Can the Defense Get Your ChatGPT Searches in a Georgia Injury Case?

Clients increasingly use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and other AI tools the way they used to use Google: to understand symptoms, medical care, insurance claims, deposition questions, settlement value, and whether a lawyer is handling the case correctly. The problem is that a chatbot conversation is not the same thing as a private conversation with your attorney.

In Georgia injury litigation, defense lawyers can use discovery to ask for information relevant to the claims and defenses in the case. That includes traditional documents, medical records, photographs, text messages, social media content, and electronically stored information. AI prompts and responses are the next obvious target.

Georgia discovery is broad, but it is not unlimited

Georgia’s Civil Practice Act allows parties to use depositions, interrogatories, requests for production, requests for admission, and other discovery tools. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-26, parties may generally seek nonprivileged information that is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action, unless the court limits discovery. O.C.G.A. § 9-11-34 also permits requests for documents, tangible things, and electronically stored information.

That does not mean the defense gets everything. A request for “all ChatGPT searches you have ever made” should draw serious objections. A request should be tied to the issues in the case, such as claimed injuries, medical treatment, ability to work, prior conditions, damages, credibility, or the incident itself. Overbroad, vague, harassing, or disproportionate requests can be challenged. Courts can issue protective orders when justice requires it.

Why defendants want AI searches and chatbot history

Defense lawyers are interested in AI searches for the same reason they ask for social media, text messages, photographs, and search history: they are looking for statements they can use to minimize damages or challenge credibility.

  • Symptoms and causation: A client may ask AI whether neck pain, headaches, numbness, anxiety, or memory problems can come from a crash. The defense may argue the client was self-diagnosing or exaggerating.
  • Case value: A client may ask, “How much is my Georgia car accident case worth?” The defense may try to portray the client as claim-focused rather than recovery-focused.
  • Medical treatment: A client may ask whether to keep treating, whether to get an MRI, or whether gaps in treatment matter. Those prompts can be spun as litigation strategy rather than medical need.
  • Depositions and testimony: A client may ask AI how to answer deposition questions. The defense may argue the client rehearsed testimony.
  • Inconsistent facts: AI prompts often contain casual, incomplete, or mistaken facts. Even an innocent mistake can be used for impeachment.

Is ChatGPT history privileged?

Usually, no. Attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between attorney and client made for the purpose of obtaining legal advice. Georgia law recognizes attorney-client communications as privileged, but a consumer AI chatbot is not your attorney, does not owe you the duties your lawyer owes you, and is not automatically part of your legal team.

Federal courts have started to confront this issue. Early 2026 decisions reached different results depending on the facts, including whether the AI use was directed by counsel and whether the material was already protected work product. The safest client-facing rule is simple: do not assume that anything you type into a public AI tool about your case is privileged, confidential, or immune from discovery.

The biggest mistake: deleting after a case starts

Clients should not respond to this risk by deleting evidence. Once an injury claim, lawsuit, or insurance dispute is reasonably anticipated, parties may have preservation duties. Deleting chats, searches, texts, social posts, photographs, or files after a preservation duty arises can create a separate problem and may lead to sanctions, adverse inferences, or credibility damage.

The better approach is to stop creating risky material, preserve what exists, and ask your lawyer what to do next.

Practical rules for clients in Georgia injury cases

  1. Do not put case facts into public AI tools. Avoid entering names, dates, accident facts, medical history, photographs, police reports, medical records, insurance letters, deposition topics, settlement numbers, or private communications with your lawyer.
  2. Do not ask AI to evaluate your case value. Case value depends on liability, venue, medical proof, causation, permanency, insurance coverage, liens, credibility, and trial risk. A chatbot answer can be wrong and discoverable.
  3. Do not ask AI how to “beat” a deposition. Preparation should happen with your attorney. Asking a chatbot how to answer questions can look terrible if the defense obtains it.
  4. Do not upload medical records or legal documents. Treat uploads as potentially discoverable unless your lawyer specifically instructs otherwise through an approved platform.
  5. Do not delete existing AI chats after a claim is underway. Ask counsel first. Preservation is often safer than unilateral deletion.
  6. Use AI, if at all, only for general education. General questions like “What is discovery in a civil lawsuit?” are less risky than prompts containing personal facts. Even then, do not rely on AI for legal advice.
  7. Turn off unnecessary data sharing and use privacy controls. Privacy settings do not create privilege, but they can reduce unnecessary exposure. Use available data controls, disable model-training where appropriate, and consider temporary chat features when available.
  8. Tell your lawyer if you have already used AI about the case. The conversation may be harmless, but your lawyer needs to know before discovery responses are served.

