Special damages in Georgia tort law: what must be specially pleaded and proven

Here’s the thing about money and injuries in a tort case: not every harm comes with a neat price tag. Some harms are felt in the body or in reputation in ways that defy a simple receipt. In Georgia tort law, there’s a specific category for the costs you can actually tally and prove with receipts, invoices, and pay stubs. Those are called special damages. And yes, they have to be pled with detail and proven at trial. Let me explain how that works in a clear, practical way.

What are special damages, exactly?

Think of special damages as the part of the bill you can show in dollars. They’re the concrete, economic losses that can be quantified. Examples include:

• Medical expenses through the date of trial (hospital bills, doctor visits, prescription costs)

• Lost wages or diminished earning capacity

• Property damage (a car, a phone, a piece of equipment)

• Other out-of-pocket costs tied to the injury or accident (rental cars, home care, or necessary adaptations)

Because these losses can be measured, the law treats them a little differently than the softer, non-monetary harms.

Why do they have to be specially pleaded and proven?

This is where the fairness part of the system comes in. Special damages require specifics so the other side can prepare a defense. Here’s the logic in plain terms:

• Notice matters: If you’re asking for reimbursement of specific expenses, the defendant needs to know exactly what you’re claiming and why.

• Evidence matters: The court needs solid records—receipts, medical bills, wage records, repair estimates—to verify the numbers.

• Causation matters: You have to show that the defendant’s conduct caused those precise losses. It’s not enough to say “my life got worse.” You must tie each cost to the incident.

Without a detailed pleading, you risk losing money you could otherwise recover, even if the proof is strong at trial. The pleading functions like a map: it shows where the money is coming from and how it got connected to the defendant’s actions.

How special damages fit with other kinds of damages

While special damages cover the tangible, economic side, other damages cover different kinds of harm:

• General damages: These are the non-economic harms like pain and suffering, emotional distress, or loss of enjoyment of life. They’re more subjective, and while they’re still recoverable in many cases, they don’t require the same line-by-line financial proof as special damages.

• Punitive damages: These aren’t about curbing a specific financial loss. Instead, they’re about punishment and deterrence when the defendant’s conduct was especially reckless or malicious. The proof usually focuses on the defendant’s conduct, not on tallying medical bills.

• Nominal damages: Sometimes a case shows a legal wrong without substantial injury. In those moments, a small, symbolic amount may be awarded, and you don’t need tight proof of economic impact.

So, special damages sit at the intersection of documented costs and proven causation. They’re the backbone for the financial side of the claim, while other damages paint a broader picture of harm.

How to plead and prove special damages effectively

If you’re handling a Georgia case, here are practical steps to ensure special damages are properly pleaded and supported:

• Start with a precise pleading: List each category of economic loss with a short, clear description. For example, “medical expenses incurred as a result of X incident, totaling $Y, with itemized invoices attached.” This isn’t the time for vague statements.

• Attach or reference records: Keep receipts, hospital bills, doctor notes, pay stubs, and repair estimates organized. Create a ledger that traces each charge back to a specific date and event.

• Tie costs to the incident: For every item, explain how the defendant’s actions caused it. If a vehicle crash led to medical treatment, connect every bill to treatment related to that crash.

• Provide a reasonable calculation: If you’re asking for future medical care or lost earnings, include a reasonable projection with a solid basis (medical testimony, employer statements, wage records). Courts want a credible forecast, not guesswork.

• Keep the links clear: Don’t mix up special damages with general damages in the pleading. They’re related, but they live in different places in the complaint and different streams of evidence.

• Preserve every piece of evidence: Don’t discard a receipt or a note because it seems small. Small costs add up and can matter in the final tally.

A quick, practical checklist you can skim through

• Do I list each category of economic loss separately? Yes.

• Do I attach or reference itemized bills and receipts? Yes.

• Do I explain how each item is connected to the incident? Yes.

• Do I include any necessary future costs with support? Yes, with a forecast and a medical basis.

• Do I separate special damages from non-economic harms in the pleadings? Yes.

A few nuances that can pop up

• Causation is king: A cost tied to a separate event won’t count. The link to the defendant’s conduct needs to be crystal clear.

• The timing matters: Some costs accrue after the incident but before the trial. If you plan to claim them, you’ll need a credible estimate and the basis for those estimates.

• What about minor costs? Even smaller expenses, like parking fees tied to getting medical treatment, should be included if they’re directly linked to the injury.

• Consistency across filings: Your pleadings, discovery responses, and trial exhibits should tell a consistent story. Mixed messages invite trouble.

A note on the emotional side of the ledger

Special damages aren’t just numbers on a page. They represent the tangible impact of an injury on everyday life. Think about the days you couldn’t work, the hours spent in waiting rooms, or the simple purchases you had to make to manage recoveries. Describing these experiences in a way that’s clear enough to be verified, but still human, helps the court see the real-world effect of the incident. You don’t want to turn every line into a melodrama, but a grounded, relatable narrative can accompany the hard receipts.

Connecting the dots: what this means in practice

If you’re working through a tort claim in Georgia, remember this: special damages are the money trail. They’re the costs you can prove with actual evidence, tied directly to the defendant’s actions. They require specific pleading so the other side knows what to defend against, and so the court can judge the claim fairly. General damages account for pain and other non-tangible harms, while punitive and nominal damages have their own standards and purposes.

As you build your case, keep two guiding questions in mind:

• Can I prove each cost with a document or testimony?

• Can I tie each cost back to the defendant’s conduct in a clear, defendable way?

If the answer to both is yes, you’re on solid ground to recover the economic losses you’re due.

A closing thought

Damages in torts are more than numbers; they tell a story about consequence. Special damages anchor that story in reality. They quantify the financial impact so a fair resolution can be reached, while non-economic harms remind us that some injuries don’t come with a price tag you can see on a receipt. When you’re building a case, treat special damages as the backbone of your economic argument—clear, precise, and thoroughly supported—while still giving space to the broader harms that come with injury.

If you’re curious about how these principles play out in real-world cases, look for examples where medical bills, wage losses, and property repairs are itemized and linked to a single incident. You’ll notice the pattern: a careful, well-documented demand for money, rooted in the concrete facts of what happened and why. And that’s at the core of making a strong, credible claim in Georgia tort law.