§ 9-3-70.“Action for medical malpractice” defined

Before Georgia's malpractice-specific limitations rules can apply, a claim has to fit within this section's definition. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-70 draws that boundary, and everything else in Article 4 — the two-year and five-year periods, the foreign-object exception, the rules for minors and legally incompetent plaintiffs — depends on a claim qualifying as an action for medical malpractice under this definition.

The definition has two branches. The first covers claims arising from health, medical, dental, or surgical service, diagnosis, prescription, treatment, or care provided by someone legally authorized to provide it, or by anyone acting under that authorized person's supervision and control. The second covers claims arising from care or service rendered by a public or private hospital, nursing home, clinic, hospital authority, facility, or institution, or by any of their officers, agents, or employees acting within the scope of employment.

Whether a claim falls inside or outside this definition carries real consequences. A claim that qualifies gets the malpractice article's shorter periods and its five-year repose ceiling instead of the general two-year personal injury period, along with different rules for tolling based on age or incapacity. Determining which framework governs starts here.