---
title: O.C.G.A. § 51-1-20. Liability of persons serving charitable organizations and public entities while acting in good faith.
collection: code
id: 51-1-20
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 51-1-20 (2025)
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source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t51-(v39)-2017-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=6b891965_0#page=139
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
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publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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heading_path: TORTS / GENERAL PROVISIONS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 51-1-20. Liability of persons serving charitable organizations and public entities while acting in good faith.

(a) A person serving with or without compensation as a member, director, or trustee, or as an officer of the board without compensation, of any nonprofit hospital or association or of any nonprofit, charitable, or eleemosynary institution or organization or of any local governmental agency, board, authority, or entity shall be immune from civil liability for any act or any omission to act arising out of such service if such person was acting in good faith within the scope of his or her official actions and duties and unless the damage or injury was caused by the willful or wanton misconduct of such person.

(b) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘compensation’’ shall not include reimbursement for reasonable expenses related to said services.

(c) This Code section shall not affect any immunity of any person arising from any source, whether or not such person may additionally be subject to and possess an immunity provided by this Code section. The immunity provided by this Code section shall be supplemental to any such existing immunity.

## History

Ga. L. 1969, p. 709, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 915, § 2; Ga. L. 1987, p. 986, § 1.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘The Tort Liability of a Charitable Institution,’’ see 5 Ga. B. J. 25 (1942). For article, ‘‘Hospital Liability for Negligent Care in Georgia,’’ see 17 Ga. B. J. 18 (1954). For article analyzing doctrine of immunity from tort liability enjoyed by charitable institutions, see 24 Ga. B. J. 201 (1961).

For note on the status of the charitable immunity doctrine, see 10 Mercer L. Rev. 323 (1959). For note advocating uniformity in doctrine of charitable immunity, see 23 Ga. B. J. 398 (1961).

For comment on Cox v. DeJarnette, 104 Ga. App. 664, 123 S.E.2d 16 (1961), see 24 Ga. B. J. 536 (1962). For comment on Williams v. Hospital Auth., 119 Ga. App. 626, 168 S.E.2d 336 (1969), see 6 Ga. St. B. J. 209 (1969). For comment advocating abolition of the doctrine of charitable immunity in light of Abernathy v. Sisters of St. Mary’s, 446 S.W.2d 599 (Mo. 1969), see 21 Mercer L. Rev. 521 (1970).