Non-economic damages pay for losses that don’t come with a bill: physical pain, emotional pain, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life. O.C.G.A. § 9-10-184(a)(2), added by SB 68 in 2025, gives a long list that includes discomfort, anxiety, hardship, physical impairment, mental anguish, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, and “in wrongful death cases, the nonpecuniary elements of the full value of life.”
Georgia has no cap on them in an ordinary injury case, and in malpractice the cap was struck down in Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery v. Nestlehutt (2010). The measure is “the enlightened conscience of an impartial jury.” In Clark v. Leigh (2026), the Georgia Supreme Court reaffirmed Nestlehutt and held that the cap can’t apply to a malpractice verdict that includes noneconomic damages for the patient’s pain and suffering before death. Whether it could apply to wrongful death damages standing alone is a question the court didn’t reach.
SB 68 changed how lawyers can talk about money. Under § 9-10-184(b) and (c), counsel can’t give a number or range during jury selection or evidence, and may argue the worth of noneconomic damages only after the close of evidence, at the first opportunity to argue damages. The argument must be “rationally related to the evidence,” and can’t reference objects or values with no rational connection to the facts. These rules apply to trials in pending cases under Section 9(b) of the Act, unless applied unconstitutionally.
The same Act lets a party demand a split trial under § 51-12-15, so a jury may decide fault first and damages second.
Proof comes from the injured person and those who live with them, along with medical records showing the course of treatment. A comparative fault finding under § 51-12-33 reduces this category like any other.
General information about Georgia law as of November 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.