Losing someone in a crash is a shock no family is ready for, and we're sorry you're facing it. Whether it happened on I-285 near Spaghetti Junction, on Buford Highway or on a quiet street close to home, this page answers the questions Doraville families tend to ask first.
Gary Huggins is a Doraville wrongful death lawyer at Huggins Accident Injury Lawyer. He speaks Spanish, and he can meet with your family at home.
When you're ready to talk, call (240) 421-5511. The phone is answered around the clock.
How the kind of crash shapes the case
Fatal crashes in and around Doraville can involve a tractor-trailer on I-285, a person on foot crossing Buford Highway, or a rider hit by a driver turning into a plaza. Each one points the investigation in a different direction.
- A truck crash brings federal trucking records, the carrier's driver logs and much larger insurance policies into the case.
- A pedestrian death often turns on lighting, speed and where the person was crossing. Our page on Doraville pedestrian accidents covers the crossing rules insurers raise.
- A motorcycle death usually means answering the insurer's claims about speed and visibility with physical evidence.
Whatever happened, the family's rights come from the same Georgia statute, starting with who may bring the claim.
Who in the family brings the claim?
Georgia sets a strict order. The claim belongs to the first group on this list that has a living member:
- A surviving husband or wife, who brings the claim for themselves and any children, splitting the recovery equally with the children but keeping at least one-third (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2).
- The children, when there's no spouse. Grown children have the same right as young ones.
- The mother and father, when there's neither a spouse nor a child (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-4). Parents who are divorced or living apart each keep their rights.
- An administrator of the estate, when none of those relatives is living. The administrator sues on behalf of the next of kin (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5).
A brother, sister or grandparent can benefit only through the administrator's claim, when no closer relative survives. Money recovered by a spouse or children under the wrongful death statute can't be taken to pay your loved one's debts (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2).
Family situations get complicated: second marriages, children from more than one relationship, parents who split up years ago. Call (240) 421-5511, and Gary will work out with you, in English or Spanish, who holds the claim.
Two claims, not one
A fatal crash usually leads to two separate claims, pursued side by side:
| Wrongful death claim | Estate claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who brings it | Spouse, then children, then parents | The estate's personal representative |
| What it covers | The full value of your loved one's life | Medical bills, funeral costs and conscious pain and suffering |
| Who receives it | Family members, in the shares Georgia law sets | Heirs, through the estate (by will, or by Georgia law if there is none) |
| Punitive damages | Not available in this claim | May be sought here |
Georgia asks a jury to value the life as your loved one would have: the earnings and support they would have provided over a lifetime, plus the worth of simply being alive. Their own living expenses are not deducted.
For a Doraville resident, the estate usually gets opened in DeKalb County's probate court in Decatur. The person in charge of it, whether named in the will or appointed by the judge, then brings the estate's claim.
If the driver is facing criminal charges
After a fatal crash, the driver may be charged, for example with DUI or hit-and-run. Here's how that affects your family:
- Your claim is separate. A civil wrongful death case doesn't depend on an arrest or a conviction, and it is decided under a lower standard of proof than a criminal trial.
- The deadline may pause. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99 may extend the time to sue while a related prosecution is pending, but courts decide that case by case. Don't count on it.
- The criminal file can help. The police investigation, crash reconstruction and toxicology results may become evidence in your family's case.
- Impairment raises the stakes. If alcohol or drugs were involved, punitive damages, pursued through the estate's claim, aren't held to the standard $250,000 limit (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1). Georgia's dram shop law is narrow, but a bar that knowingly served a noticeably drunk customer it knew would soon be driving may also share responsibility (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-40(b)). Our page on drunk driving crashes explains more.
If a criminal case is underway, call (240) 421-5511 so Gary can follow it and request the records your family's claim will need.
How much time your family has
Georgia generally gives a family two years from the day their loved one died to file the wrongful death lawsuit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). In some situations the law pauses that clock, for example while an estate is waiting for an administrator, for as long as five years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92). Families shouldn't plan around a pause.
Public vehicles and roads move faster:
- City of Doraville: six months to deliver written notice (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5)
- DeKalb County: 12 months (O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1)
- The State, including GDOT: 12 months, and the State's liability tops out at $1 million per person, $3 million per occurrence (O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26; § 50-21-29)
- MARTA: shorter deadlines and special notice rules can apply, so call promptly
With your loved one unable to give their side, the other driver's version can go unchallenged unless evidence fills the gap. That matters because Georgia's 50% rule bars any recovery if your loved one is found half or more at fault (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33).
Insurance matters too. The at-fault driver's liability coverage comes first, and Georgia's minimum is only $25,000 per person. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your loved one's policy may add to it.
What Gary handles so your family doesn't have to
- Calls from adjusters, starting on day one
- Requests for the crash report, the 911 calls and the medical examiner's report
- Preservation letters for video and vehicle data and, after a Doraville truck crash, the carrier's logs
- Opening the estate, or working with the executor, so both claims are brought by the right people
- Gathering the story of your loved one's life: work history, role in the family and the people who knew them best
- Explaining each step in Spanish when that's easier for your family
Families can also read información sobre muerte injusta en español, or learn more about Gary.
Talk to a Doraville wrongful death lawyer today
Gary will come to your family's home and talk around the kitchen table, at a time that fits around the funeral and everything else you're handling. If you'd rather come to him, his office is at 1050 Crown Pointe Parkway, Suite 500, Atlanta, GA 30338 in Perimeter Center.
For broader answers, see our pages for Atlanta wrongful death lawyers and for Doraville personal injury claims.
When you're ready, call (240) 421-5511. Your family's consultation is free, and there's no attorney's fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Free consultation. Gary meets Doraville 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 doraville wrongful death
Our family speaks Spanish at home. Can Gary explain the claim in Spanish?
Yes. Gary speaks Spanish, so a spouse, children or parents can talk with him directly about who brings the claim, how the recovery is shared and what the probate paperwork means. He can meet your family at home and go over each document before anyone signs it. Our Spanish-language wrongful death page also covers the basics.
Do we have to open an estate in DeKalb County?
Possibly. The family’s main claim, brought by the spouse, children or parents, doesn’t need an estate. But recovering the hospital and funeral bills, and any pain your loved one consciously suffered, requires someone with legal authority to act for the estate. For a Doraville resident, that usually means a petition in DeKalb County’s probate court in Decatur. Gary can tell you whether your family needs one, and when.
My husband died and we have three children. How is the recovery divided?
Georgia splits the wrongful death recovery equally among the spouse and children, but the spouse never receives less than one-third (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2). With you and three children, equal shares would be one-fourth each, which is less than one-third. So you would receive one-third, and each child would receive two-ninths. None of that money can be taken to pay your husband’s debts.
Police said my father was crossing Buford Highway outside a crosswalk. Do we still have a claim?
Possibly. A person crossing outside a crosswalk must yield to traffic (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-92), so the insurer will argue your father shares the blame. But drivers must still take care to avoid people in the road, and Georgia bars recovery only if your father is found 50% or more at fault. The officer’s opinion on fault generally isn’t admissible at trial, and video, vehicle data and witnesses often tell a fuller story.
How long does our family have to file after a fatal Doraville crash?
Generally two years from the date of death (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). A pause is possible in limited situations, such as a stretch when the estate has no administrator, but it isn’t something to rely on. When a government vehicle or road played a part, written notice may be due within six or 12 months. Evidence can disappear much sooner, so an early call helps.