Fast Facts

We hope you’ll use this website to explore, in depth, your rights related to critical consumer issues. However, we also believe that learning how to better protect and exercise your rights requires an awareness of the broad range of consumer rights and issues the law addresses (and fails to address).  Below is a brief sampling of some key rights you may not realize you have. It’s important to understand that the law can be very complicated – there are exceptions, conditions, and limitations to many of your rights. The list below does not address all of these possibilities, although it does offer some examples of ways your rights may be limited.

If you believe you have been harmed because your rights have been violated, you should consider consulting an attorney, who can assess your situation in light of all of the facts and nuances. In many instances, an attorney will review your case for free. Some attorneys will also take cases on a contingency basis, which means you only pay them if they are successful in helping you recover money for your damages. 

Fast Facts - Georgia

Time Limits for Filing Lawsuits:
The law limits how long you have to file a lawsuit against another person or entity, depending on the circumstances and type of claim. This time limit is known as the statute of limitations. If you don’t bring the suit within the statute of limitations, your case could be barred forever. If you think you might file a lawsuit, consider consulting an attorney as soon as possible, so that there is enough time to prepare your case and file suit.

Suing a Government Entity:
If you have a legal claim against a government entity, you must give that entity written notice of your claim within a certain period of time after the incident occurred on which your claim is based, before a suit can be filed. This notice is called an “Ante litem notice”, and it is different from the statute of limitations. If your claim is:

• Against the state, you must give notice within 12 months of the incident
• Against a county, you must give notice within 12 months from when the claim accrues or becomes payable
• Against a town, city, or municipality, you must give notice within 6 months of the incident
• If the claim is against the federal government or other federal agency, different notice requirements apply.

There are also requirements about the information an ante litem notice must contain, how it must be made, and how much time you must allow between serving an ante litem notice and actually filing suit.

Injury Due To Another’s Negligence:
If you’re hospitalized for injuries resulting from someone else’s negligence, that person or that person's insurance company cannot do any of the following within 15 days from the date you were injured:

• try to negotiate a settlement with you
• try to get you to sign a release of liability
• try to get you to make a statement (verbally or in writing) for their use in negotiating a settlement with you. 

Managed Healthcare:
If you’re injured or die because your managed health care plan doesn’t administer your benefits or adjust your claims in a timely manner, you or your family may be able to sue the managed care plan in a court of law. However, punitive damages (money awarded as a way to punish the guilty part and, hopefully, prevent similar behavior in the future) are not allowed.

Injury on Another’s Property:
If you’re invited onto someone else’s property, that person has an obligation to you to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and to warn you of any known dangerous conditions.

Fraud:
If someone commits fraud in their dealings with you and you suffer damage as a result, you may be able to sue them in a court of law.

Obligation to Limit Your Damages:
If you were injured because of someone else’s negligence but you could have taken relatively simple steps to avoid or minimize your injuries, you may not be able to collect full damages from the negligent person. In many circumstances, the law also requires you to take reasonable steps to try to limit your damages as much as possible.

Minimal Liability for Emergency Room Providers:
According to Georgia’s tort reform laws, medical providers who give you emergency care in a hospital cannot be held liable for malpractice unless they are grossly negligent.

Uninsured Nursing Homes:
Nursing homes are not required by the state or federal government to have liability insurance in order to be licensed facilities. So, if you or a loved one suffer injuries or are a victim of malpractice in a nursing home, even though you may win a lawsuit against the facility, you may be unable to collect money for your damages.

Credit Rights:
If you’re denied credit because of a negative entry on your credit report, you have a right to know the name and address of the company that provided the report.

You have a right to get a free copy of your credit report every year from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). You can also get a free copy if you’ve been the victim of fraud or if you’ve been turned down for credit, a job, or a rental home because of information contained in your credit file.  The credit reporting company that provided the report must give you a free copy if you ask for it.

You have the right to dispute information on your credit report you believe is incorrect. Do this in writing. If the credit reporting company still believes the information they have is correct and refuses to remove it from your record, you have the right to add a 100-word statement to your credit report explaining why you dispute the information.

Nursing Home Rights:
If you or a loved one is in a nursing home, you are guaranteed many rights including:

• the right to privacy
• the right to help develop your own plan of care
• the right to make complaints without fear of retaliation
• the right to choose your own doctor
• the right to be free from physical or chemical restraints (excessive medications) unless you or someone else are in immediate danger
• the right to file a grievance with the Department of Human Resources if your rights have been violated or you are receiving inadequate care

Payday Loans:
In Georgia, payday loans are illegal!  You have the right  to refuse to pay back an illegal payday loan made to you on or after May 1, 2004.

Fair Settlement of Insurance Claims:
When you file a claim with your insurance company, you have a right to have the claim settled fairly and promptly.

Contract Disputes:
If you’re involved in a dispute over a contract and you have to go to court, courts will typically interpret unclear language in the contract in your favor. Also, an agreement you entered into under extreme pressure, threats, or coercion-or because you really had no choice-may be declared void and unenforceable.

For more detailed information on many of the rights outlined above, see Key Consumer Issues.