Dorn v. Georgia Dep't of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities

The plaintiff failed to comply with the ante litem notice provisions of the GTCA because he did not specify the amount of the loss claimed in his wrongful death action, as required under O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26 a 5 E.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Paul Dorn, individually and as administrator of the estate of his son, Brooks Cameron Dorn the “decedent”, sued the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities the “Department” for damages, contending that the Department’s negligence was the proximate cause of the decedent’s death. The trial court dismissed Dorn’s complaint for failure to comply with the ante litem notice provisions of The Georgia Tort Claims Act, OCGA § 50-21-20 et seq. “GTCA” in that Dorn did not specify the amount of the loss claimed. On appeal, Dorn contends that he complied with the ante litem notice requirements notwithstanding that the notice did not state the dollar amount of the loss claimed and that the trial court therefore erred in dismissing his complaint. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

The record shows that the Decedent committed suicide on April 5, 2011, while on conditional release from a psychiatric facility operated by the Department. On January 9, 2012, Dorn presented, via certified mail, return receipt requested, his “Ante Litem Notice of Wrongful Death Claim” to the Risk Management Division of the Georgia Department of Administrative Services, and he provided a copy of the notice to the Department. Dorn’s notice did not state the dollar amount of the loss claimed. Rather, the notice stated that “the amount of the loss suffered” is the “monetary value of the decedent’s life in an amount sufficient to appropriately penalize State’s deliberately indifferent, negligent breach of State’s duty, and also in an amount sufficient to appropriately penalize State’s deliberately indifferent, negligent violation of the decedent’s rights.”

Dorn v. Georgia Dep't of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities

The plaintiff failed to comply with the ante litem notice provisions of the GTCA because he did not specify the amount of the loss claimed in his wrongful death action, as required under O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26 a 5 E.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report