25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000 (§ 33-7-11) $25,000 / $50,000 / $10,000, plus PIP of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident (21 Del. C. §§ 2902(b)(2), 2118)
Dog bites Vicious dog, careless management or running at liberty, no provocation (§ 51-2-7) Owner liable for any injury, death, or loss the dog causes, unless the person was trespassing, committing a crime, or teasing the dog (16 Del. C. § 3053F)
Alcohol sellers Knowing service to a noticeably intoxicated person or unlawful service to a minor, knowing the person will soon drive (§ 51-1-40) The alcohol chapter of the Delaware Code requires refusal of service to intoxicated persons but creates no civil cause of action against a seller (4 Del. C. ch. 7, § 706)

Delaware’s collateral source rule, punitive damages outside death cases, and premises liability are not covered here, so the Delaware law in force on the date of the injury has to be read for them.

Fault: recovery at 50 percent

Contributory negligence “shall not bar a recovery by the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s legal representative where such negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendant or the combined negligence of all defendants against whom recovery is sought”, and damages are “diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff” (10 Del. C. § 8132).

Injured person's fault, $100,000 found Georgia Delaware
40% $60,000 $60,000
50% $0 $50,000
51% $0 $0

When several people caused the injury, Delaware’s Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Law governs the defendants among themselves. “The right of contribution exists among joint tortfeasors”, and when fault is so uneven that an equal split would be inequitable, “the relative degrees of fault of the joint tortfeasors shall be considered in determining their pro rata shares” (10 Del. C. § 6302(a), (d)). A judgment against one joint tortfeasor “does not discharge the other joint tortfeasors” (§ 6303), and a release of one reduces the claim against the others by the amount paid for it, or by a larger amount or share if the release says so (§ 6304(a)). Whether the injured person may collect the whole award from one defendant is a question of Delaware case law that this comparison does not decide. Georgia apportions damages so that each defendant pays only its own share, apart from concerted action (§ 51-12-33(b)).

Deadlines

“No action for the recovery of damages upon a claim for alleged personal injuries shall be brought after the expiration of 2 years from the date upon which it is claimed that such alleged injuries were sustained” (10 Del. C. § 8119). Wrongful death actions also carry two years from accrual (10 Del. C. § 8107).

A malpractice claim must be brought within “2 years from the date upon which such injury occurred”. Only when the injury “was unknown to and could not in the exercise of reasonable diligence have been discovered” within those two years may the action be brought “prior to the expiration of 3 years from the date upon which such injury occurred, and not thereafter”. A child under 6 has until the later of that period or the 6th birthday (18 Del. C. § 6856). The three years run from the injury, not from its discovery. Georgia’s malpractice period is two years from the injury, with five years from the act as the outer limit (§ 9-3-71).

Malpractice: affidavit of merit at filing

“No health-care negligence lawsuit shall be filed in this State unless the complaint is accompanied by” an affidavit of merit for each defendant, signed by an expert and accompanied by the expert’s current curriculum vitae, stating that there are reasonable grounds to believe negligence was committed. Without the affidavit or a timely motion to extend, “the Prothonotary or clerk of the court shall refuse to file the complaint”. The affidavit is filed in a sealed envelope, and the court may grant “a single 60-day extension” for good cause (18 Del. C. § 6853(a)). Georgia also requires an expert affidavit with the complaint (§ 9-11-9.1).

Claims against government

Delaware’s cities, counties, and other governmental entities “shall be immune from suit on any and all tort claims seeking recovery of damages”, except as a statute provides (10 Del. C. § 4011(a)). The exceptions are negligence in the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle or other equipment; in the construction, operation, or maintenance of a public building; and in a sudden and accidental release of pollutants (10 Del. C. § 4012). Even then, damages against a political subdivision and its employees “shall not exceed $300,000 for any and all claims arising out of a single occurrence”, unless it bought more insurance (10 Del. C. § 4013(a)). A local notice ordinance may not bar suit “if notice is given within 1 year of occurrence” (10 Del. C. § 4013(c)).