What lawyers should do when the defense asks for AI prompts

When defendants request AI searches or chatbot history, plaintiff’s counsel should treat the request like any other ESI demand: identify the specific request, evaluate relevance, preserve potentially responsive material, assert privilege and work-product objections where appropriate, object to overbreadth and disproportionality, and consider negotiating search terms, date ranges, subject-matter limits, confidentiality protections, or in camera review.

A targeted request for AI conversations about the collision, injuries, medical treatment, claimed limitations, lost wages, or deposition preparation may receive more serious attention than a blanket demand for every AI prompt a client has ever typed. The fight will often turn on scope, timing, relevance, privilege, burden, and whether the request is a fishing expedition.

Bottom line for clients

Assume the defense may ask about your AI use. Assume a chatbot is not your lawyer. Assume casual prompts can be misunderstood. But do not panic and do not delete. The safest move is to keep case questions inside the attorney-client relationship and let your lawyer guide discovery responses.

If you are pursuing a Georgia injury claim and have used ChatGPT or another AI tool to research your case, tell your attorney now. The earlier your lawyer knows, the easier it is to protect your claim, preserve what needs to be preserved, and push back against improper discovery requests.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Discovery obligations depend on the facts, the court, the specific requests, and the timing of the claim. Speak with a Georgia attorney before deleting, exporting, producing, or withholding any potentially relevant electronic information.

SB 68: Protecting Big Insurance and Corporations While Leaving Injury Victims Behind

Unfortunately, Senate Bill 68 (SB 68), a proposed law in Georgia, threatens to shift the burden away from negligent parties and onto injured individuals. This legislation would make it more challenging for victims to recover fair compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, while shielding big businesses, landlords, and especially insurance companies from accountability.

SB 68 is being promoted as a “lawsuit reform” measure, but in reality, it benefits large corporations and insurance companies at the expense of everyday Georgians—people like you and me who expect safe environments when we shop, drive, and live in rented homes.

Let’s explore how this proposed law could unfairly disadvantage injured people and victims while rewarding negligent businesses and their insurance companies.

How SB 68 Could Hurt Slip & Fall Victims

Imagine you’re walking down the aisle in a big box store when you suddenly slip on a clear substance near the auto parts / service center. You fall hard, tearing your shoulder and injuring your hip. Later, you discover that the store knew about the leak from a box of WD-40 cans more than 30 minutes prior to your fall but failed to put up signs or clean it up.

As a customer, you expect a safe environment in exchange for your patronage. However, under SB 68, the store’s legal team would have new avenues to minimize or entirely avoid responsibility:

  • Severe Limitations on Pain and Suffering Awards: SB 68 prohibits attorneys from suggesting specific monetary values for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering. This restriction hampers an attorney’s ability to provide a frame of reference for the jury as to impact of the injuries on the individual. This could cause the jury to undervalue the true and full impact of the negligent or at-fault party’s actions upon the person. Many times medical bills simply fail to paint a full picture of the pain and anguish someone suffers from an accident.
  • Health Insurance Benefits Will Be Used Against You: If your health insurance covers your medical treatment, the defendant (really the defendant’s insurance company) will introduce evidence of the lower, negotiated rates to reduce the amount they have to pay, regardless of how much you pay in monthly premiums to maintain your health insurance. Conversely, if you lacked insurance and were charged the full price, the defendant would have to pay more. This means that those who responsibly maintain health insurance will be penalized, while an uninsured person is likely to receive larger awards.
  • Challenges in Litigation: SB 68 would restrict the timeframe for voluntary dismissal of a case to within 60 days after the defendant files an answer. This reduces a plaintiff’s flexibility in litigation, benefiting businesses that seek to delay or avoid lawsuits, especially were a witness may be difficult to locate or where conflicts in the attorney or injured person’s schedule arise.

How SB 68 Would Favor Insurance Companies in Auto Accidents

Consider you’re driving through an intersection when another driver runs a red light and collides with you. You suffer a broken leg and a concussion, rendering you unable to work for months.

SB 68 would favor insurance companies at your expense:

