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Edwards v. Georgia Dep't of Children and Youth Servs.

The decision of state employees on the type of emergency medical treatment to provide incarcerated juveniles does not fall within the discretionary function exception to the Georgia Tort Claims Act.

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We granted certiorari to consider whether state employees perform a “discretionary function” under the Georgia Tort Claims Act when they make decisions on the emergency medical treatment of juveniles in state custody.1 Adhering to our previous opinions that the discretionary function exception to the tort claims act requires the exercise of a policy judgment, we hold that the decision of state employees on the type of emergency medical treatment to provide incarcerated juveniles is not a discretionary function as that term is defined in the statute. As a result, the state is not immune from liability under the discretionary function exception in this case. Therefore, we reverse.

Fifteen-year-old Latasha Edwards died from a subdural hematoma while incarcerated at the Macon Youth Development Center. Her parents sued the Georgia Department of Children and Youth Services under the Georgia Tort Claims Act, alleging that YDC employees were negligent in failing to provide proper medical care to Edwards. The trial court ruled that the claims were barred under the discretionary function exception of OCGA § 50-21-24 2 and granted summary judgment to the state. The Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia affirmed on the grounds that the state employees exercised a discretionary decision in determining the type of medical care to provide and were therefore subject to immunity.2 In granting the writ of certiorari, we asked the parties to address whether the court of appeals improperly expanded the meaning of “discretionary function” to decisions of state employees that are not related to policy judgments.

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