For the State and its officers, no claim arises for an act done in performing a discretionary official duty, in good faith, and “without gross or wanton negligence” (10 Del. C. § 4001). Separately, “[t]he defense of sovereignty is waived and cannot and will not be asserted as to any risk or loss covered by the state insurance coverage program” (18 Del. C. § 6511).

Georgia gives cities six months’ notice and counties and the State 12 months, and caps the State at $1 million per person and $3 million per occurrence (§§ 36-33-5, 36-11-1, 50-21-26, 50-21-29).

Car crashes: PIP and seat belts

Every Delaware policy carries personal injury protection of at least “$15,000 for any 1 person and $30,000 for all persons injured in any 1 accident” (21 Del. C. § 2118). A person eligible for those benefits “is precluded from pleading or introducing into evidence in an action for damages against a tortfeasor those damages for which compensation is available” under PIP, “whether or not such benefits are actually recoverable” (21 Del. C. § 2118(h)). Losses covered by PIP are claimed from PIP, not from the at-fault driver.

“Failure to wear or use an occupant protection system shall not be considered as evidence of either comparative or contributory negligence in any civil suit”, and it is not “admissible as evidence in the trial of any civil action” (21 Del. C. § 4802(i)). Georgia, for cases commenced on or after April 21, 2025, lets seat belt nonuse bear on negligence and damages (§ 40-8-76.1).

Dogs and alcohol

“The owner of a dog is liable in damages for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that is caused by such dog”, unless the injured person was trespassing or committing a crime on the owner’s property, committing a crime against any person, or “teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog” (16 Del. C. § 3053F). The statute covers injuries other than bites.

Delaware’s alcoholic beverage chapter requires a licensee to “refuse to sell or serve alcoholic liquors to any individual if such individual is intoxicated or appears to be intoxicated” and protects a licensee who refuses, but its sections 701 through 727 contain no provision giving an injured third person a civil claim against the seller (4 Del. C. § 706). Whether Delaware case law allows such a claim outside the statute should be confirmed with Delaware counsel. Georgia’s § 51-1-40 gives that claim against a person who knowingly serves a noticeably intoxicated person, or unlawfully serves a minor, knowing the person will soon be driving.

Wrongful death

A Delaware wrongful death action is “for the benefit of the spouse, parent, child and siblings of the deceased person”, and if there are none, for any person related by blood or marriage (10 Del. C. § 3724(a), (b)). The jury may consider lost expected pecuniary benefits, lost support, lost household services, funeral expenses up to $7,000 or the amount in 29 Del. C. § 5546(a), whichever is greater, and mental anguish of the surviving spouse and next of kin in the order the statute sets. In any action for wrongful death, “punitive damages may be awarded only if it is found that the death was maliciously intended or was the result of reckless, wilful or wanton misconduct by the tortfeasor” (10 Del. C. § 3724(d)).

Georgia measures the claim by the full value of the life of the decedent, and the right to sue belongs to the spouse, then the children, then the parents (§§ 51-4-2, 51-4-4).

Dates and documents to pin down

  1. Where the injury happened, which sets the governing law in a Georgia court, and where the suit will be filed, which generally sets the deadline.
  2. For a claim against a Delaware city or county, whether it involves a vehicle or equipment, a public building, or a pollutant release, and the local notice rule.
  3. For a crash, the PIP benefits available, which come out of the lawsuit.
  4. For a malpractice claim, the date of the injury and the expert’s signed affidavit of merit, because the complaint cannot be filed without it.
  5. For a death claim, who survives the decedent, which decides who may claim mental anguish.

How Georgia’s own rules work is explained in the Georgia personal injury law guide. Another state that allows recovery at 50 percent fault and bars seat belt evidence is compared in how Connecticut’s fault rule compares with Georgia’s.

Sources

General information about Georgia and Delaware law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.