Demand Letter Preparation in Georgia Personal Injury Cases

A Georgia demand letter is a written offer that tells an insurer what happened, why its insured is responsible, what the losses are, and what it would take to settle. No statute requires one before an ordinary injury suit. But if the claim arises from a motor vehicle and a lawyer prepares the offer, § 9-11-67.1 sets its required terms. So the first step is deciding which kind of letter this is, because a letter can bind the sender or start a clock.

Which letter are you writing?

Type	Purpose	Rules	Page
Opening package	Starts negotiation	None specific	This page
Motor vehicle offer by a lawyer, before an answer	Possibly binding offer	§ 9-11-67.1	2024 framework
Offer within limits, any tort	Sets up a failure-to-settle claim	Holt line of cases	Time-limited demands
§ 33-4-6 first-party demand	Insurer's bad faith on your own covered loss	60 days, by the statute's terms	Bad faith
§ 33-4-7 demand on vehicle damage	Property damage by a motor vehicle	Its own notice rules	Bad faith
Offer under § 9-11-68	Fee shifting	30 days after service, written form	Negotiations during litigation
Government notice	Precondition to suit	§ 36-33-5; § 50-21-26	Sidewalk falls

Those are separate tools with separate pages: § 9-11-67.1, time-limited demands, bad faith, and settlement during litigation. A cover letter that mixes them can create problems. Keep each purpose clear.

What to include

Section	Content	Support
Identification	Parties, claim number, date, place	Crash or incident report
Liability	What happened, and the rule broken	Photos, witnesses, statutes
Injuries	Diagnosis and course of treatment	Records
Special damages	An itemized list, with dates	Bills, payroll, tax returns
Future damages	What's needed, from whom	Doctor's letter, life care plan
Life impact	Specifics about daily life	Statements, photos
Fault	Address the other side's argument	Evidence
Amount and deadline	A clear number and date	Written rule for how to accept

For the future-care row, see life care plans. Accuracy counts more than volume. In Michaels v. Kroger, 172 Ga. App. 280 (1984), lost earnings needed to be shown “with a reasonable degree of certainty”, and in Womack v. Burgess, 200 Ga. App. 347 (1991), a 50/50 surgery couldn’t reach a jury. So an adjuster who sees an unsupported number may discount everything around it. For newer claims, § 51-12-1.1 means an insurer will compare billed amounts with what health coverage would pay, and letter-of-protection terms are discoverable under (d).

When to send it

Factor	Earlier	Later
Medical picture	Clear fault, policy limits plainly too low	Condition has stabilized
Evidence	Insurer has what it needs	Records still incomplete
Deadlines	Two-year limit near, or a city notice needed	Time to spare
Policy	Small limits, competing claimants	Multiple layers

Maximum medical improvement explains what “stabilized” means.

The two-year limit in § 9-3-33 runs regardless, and a letter doesn’t stop it. A demand sent too close to the deadline may leave no time to file. A person’s consortium claim has four years under the same section, so check the dates separately. Before sending, also confirm the liens so the number leaves room for them, and find out what limits apply. Section 33-3-28 lets a claimant ask an insurer for policy information.

Choosing the amount

No formula applies, and neither does a multiplier. A demand can reflect:

• proved special damages, including future care;
• a reasoned value for pain and limits, based on this person’s life;
• fault shares under § 51-12-33, and the 50 percent bar;
• available coverage, since a figure far above limits changes the discussion;
• what you will accept, known privately.

Don’t invent scientific-sounding precision. Picking a non-round number doesn’t make a demand stronger. An offer inside policy limits raises the insurer’s duty to its insured, as Southern General v. Holt, 262 Ga. 267 (1992), explains. One above limits doesn’t raise that duty, since First Acceptance v. Hughes, 305 Ga. 489 (2019), ties it to a valid offer within limits. A demand that needs another insurer’s money has its own problem, under Cotton States v. Brightman, 276 Ga. 683 (2003).

Mistakes that can hurt

• Overstating. A statement that a person “can’t walk”, followed by a video of walking, damages trust.
• Leaving out prior conditions. The records will show them, so address them first.
• Vague acceptance terms. Spell out what acceptance means, or you may end up arguing whether a deal exists.
• Sending your only copy of a record. Keep complete sets.
• Disclosing what you don’t need to. Medical authorizations should be limited to what’s relevant.
• Offering a release you can’t give. A minor’s claim needs compliance with § 29-3-3, and an estate’s needs a representative.
• Assuming the letter preserves evidence. Send a separate preservation request.

After it’s sent

An adjuster may ask for more records, make a low counter, or say nothing. In Holt, the insurer simply didn’t respond, and that raised a jury question. In Baker v. Huff, 323 Ga. App. 357 (2013), a lawyer cut off medical information and imposed a ten-day limit, and the insurer won. So answer reasonable requests, keep a log, and calendar the suit date. See negotiating with adjusters.

If talks stall, filing suit is the next step. A demand made before suit isn’t lost. A pending offer may also lapse, and pre-suit mediation is an option.

Sources

• Michaels v. Kroger, 172 Ga. App. 280
• Womack v. Burgess, 200 Ga. App. 347
• Southern General v. Holt, 262 Ga. 267
• Cotton States v. Brightman, 276 Ga. 683
• First Acceptance v. Hughes, 305 Ga. 489
• Baker v. Huff, 323 Ga. App. 357
• Official Code of Georgia Annotated, November 2022 public release: §§ 9-3-33, 9-11-67.1, 9-11-68, 29-3-3, 33-3-28, 33-4-6, 33-4-7, 36-33-5, 50-21-26, 51-12-33
• Georgia Senate Bill 68 (2025): § 51-12-1.1

This page was last reviewed in November 2026 for general information. Laws and court decisions can change after that date. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.