No verdict brings someone back. But a verdict can hold the people responsible accountable. It can ensure your family is not left to carry a financial burden that someone else caused. And it can send a message that certain decisions have consequences.
McDonald & Cody handles wrongful death cases across Georgia. These are the most serious cases the firm takes. They prepare every one for trial, and they do not stop short of what the case is worth.
A wrongful death claim is a legal action filed when someone dies because of another person’s or a company’s negligence or misconduct. Georgia law specifically allows certain family members to file this claim and recover for the loss of the deceased’s life.
Wrongful death cases can arise from vehicle collisions, trucking crashes, defective products, medical malpractice, premises liability, construction accidents, and other situations where someone’s death was caused by a preventable act or failure to act.
Georgia has two separate claims that can arise from the same death. The wrongful death claim covers the full value of the deceased’s life. The estate claim covers the deceased’s pain and suffering before death and medical expenses. Both can be pursued simultaneously.
Under Georgia law, the right to file a wrongful death claim follows a specific order. The surviving spouse has the first right to file. If there is no surviving spouse, the surviving children may file. If there are no children, the surviving parents may file.
If none of those parties exist, the claim may be filed through the deceased’s estate. An administrator is appointed to pursue the claim on behalf of the heirs.
These rules matter because disputes among family members over who controls the claim can delay or damage a case. McDonald & Cody guides families through this process from day one.
Georgia law allows recovery for the full value of the deceased’s life. That is not just lost income. It includes the value of everything the deceased would have contributed over a lifetime: earnings, guidance, care, companionship, and the intangible things that cannot be replaced.
In a case where two brothers lost their mother to a vehicle collision, Bo Hatchett and Jackson McDonald took the case to trial in Gwinnett County. The jury returned a $17.2 million verdict. That is one of the larger wrongful death verdicts in metro Atlanta.
In another case, two daughters lost their father, the family breadwinner. Other attorneys and the insurance company said there was no path forward. McDonald & Cody investigated, found a way, and recovered the full value of his life. The family can now live as if he were still providing for them.
Wrongful death cases are often worth far more than insurance companies first offer. Volume firms pressure families to settle. They have too many cases to take any one to a verdict. McDonald & Cody has a selective caseload and prepares every case for trial.
The table below shows what that difference looks like in documented, side-by-side comparisons. In every case, the trial verdict came back 2 to 4 times higher than the settlement offer. That gap is what families give up when they settle with a firm that is not ready to go to trial.
$33 Million
non-confidential settlement
$17.2 Million
VERDICT (2025)
$14.5 Million
Confidential Settlement
$13.1 Million
Confidential Settlement
We review every inquiry at no charge. If we can help, we will tell you. If we cannot, we will say so.
You pay nothing unless we win. We pay every litigation expense except medical bills.
North Office: 383 U.S. Hwy 441 Business, Cornelia, GA 30531 | 706-778-5291
South Office: 4005 Hwy 365 South, Alto, GA 30510 | 706-778-7178
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