  • Seatbelt Usage Evidence Used Against You
    • Even if the other driver was entirely at fault, their insurance company could argue that you weren’t wearing a seatbelt and use that to reduce your compensation. Previously, courts did not permit this argument because the accident would have occurred regardless of seatbelt use (in other words, the seat belt was irrelevant to the cause of the accident). Now, the insurance company can shift blame onto you (the innocent injured party) to avoid paying what you deserve.
  • Reduction in Medical Damages
    • If your hospital bill was $50,000, but your insurance negotiated it down to $20,000, you could only recover $20,000—even though the at-fault driver caused your injury and even though you may have paid hundreds or thousands of dollars towards your health insurance premiums. However, if you didn’t have insurance, you could recover the full $50,000. In the past, payments by health insurance or contributions from a church or good Samaritan could not be introduced to lower an at fault party’s liability. However, SB 68 changes this and unfairly benefits insurance companies, as they would pay out less on claims, while injured victims with insurance receive reduced compensation.
  • Delays in Legal Case
    • If the at-fault driver files a motion to dismiss, no matter how valid or frivolous, your case could be paused for 90 days, delaying justice and increasing legal costs. Meanwhile, your medical bills accumulate, and the insurance company hopes you settle for less just to move on. As the burden of proof is upon the injured party (plaintiff), time is on the side of the defendant. Unlike Big insurance companies who can afford to pay attorneys to drag a case along while witnesses move, pass away, or change their phone numbers, most injured plaintiffs cannot afford delay. In the vast majority of personal injury cases, the attorney for the plaintiff (injured party) must front all of the expenses of litigation and does not get paid unless or until the case results in a settlement or jury award. This is called a contingency fee and is another reason why efforts to reduce evidence of medical damages is so detrimental to plaintiffs. If an attorney can’t be compensated for the amount of time, expense, and experience put into a case, it becomes untenable. Insurance companies know this, so they delay, delay, delay.

How SB 68 Would Protect Landlords Over Assault Victims

SB 68 also makes it more difficult for victims of rape, assault, or violent crimes to hold negligent landlords accountable when inadequate security measures contribute to an attack.  Imagine you live in an apartment complex with a history of break-ins and violent crimes. The landlord is aware of these dangers but refuses to install proper lighting, cameras, or security. One night, an unknown assailant breaks into your unit and assaults you.

Under SB 68, landlords would be shielded from liability in most cases:

  • High Threshold for Proving “Foreseeability
    • SB 68 stipulates that a property owner is only responsible for crimes if they had:
      • “Particularized warning” of an imminent attack, OR
      • “Prior occurrences of substantially similar wrongful conduct” in the past.
    • If previous crimes were slightly different—such as burglaries instead of assaults—the landlord could argue that the attack wasn’t foreseeable, leaving you without recourse.
  • Liability Avoided by Simply CallingIf a landlord receives a warning about potential danger, they can avoid all liability by simply calling 911. This provision disincentivizes proactive safety measures, such as installing security cameras or hiring security personnel. A mere phone call is sufficient to avoid liability.

The False Promise of Lower Insurance

Proponents of SB 68 argue that limiting lawsuits will lead to lower insurance premiums. However, historical evidence suggests otherwise:

  • 2005 Georgia Tort Reform: A Failed Promise
    • In 2005, Georgia implemented comprehensive tort reform, including caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. Despite these measures, there was no significant reduction in insurance premiums for consumers.
  • Insurance Company Profits Continue to Soar
    • Insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate, and Progressive have reported record profits in recent years, yet consumer rates continue to rise.
  • A Giveaway to Corporations and Insurance Companies
    • The promised savings won’t trickle down to consumers—they will only pad the profits of big insurance companies while stripping rights away from injury victims.
  • Nothing in the Bill Requires Insurance Companies to Lower their Rates
    • If this bill’s primary aim is to help the consumer by bringing down the cost of insurance, then why doesn’t it freeze insurance rates or require that insurance companies lower their rates over a period of time? The truth is that big insurance companies pay lobbyists to present these idea to legislators without fully explaining the how these changes will impact the consumer.

Conclusion

SB 68 Is a Corporate Protection Bill, Not Lawsuit Reform

SB 68 will not protect Georgians—it will protect the profits of big corporations and insurance companies. If SB 68 becomes law, it will make it harder for victims to get justice and easier for businesses to avoid responsibility. If you’ve been injured, you deserve a fair chance to recover, not a system rigged against you.

Georgia’s lawmakers must reject SB 68 and stand up for the rights of injury victims, not just big corporations and insurance companies.

Sources:
¹ State Farm 2023 Financial Report
² Allstate 2023 Earnings Report
³ Progressive 2023 Financial Data

How Much Is My Workers’ Compensation Case Worth?

In this article, you can discover…

  • What factors determine the worth of a workers’ compensation claim.
  • If a pre-existing condition may impact your case.
  • How a diligent law firm can help maximize merited workers’ comp benefits.

What Factors Determine The Value Of A Workers’ Compensation Case?

The severity of your injury and whether or not surgery is needed will be impactful. Your doctor’s assessment of your injuries and the amount of time needed away from work will also be considered.

Workers’ compensation laws vary within each state. That is why it is important to seek counsel from an attorney familiar with how such claims are handled in your particular state. In Georgia, the types of compensation you may be eligible for include temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent partial disability, and medical expenses.

The State of Georgia does not award for pain or suffering in workers’ compensation cases. However, we can look over the types of disability options available and consider immediate and future medical impacts to help determine the value of your case.

How Is The Severity Of An On-The-Job Injury Assessed?

