Human trafficking is not only a criminal offense. In Georgia, survivors may also have the right to pursue traffickers and certain other responsible parties through the civil justice system.

For survivors, that distinction matters. A criminal prosecution is primarily designed to determine whether someone committed a crime and, if convicted, impose punishment. A civil lawsuit serves a different purpose: it can provide a survivor with an avenue to seek financial compensation and hold responsible parties accountable for the harm they caused or knowingly benefited from.

Georgia Law Gives Human Trafficking Survivors a Civil Cause of Action

Georgia strengthened the civil remedies available to trafficking survivors when Senate Bill 33 became law in 2021. The legislation created O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56, establishing a specific civil cause of action for victims of human trafficking.

The law does more than focus narrowly on the individual who personally committed acts of trafficking.

For purposes of the statute, a “perpetrator” can include a person or entity that knowingly benefits financially—or receives something else of value—from participating in a venture or scheme that the person or entity knew or should have known involved a violation of Georgia’s human-trafficking law.

That language can be particularly important when investigating a trafficking operation involving multiple individuals or organizations.

A civil case may therefore require attorneys to look beyond the most obvious wrongdoer and examine who participated in the venture, who benefited from it, what those parties knew or should have known, and how their conduct relates to the trafficking experienced by the survivor.

Who Can Potentially Be Held Responsible?

Every human-trafficking case is different, and liability depends on the evidence. A civil investigation may examine the conduct of individuals who recruited, transported, controlled, exploited, or profited from a survivor.

Depending on the facts, attorneys may also investigate businesses, organizations, property operators, or other entities that allegedly received a financial or other benefit from participation in the trafficking venture.

This does not mean that a business automatically becomes legally responsible simply because trafficking occurred on its property or involved someone associated with it. The statutory requirements still have to be established.

Georgia’s definition focuses on whether the defendant knowingly benefited from participation in the venture or scheme and whether the defendant knew or should have known that the venture involved conduct prohibited by Georgia’s trafficking statute.

Determining whether those requirements can be proven often requires a detailed investigation.

What Compensation Can a Survivor Seek?

O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56 specifically provides that an eligible trafficking victim may recover damages as well as reasonable attorney’s fees from a perpetrator.

The value and available categories of damages in any particular lawsuit will depend on the facts, the claims asserted, the evidence, and other applicable Georgia law.

Trafficking can affect virtually every part of a survivor’s life. A civil case may therefore require careful documentation of financial losses and the broader consequences of the exploitation.

Depending on the circumstances and available legal claims, an attorney may investigate losses associated with medical or psychological treatment, lost income or diminished earning capacity, physical injuries, emotional suffering, and other harm caused by the defendant’s conduct.

No lawyer can responsibly determine the potential value of a trafficking case without examining its specific facts. The central goal is to identify the legally recoverable harm and develop evidence demonstrating how the trafficking affected the survivor.

Does There Have to Be a Criminal Case First?

Civil and criminal proceedings are separate, although they can affect one another.

Georgia’s civil trafficking statute expressly addresses situations in which a related criminal action is underway. If a civil action under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56 is filed while a criminal action arising from the same occurrence is pending, the civil case must be stayed during the pendency of that criminal action.

A stay does not mean that the survivor’s civil claim simply disappears. Instead, it pauses the civil proceedings while the related criminal matter remains pending.

This is one reason survivors should consider obtaining legal advice rather than assuming they must wait until every criminal issue has concluded before speaking with a civil attorney.

How Long Do Human Trafficking Survivors Have to File?

Deadlines are particularly important in civil cases.

Under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56, an action under the statute generally may be brought within 10 years after the cause of action arose. When the survivor was a minor at the time of the alleged violation, the statute provides for an action within 10 years after the victim reaches age 18.

That extended period recognizes an important reality: trafficking survivors may not be in a position to pursue litigation immediately after exploitation ends.

Even with a longer filing period, waiting can create practical problems. Records may be lost, businesses may close, witnesses can become difficult to locate, electronic evidence can disappear, and memories may fade.

Anyone considering a civil trafficking claim should therefore speak with a Georgia attorney as early as reasonably possible so the specific deadline applicable to the case can be evaluated.

Evidence Can Make a Significant Difference

Human trafficking often occurs through coercion, manipulation, threats, isolation, financial control, or abuse of vulnerability. As a result, the evidence in a civil trafficking lawsuit may extend far beyond a single document or eyewitness.

Potential evidence can include text messages, emails, social-media communications, photographs, videos, financial records, hotel or property records, employment information, medical records, police reports, criminal-case materials, witness testimony, and other electronic data.

Financial evidence may be especially important when a claim involves a person or entity accused of benefiting from participation in a trafficking venture.

Survivors should not assume they have no case simply because they do not personally possess extensive documentation. An attorney can investigate what evidence may exist and determine whether additional records can be obtained through the civil discovery process or other lawful means.

Civil Lawsuits Can Provide a Different Form of Accountability

A criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit serve different functions.

Criminal cases are brought by the government. Civil cases give survivors an opportunity, when the legal requirements are satisfied, to seek compensation directly from responsible defendants.

Georgia’s decision to enact O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56 expressly created this additional avenue of accountability. The Georgia General Assembly’s summary of Senate Bill 33 states that the law created a cause of action against perpetrators for victims of human trafficking, effective July 1, 2021.

For survivors, civil litigation may be one part of a broader process of rebuilding financial stability, accessing resources, and pursuing accountability.

Talk With The Embry Law Firm About a Georgia Human Trafficking Civil Claim

Human trafficking cases require sensitivity, discretion, and serious investigation. Survivors should not have to navigate complicated civil laws, filing deadlines, evidence preservation, and potentially powerful defendants without experienced legal guidance.

At The Embry Law Firm, we understand that a human trafficking civil lawsuit is about far more than paperwork or financial damages. It involves a person’s life, dignity, safety, and future.

Our legal team can evaluate the circumstances surrounding the trafficking, investigate potentially responsible individuals and entities, review available evidence, determine which civil claims may apply, and explain the legal options available under Georgia law.

If you or a loved one survived human trafficking in Georgia, you may have civil rights in addition to any criminal proceedings involving the traffickers.

Contact The Embry Law Firm today to discuss your case confidentially and learn whether you may have grounds to pursue a civil human trafficking lawsuit in Georgia.

This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The laws and deadlines applicable to a particular case depend on its specific facts.

Georgia law expressly provides a civil cause of action for qualifying victims of human trafficking. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56, a victim of a violation of Georgia’s human-trafficking statute may bring a civil action against a qualifying “perpetrator” and seek damages and reasonable attorney’s fees.

If you or someone you love survived human trafficking in Georgia, understanding these civil rights can be an important part of determining what legal options remain available.