Under Georgia law, the measure of damages in a wrongful death case is “the full value of the life of the decedent, as shown by the evidence.”
This standard, set out in O.C.G.A. § 51-4-1, asks a jury to evaluate the loss from the decedent’s own perspective, not simply from the financial hardship left behind for the family.
Georgia courts have interpreted this to include two distinct components: the economic value of the life lost, and the intangible value of the life the decedent would have continued to live and enjoy.
Two Categories of Loss: Economic and Intangible
Georgia recognizes two broad categories of wrongful death damages, and understanding the difference matters both for how a case is built and for what evidence a family will need to gather.
The first is economic loss, essentially the financial value of the decedent’s life, including lost income, benefits, and the value of services the decedent would have provided.
The second is the intangible, or non-economic, value of life itself: the enjoyment of everyday experiences, relationships, and milestones the decedent would have had.
Both categories belong to the survivors under this “full value of life” claim, separate from the estate’s own claim for medical bills, funeral costs, and the decedent’s pain and suffering before death.
Economic Damages: Calculating a Lifetime of Earnings
The economic component of a wrongful death claim often represents a substantial figure once fully calculated. If a person earned $30,000 a year and had 30 working years remaining, their lifetime earnings would total $900,000.
If that person died 15 years before an expected retirement, the family’s economic loss on income alone would be roughly half that amount.
Proving this loss typically requires more than simple math. Georgia law generally requires future lost earnings to be reduced to present value, meaning the total is adjusted to reflect that the money is paid as a single lump sum today rather than as a stream of income paid out over years.
Calculating this accurately usually requires retaining a forensic economist, particularly when the decedent’s income was not straightforward, such as with self-employment, commission-based work, or variable income.
In these situations, an accounting of the decedent’s true earnings often has to be completed before an economist can extrapolate a reliable lifetime figure.
Economic value is not limited to a paycheck. A homemaker, stay-at-home parent, or retiree still has real economic value under Georgia’s wrongful death standard.
Courts recognize that a parent who manages a household combines the roles of caregiver, teacher, and household manager, work that has genuine, calculable economic value even though it was never directly compensated with a wage.
The Intangible Value of Life: Enjoyment, Relationships, and Milestones
The second component, the intangible or non-economic value of life, reflects that a person’s life is worth more than their economic output. This includes the ordinary joys of living: being a child, a spouse, a parent, or a grandparent, and everything that comes with progressing through those stages of life.
This includes simple moments in life, such as sitting on the porch enjoying the sunrise, and big events: Christmas, birthdays, Weddings, and the birth of children.
Proving this side of the case looks different from proving economic loss. Rather than relying primarily on financial records, the family typically works with their attorney to help the jury understand who the decedent actually was as a person.
This often means gathering photographs, videos, letters, and records of the decedent’s accomplishments, along with testimony from family and friends who can describe the decedent’s relationships and daily life. The goal is to give the jury a genuine picture of the life that was lost, not just a set of financial figures.
Of the two, this is the most important claim.
Talk to a Georgia Wrongful Death Attorney at Krause Law Firm
Calculating the full value of a life is one of the more demanding parts of a wrongful death case, requiring economic analysis for the financial side and thoughtful, personal evidence for the intangible side. Both pieces matter, and neither should be left underdeveloped.
Attorney Roger Krause devotes an entire chapter of his book to how these damages are evaluated. Download your free copy of Fighting Back: A Guide to Wrongful Death Claims in Georgia.
If your family has lost a loved one and you want to understand how the full value of their life would be evaluated, call Wrongful Death Krause Law Firm at 404-835-8080 or contact our office for a free consultation.
We advance the cost of the economists and experts a case like this requires, and you owe no fee unless we recover.