§ 9-3-97.1.Tolling of limitations for medical malpractice
Chapter 3. Limitations of Actions · Article 5. Tolling of Limitations · Last amended 2000 · Last verified July 17, 2026
Full Text of § 9-3-97.1
Plain-English Summary
Medical malpractice cases often turn on records the plaintiff does not yet have — the records needed to know whether a claim exists. This section lets an injured person pause the limitations clock while chasing those records down, but only by following a precise procedure. The request must go by certified or registered mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested; if a lawyer sends it, it must come with a signed medical authorization; it must say plainly that the records are wanted for a possible malpractice claim and ask that they be sent back the same traceable way; and the requester has to pay promptly whatever fees the provider charges to compile and mail them.
If the provider does not produce the records — or a letter saying it has none — within 21 days, the clock stops. It stops as of the 22nd day after the provider received the request, and it starts again the day after the records, or a no-records letter, arrive. That pause can happen only once for any given cause of action; a second round of delay does not buy a second tolling period.
The tolling has an outer limit of 90 days. If 85 days have passed since the request without a response, the injured person can petition a court for an order extending the tolling beyond 90 days and compelling the provider to produce the records. Anyone who wants to rely on this tolling has to prove it: the first complaint filed has to allege the facts showing entitlement to the tolling and attach the request, the medical release, and proof of mailing and receipt.
The statute closes by telling courts how to read all of this: strictly. Subsection (d) directs strict compliance and strict construction, which means missing a step in the procedure — the wrong mailing method, an unpaid fee, a missing authorization — can cost a plaintiff the benefit of the tolling.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can O.C.G.A. § 9-3-97.1 toll the medical malpractice limitations period?
No more than 90 days, except that a court may extend tolling beyond 90 days if the injured person petitions after 85 days have passed without a response.
What must a request for medical records include to trigger tolling under this section?
It must be sent by certified or registered mail or statutory overnight delivery with return receipt requested, expressly ask that records be mailed back the same way, and state that the records are needed for possible use in a medical malpractice action; if sent by an attorney, it must include a properly executed medical authorization.
How many days does a provider have to respond before tolling begins?
Tolling depends on the records or a letter of response not being received within 21 days of the provider receiving the request; the limitations period then ceases to run on the 22nd day.
Can this tolling provision be used more than once for the same claim?
No. The statute specifies that “such periods of limitation shall be tolled only once for any cause of action.”
What must a plaintiff include in the complaint to rely on this tolling?
The complaint as first filed must allege facts showing entitlement to rely on the section and attach copies of the request, the medical release, and evidence of mailing and receipt.
Amendment History
Code 1981, § 9-3-97.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1989, p. 419, § 2; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 4.