We're deeply sorry for what your family is going through. When a crash on Buford Highway, Peachtree Road or I-85 takes someone you love, practical questions arrive before the grief has settled: who pays for the funeral, what happens to the income your family counted on, and why an insurance adjuster is already calling.
Gary Huggins can help. As a Brookhaven wrongful death lawyer working from Perimeter Center, he meets families wherever they're most comfortable and explains, in plain words, how Georgia law applies. Huggins Accident Injury Lawyer answers (240) 421-5511 around the clock, so call when you're ready.
What Brookhaven families usually face in the first weeks
- A police investigation. Brookhaven Police investigate fatal crashes in the city; on I-85 and I-285, it may be the Georgia State Patrol. A full reconstruction report can take longer than a standard crash report.
- A medical examiner's review, which can take time to finalize.
- Calls from insurers. You don't have to give anyone a recorded statement, and you shouldn't sign anything you don't fully understand.
- Estate paperwork, especially if your loved one left no will.
- Possibly a criminal case, if the driver was impaired, fled or drove recklessly.
You don't have to handle any of it alone.
Who in your family can bring the claim
Georgia ranks family members, and the claim belongs to the highest group with a living member:
- A surviving spouse, who shares the recovery with the children and never receives less than one-third (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2)
- The children, whether minors or grown, when no spouse survives
- The parents, if there is no spouse or child; divorced parents both have rights (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-4)
- The estate's administrator, on behalf of the next of kin, if none of these survive (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5)
Georgia measures the claim by the “full value of the life,” and it looks at that value through your loved one's eyes. That includes the earnings and benefits they would have had, without subtracting their personal living expenses, and the intangible value of the life itself: time with family, milestones, growing old. Your loved one's debts can't reach what the spouse and children recover.
Two claims, two DeKalb County courts
A fatal crash usually produces two separate claims:
- The wrongful death claim, brought by the family member listed above, for the full value of the life
- The estate's claim, filed by the personal representative, for hospital and medical bills, funeral and burial expenses, and whatever pain and suffering your loved one was aware of before death (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5(b))
For a Brookhaven resident, the estate usually runs through the Probate Court of DeKalb County. If a lawsuit is filed, the usual court is the State Court of DeKalb County, which sits in Decatur, although venue depends on who is being sued.
Gary coordinates both so each is filed by the right person and on time. Not sure who should sign what? Call (240) 421-5511; Gary will map out both claims for your family.
How much time your family has
The filing deadline for a wrongful death lawsuit is generally two years, counted from the day your loved one died (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). In some situations, such as while an estate has no administrator, the deadline can be paused, but don't count on it.
If the driver is being prosecuted, for example for DUI or hit-and-run, O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99 may extend the deadline while the criminal case is pending. Courts apply that rule case by case, so no family should rely on it.
Government involvement shortens everything. If a City of Brookhaven vehicle was involved, the city has to receive a written notice of the claim within six months (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5). For DeKalb County the window is 12 months (O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1), and the same goes for the state, for example over a state route like Buford Highway (O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26). MARTA claims carry special notice rules and shorter deadlines.
When the death followed a crime
Your family's civil claim stands on its own. It can go forward without an arrest, a charge or a conviction, and it is decided on a lower standard of proof than a criminal case. The two cases can run at the same time, and what police and prosecutors uncover can help your family's claim.
If the driver was impaired, punitive damages may be available through the estate's claim. They take clear and convincing proof of something worse than carelessness, such as willful misconduct or conscious indifference to the consequences, and the usual $250,000 cap doesn't apply when the driver was impaired by alcohol or drugs (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1). A bar can share responsibility under Georgia's narrow dram shop law, but only if it knowingly served a customer who was noticeably drunk and about to drive, or unlawfully served a minor (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-40(b)). Learn more about drunk driving crash claims.
Suspect the driver had been drinking? Call (240) 421-5511; toxicology results, bar receipts and video are easier to secure early.
Where the money comes from
The first source is the at-fault driver's liability policy, and Georgia's required minimum is just $25,000 per person, which rarely matches the full value of a life. Other possible sources:
- The driver's employer and its commercial policy, if the driver was working
- A trucking company's coverage, if a tractor-trailer was involved (see our Brookhaven truck accident page)
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your loved one's policy, or a household policy, depending on its terms
- A property owner or product maker, if unsafe property or a defect contributed
Without your loved one there to explain what happened, insurers may try to pin the crash on them. Under Georgia's 50% rule (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33), a finding that your loved one was 50% or more at fault bars recovery, so Gary works to preserve video, vehicle data and witness accounts early. When the person killed was walking, our Brookhaven pedestrian accident page explains how Georgia's crosswalk rules apply.
How Gary works with a grieving family
In a death case, Gary's first step is to listen. He'll come to your home in Brookhaven, at the kitchen table if that's where you're comfortable, or meet at our office if you'd rather talk away from home. Gary speaks Spanish, so relatives who are more comfortable in Spanish can talk with him directly; there is also a página en español sobre muerte injusta.
From there, he takes the adjusters' calls, gathers the reports, works with whoever will serve as the estate's representative, and learns who your loved one was, from pay stubs and work history to the friends and coworkers who can describe them. Families retain Gary on a contingency basis: there is no attorney's fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Talk to a Brookhaven wrongful death lawyer today
Our firm's office is at 1050 Crown Pointe Parkway, Suite 500, Atlanta, GA 30338, in Perimeter Center, and the phone is answered at any hour: (240) 421-5511. You can also read about Gary's background, wrongful death claims in Georgia or our Brookhaven injury page.
Free consultation. Gary meets Brookhaven clients at our Perimeter Center office, by video, or at home or in the hospital. (240) 421-5511
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Questions people ask about Brookhaven wrongful death claims
Do we have to wait for the police investigation to finish before starting a claim?
No. Your family can start now, and waiting can cost evidence. Gary can request the initial crash report, send preservation letters and contact witnesses while Brookhaven Police or the State Patrol complete their work, and a later reconstruction report can be added when it's ready. The two-year deadline to file runs from the date of death no matter how long the investigation takes, and government notice deadlines can be much shorter.
Where is the estate opened for someone who lived in Brookhaven?
In most cases, the Probate Court of DeKalb County, because Brookhaven is in DeKalb and an estate is normally opened in the county where the person lived. The court confirms the executor named in a will or appoints an administrator if there is no will. That personal representative brings the estate's claim. The wrongful death claim itself is filed by the spouse, children or parents personally, not through the estate.
Can a brother or sister file a wrongful death claim in Georgia?
Not in their own names. The claim belongs first to a surviving spouse, then to the children, then to the parents. When no one in those groups survives, an estate administrator files instead, and whatever is recovered goes to the next of kin, a group that can include brothers and sisters (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5). A sibling may be able to serve as that administrator, which is one way siblings take part.
Can we recover for our own grief?
Not as a separate item. Georgia values the life itself, as your loved one would have experienced it, including the intangible value of living, rather than the family's sorrow. In practice, though, the people who loved them are often the ones who show a jury who they were: their routines, their plans and their place in the family. That testimony can be central to the claim.
Will our case have to go to trial in Decatur?
Not necessarily. Many claims resolve without a trial, and no settlement happens without your family's approval. If a lawsuit is filed, DeKalb County's State Court in Decatur is a common venue, though it depends on who is being sued. Under Georgia's 2025 tort-reform law, either side can ask the court to split the trial, deciding fault before damages (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-15). Either way, Gary builds the case as though a jury will hear it.