Can You “Renew” a Georgia Personal Injury Lawsuit After Dismissing It?

If you wish to file a personal injury lawsuit, you need to be aware of the applicable statute of limitations. For most Georgia personal injury claims, the statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the original injury. In some cases–notably those involving medical malpractice–the 2-year clock may not start to run until the date the plaintiff actually discovered their injury.

Statute of Limitations vs. Statute of Repose

For a number of reasons, a plaintiff who initially files a personal injury lawsuit may need to voluntarily dismiss their case and refile at a later time. This is known as “renewal” and it is permissible under Georgia law. Specifically, if a plaintiff “discontinues or dismisses” their case, it can be renewed up until the expiration of the original statute of limitations or 6 months after the discontinuance or dismissal, whichever is later. However, if the original case ended after the statute of limitations already expired, then the plaintiff may only seek renewal once.

Renewal may also be limited by what is known as the statute of repose. This is a hard deadline to file a lawsuit regardless of when the plaintiff discovered their injury. Georgia law sets a 5-year statute of repose for medical malpractice claims. This means that renewal is not an option if it comes more than 5 years after the original act of malpractice.

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed that rule in a case, Sangster v. McGillvary, where a medical malpractice plaintiff attempted to renew their lawsuit. According to the plaintiff, the defendants performed surgery on him on April 24, 2018. The plaintiff initially filed his medical malpractice lawsuit on February 24, 2020, which the trial court dismissed on July 13, 2023, due to inaction by the plaintiff. The plaintiff then filed a renewal complaint on August 16, 2023.

The defense moved to dismiss the re-filed case based on the 5-year statute of repose, which expired on April 24, 2023–5 years after the plaintiff’s surgery and roughly 4 months before he sought renewal. The trial court granted the defense’s motion.

The Court of Appeals agreed with the defense and the trial judge that Georgia’s renewal law did not “overcome the five-year statute of repose for medical malpractice actions.” So even if the plaintiff re-filed his lawsuit within the time allowed by the renewal statute, it still had to comply with the statute of repose.

That said, the appellate court said the plaintiff might still be allowed to proceed with his lawsuit due to a July 2024 decision from the Georgia Supreme Court, Golden v. Floyd Healthcare Management, which held the statewide COVID-19 emergency tolled–or stopped the clock–on the statute of repose from March to July of 2020.

Contact Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers Today

In any personal injury case, there are a number of strict legal deadlines that must be followed. A qualified Atlanta personal injury lawyer can help ensure your case is filed and prosecuted in a timely manner. Call Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers today. We serve clients throughout Georgia including Atlanta, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Johns Creek and Sandy Springs.

Source:

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