No action for a tort shall abate by the death of either party, where the wrongdoer received any benefit from the tort complained of; nor shall any action or cause of action for the recovery of damages for homicide, injury to the person, or injury to property abate by the death of either party. The cause of action, in case of the death of the plaintiff and in the event there is no right of survivorship in any other person, shall survive to the personal representative of the deceased plaintiff. In case of the death of the defendant, the cause of action shall survive against said defendant’s personal representative. However, in the event of the death of the wrongdoer before an action has been brought against him, the personal representative of the wrongdoer in such capacity shall be subject to the action just as the wrongdoer himself would have been during his life, provided that there shall be no punitive damages against the personal representative.
§ 9-2-41.Nonabatement of tort actions; survival of cause; no punitive damages against representative
Chapter 2. Actions Generally · Article 3. Abatement · Last amended 1952 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-2-41 keeps tort actions from abating on the death of either party when the wrongdoer benefited from the tort, or when the claim seeks damages for homicide, personal injury, or property injury, letting the claim survive to the plaintiff’s personal representative or against the defendant’s, and lets a claim proceed against the personal representative of a wrongdoer who died before suit was filed, though without punitive damages in that pre-suit-death situation.
Full Text of § 9-2-41
Plain-English Summary
Tort claims used to die with the parties even more readily than other kinds of claims, on the theory that personal wrongs were personal and shouldn’t outlive the people involved. This section carves out broad exceptions that cover most tort litigation Georgia courts see today.
A tort action doesn’t abate on death where the wrongdoer received a benefit from the tort, and separately, claims for homicide, personal injury, or property injury never abate on the death of either party. If the plaintiff dies and no one else has a right of survivorship in the claim, it passes to the plaintiff’s personal representative. If the defendant dies, the claim survives against that defendant’s personal representative instead.
The section even reaches a wrongdoer who dies before any suit was filed: the personal representative can be sued just as the wrongdoer could have been sued while alive. But there’s a limit on what a plaintiff can recover from an estate that way — no punitive damages against the personal representative, even where punitive damages might have been available against the wrongdoer personally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a personal injury lawsuit end if the injured person dies before it’s resolved?
No. The section states that no action or cause of action for injury to the person shall abate by the death of either party.
What happens to a tort claim if the defendant dies before the case is over?
The cause of action survives against the deceased defendant’s personal representative.
Can I sue someone’s estate for a tort they committed if they died before I filed suit?
Yes. The personal representative of a wrongdoer who died before an action was brought is subject to the action just as the wrongdoer would have been during their life.
Can I recover punitive damages from a deceased wrongdoer’s estate?
Not if the wrongdoer died before the lawsuit was filed. In that situation the personal representative can be sued just as the wrongdoer could have been sued during life, but the section bars punitive damages against the representative. The text does not address punitive damages where a defendant instead dies after the action is already pending.
Does this section cover claims for injury to property as well as personal injury?
Yes. It lists homicide, injury to the person, and injury to property as claims that do not abate by the death of either party.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 2909; Code 1868, § 2916; Code 1873, § 2967; Code 1882, § 2967; Ga. L. 1889, p. 73, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 3825; Civil Code 1910, § 4421; Code 1933, § 3-505; Ga. L. 1935, p. 94, § 1; Ga. L. 1952, p. 224, § 1.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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