The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation generally factors in the body part that has been injured and the number of weeks this injury would require you to be away from work.

Other factors they consider include the length of time the injury will require to heal and the types of medical intervention needed. Will you require injections, surgery, physical therapy, or will there be life-long changes to mobility?

Overall, the severity of an injury is assessed through medical records, physicians’ recommendations, and long-term prospects for healing and recovery.

Keep in mind that unless the case is controverted, you will likely be treating with a physician chosen by your workers’ compensation insurance provider. If you are not receiving adequate treatment from your provider, it may be possible to change physicians. Ask your attorney about how they can help with this process.

How Are Lost Wages Calculated In A Workers’ Compensation Case?

The Georgia State Board Of Workers’ Compensation will look at the last 13 weeks of wages earned prior to your injury. They’ll average out those weekly amounts and use this figure to determine weekly compensation for up to 400 weeks.

The current weekly maximum temporary total disability benefits are ~ $725, though the value of your case could be significantly higher than this overall.

Can My Case Value Be Affected If I Have A Pre-Existing Condition?

For the most part, pre-existing conditions will be clearly documented as being distinct from recent, on-the-job injuries and won’t significantly impact your case’s value. It’s important to be honest with your attorney about past medical conditions, surgeries, injuries, and pain so that a judge can clearly see the distinction between past health issues and recent, documented work-related injuries.

How Can Your Firm Help Maximize The Value Of A Workers’ Compensation Case?

Seeing a physician who truly cares about your well-being and understands the complexity and impact of work-related injuries can significantly impact the value of your case. Many employer-recommended physicians are geared towards quick solutions that don’t properly address long-term issues or pain problems.

Our law firm can recommend caring, competent, and professional doctors who will fairly and seriously consider your injuries and the impact these injuries will likely have in the short and long term.

For more information on How Much A Workers’ Compensation Case Might Be Worth, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and answers you are seeking by calling (770) 474-9335 today.

Understanding Workers’ Compensation In Georgia: An Overview

In this article, you can discover…

  • How eligibility for workers’ compensation is determined in Georgia.
  • The process of filing a workers’ comp claim.
  • How employee legal tactics against workers’ compensation can be fought.

What Is Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ compensation is insurance that exists to help compensate workers who have been injured on the job. If an injury arose out of the scope and course of your employment, then you have a plausible workers’ compensation case. The types of compensation you may be eligible for include temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent partial disability, and medical.

What Type Of Injuries Do You Typically See When People Come To You For Workers’ Compensation Cases?

Back injuries are quite common, as are neck injuries. Shoulder injuries and amputated fingers or limbs are also seen. Other significant injuries our firm has dealt with include torn Achilles heels, burns encompassing most of the body, and traumatic brain injuries.

Are All Georgia Employers Required To Carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

No. While employers with three or more employees are required to have workers’ comp insurance, employers with fewer than three employees do not legally need to carry it.

How Do Employers Sometimes Seek To Frustrate Workers’ Comp Cases?

Some employers will seek to describe an injured party as an independent contractor as opposed to an employee, thus making them ineligible for workers’ compensation. Increasingly, employers will try to get an employee to create an LLC to shift responsibility for any injuries away from themselves and onto the worker. However, with no independent contractor agreement in place, these cases can still be argued as meriting workers’ compensation. Other ways they try to frustrate the claim is to delay in paying medical bills, delay in providing treatment, wrongfully deny disability benefits, and a whole host of other methods.

What Is The Role Of The Georgia State Board Of Workers’ Compensation?

The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation is an administrative body. They establish the rules for the workers’ comp cases that our law firm brings. They set and determine temporary total disability rates as well as permanent partial disability rates. When there is a dispute between the employer and employee, an administrative law judge will decide the issue. We can even arrange a hearing on your behalf before an administrative law judge if need be. Short of having a hearing, if certain issues cannot be resolved with your employers’ attorney, we can take advantage of mediation services that the Board offers.

How Do You Begin Filing A Workers’ Compensation Claim?

The first step is to file a WC-14 form, notice of claim. This is filed with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. If you as a worker are not being paid your temporary total disability, a WC-14 form would also be used to request a hearing and petition for these benefits. Identical steps are taken to petition for medical treatment that is being withheld.

What Is The Recourse If My Workers’ Compensation Claim Is Denied?

If your workers’ compensation claim is denied, our law office can request a hearing before an administrative judge. We will gather evidence of your job-related injury and present this evidence in a generally brief hearing, allowing the judge to make an informed determination as to whether benefits should be paid.

For more information on Understanding Workers’ Compensation In Georgia, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (770) 474-9335 today.

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Sexton Weldon Law Firm provides personal injury, workers’ compensation, and criminal defense representation from McDonough to clients throughout Georgia.

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