2020 Georgia Code
Title 24 - Evidence
Chapter 4 - Relevant Evidence and Its Limits
§ 24-4-407. Subsequent Remedial Measures
In civil proceedings, when, after an injury or harm, remedial measures are taken to make such injury or harm less likely to recur, evidence of the remedial measures shall not be admissible to prove negligence or culpable conduct but may be admissible to prove product liability under subsection (b) or (c) of Code Section 51-1-11. The provisions of this Code section shall not require the exclusion of evidence of remedial measures when offered for impeachment or for another purpose, including, but not limited to, proving ownership, control, or feasibility of precautionary measures, if controverted.
(Code 1981, §24-4-407, enacted by Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 2/HB 24.)
Cross references.- Subsequent remedial measures, Fed. R. Evid. 407.
Editor's notes.- In light of the reenactment of this Title, effective January 1, 2013, the reader is advised to consult the annotations following Code Section 24-4-404, which may also be applicable to this Code section.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Doctor's remedial measure not admissible for impeachment purposes.
- In a medical malpractice case in which the doctor placed a halo device on the patient with the opening in the front, the trial court erred in holding that evidence of the doctor's alleged remedial measure of placing the opening of the halo device in the rear was admissible by the patient for impeachment purposes because the deposition testimony of the president of the company that manufactured the halo device was that there was nothing wrong, from a structural engineering standpoint, with placing the halo opening in the front and that placement decisions were left to the surgeon; and the company president's testimony did not contradict the doctor's later decision to exercise the doctor's discretion to position the halo openings in the rear. Mark v. Agerter, 332 Ga. App. 879, 775 S.E.2d 235 (2015).
