Castleberry v. Steib, No. A26A1041, 2026 WL 2605700, __ S.E.2d __ (Ga. Ct. App. Sept. 3, 2026). The court (McFadden, P.J.; Watkins and Padgett, JJ., concur) affirms a defense verdict in a motor vehicle injury action. The plaintiffs requested an instruction that a negligent defendant may be responsible for additional harm caused by improper medical treatment, but did not renew their objection after the jury was charged. Id. at **1–2. The court held that an objection at the charge conference does not preserve ordinary appellate review; the objection must be restated after the instructions and before deliberations. Given the court’s thorough proximate-cause charge, omission of the requested instruction did not warrant reversal under OCGA § 5-5-24(c)’s narrow exception for substantial error harmful as a matter of law. Id. at **2–3.
