When a loved one dies due to a surgical error in Roswell, Georgia, surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim against the responsible medical providers. These claims allow families to seek compensation for lost financial support, funeral expenses, and the emotional devastation caused by preventable medical negligence during surgery.
Surgical errors represent some of the most preventable yet devastating forms of medical malpractice. Unlike complications that arise despite proper care, surgical errors occur when surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, or other operating room staff fail to follow accepted medical standards. When these failures result in death, families face not only profound grief but also financial hardship from lost income, mounting medical bills, and burial costs. Georgia law recognizes the injustice of losing a family member to medical negligence and provides a legal path for accountability through wrongful death claims.
If you have lost a family member to a surgical error in Roswell, Georgia Wrongful Death Attorney P.C. can help you understand your legal options and pursue the compensation your family deserves. Our experienced legal team has successfully represented families in complex medical malpractice wrongful death cases throughout Georgia. Call us today at (404) 446-0271 or complete our online contact form for a free, confidential consultation about your case.
What Constitutes a Surgical Error in Wrongful Death Cases
A surgical error becomes the basis for a wrongful death claim when a preventable mistake during surgery directly causes a patient’s death. These errors differ from known surgical risks or unavoidable complications because they result from negligence, incompetence, or deviation from accepted medical standards.
Common surgical errors that lead to wrongful death include operating on the wrong body part or patient, leaving surgical instruments or sponges inside the body, damaging nearby organs or blood vessels, administering incorrect anesthesia dosages, failing to monitor vital signs properly, performing unnecessary procedures, and making incisions in wrong locations. Each of these errors represents a fundamental breach of the duty of care that medical professionals owe to patients.
Under Georgia law, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider’s actions fall below the accepted standard of care in the medical community, causing injury or death. For surgical error cases, this means proving that a reasonably competent surgeon or medical professional in similar circumstances would not have made the same mistake. Expert medical testimony almost always plays a central role in establishing this standard and showing how the defendant’s actions departed from it.
Types of Surgical Errors That Can Result in Wrongful Death
Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesiologists must carefully calculate dosages based on patient weight, medical history, and procedure requirements. Errors in anesthesia administration can cause brain damage, cardiac arrest, or death within minutes. These mistakes include giving too much or too little anesthesia, failing to monitor oxygen levels, neglecting to review patient allergies or medication interactions, and improperly intubating patients.
The margin for error with anesthesia is exceptionally narrow. Even brief oxygen deprivation can cause irreversible brain damage or death. When anesthesiologists fail to respond quickly to complications or ignore warning signs from monitoring equipment, the results are often fatal. Families pursuing wrongful death claims in these cases must demonstrate that the anesthesiologist’s actions fell below the accepted standard of care and directly caused the death.
Wrong-Site or Wrong-Patient Surgery
Despite extensive safety protocols designed to prevent them, wrong-site and wrong-patient surgeries still occur with disturbing regularity. These errors happen when surgical teams operate on the wrong body part, wrong side of the body, or even the wrong patient entirely. The Joint Commission requires multiple verification steps before surgery begins, including patient identification, surgical site marking, and team timeout procedures.
When these protocols are ignored or improperly followed, patients suffer unnecessary trauma and sometimes death. A patient who undergoes an unnecessary amputation may die from complications, or a patient may die because the correct procedure was never performed. These cases often involve multiple liable parties including surgeons, nurses, and hospital administrators whose systemic failures allowed the error to occur.
Retained Surgical Instruments
Surgical teams must account for every instrument, sponge, and piece of equipment used during a procedure before closing the incision. When items are left inside the body, they can cause infections, internal bleeding, organ damage, and death. Retained surgical items often go undetected initially, with patients experiencing worsening symptoms over days or weeks before the retained object is discovered.
The death may result from sepsis, perforation of internal organs, or massive internal bleeding caused by the foreign object. Georgia hospitals have counting protocols to prevent retained surgical items, and failure to follow these protocols constitutes clear negligence. Cases involving retained instruments often result in significant settlements or verdicts because the negligence is difficult for defendants to explain away.
Surgical Site Infections
While not all infections constitute negligence, surgical site infections that result from unsanitary conditions, contaminated equipment, or failure to follow sterile procedures can support wrongful death claims. Healthcare-associated infections kill thousands of patients annually, many of whom would have survived if proper infection control measures had been followed.
Surgical teams must maintain sterile fields, properly sterilize instruments, follow hand hygiene protocols, and administer prophylactic antibiotics when indicated. When infections develop due to departures from these standards and result in sepsis or death, families can hold negligent providers accountable. These cases require detailed investigation of hospital policies, sterilization records, and surgical team practices to establish the source of contamination and identify responsible parties.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim for Surgical Errors in Georgia
Georgia law strictly defines who has the legal right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, the right to file follows a specific hierarchy designed to protect the deceased person’s closest family members and their financial interests.
The surviving spouse has the first and primary right to file a wrongful death claim. If the deceased was married at the time of death, the spouse must bring the claim even if the couple was separated. If there are children, the spouse and children share the recovery, with the spouse receiving at least one-third of the total amount. The law presumes that spouses and children suffered the greatest financial and emotional loss from the death.
If there is no surviving spouse, the children of the deceased share the right to file equally. All children, including adopted children and children born outside marriage who have been legally acknowledged, have equal standing. If the deceased left no spouse or children, the parents may file the wrongful death claim. Only if there are no surviving spouse, children, or parents does the right pass to the administrator or executor of the deceased person’s estate under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5.
The Legal Standard for Surgical Error Wrongful Death Claims
Proving a surgical error wrongful death claim requires establishing four essential elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Each element must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it is more likely true than not true.
The duty element is typically straightforward in surgical error cases because doctors, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and hospitals owe patients a clear duty to provide care that meets accepted medical standards. This duty arises from the doctor-patient relationship established when the patient consents to treatment. Medical professionals must exercise the reasonable degree of skill and care that other professionals in their specialty would use under similar circumstances.
Breach occurs when the medical provider’s actions fall below this standard of care. In Georgia medical malpractice cases, expert testimony is almost always required to establish the applicable standard of care and explain how the defendant’s conduct departed from it. The expert must practice in the same specialty as the defendant and be familiar with the standard of care in the relevant medical community. For example, a surgical error claim against a cardiovascular surgeon would require testimony from another cardiovascular surgeon explaining what a competent surgeon would have done differently.
Damages Available in Roswell Surgical Error Wrongful Death Cases
Full Value of the Life of the Deceased
Georgia’s wrongful death statute allows recovery for the full value of the life of the deceased, which includes both economic and intangible elements. The economic component covers the financial support the deceased would have provided to their family over their expected lifetime, including salary, benefits, retirement contributions, and services they performed for the household. Courts consider the deceased’s age, health, earning capacity, work-life expectancy, and established earning patterns when calculating this value.
The intangible component recognizes that human life has value beyond earning capacity. This includes the value of the deceased’s companionship, guidance, care, and presence in their family’s life. Unlike some states that cap non-economic damages, Georgia allows juries to assess the full intangible value of the lost relationship. Juries have awarded substantial verdicts recognizing that the loss of a spouse, parent, or child cannot be reduced purely to economic calculations.
Medical and Funeral Expenses
The estate of the deceased can recover medical expenses incurred as a result of the surgical error that caused death. This includes emergency room treatment, additional surgeries attempting to correct the error, intensive care, medications, and any other medical costs related to the injury and death. These expenses often reach hundreds of thousands of dollars in surgical error cases where patients undergo multiple interventions before succumbing to their injuries.
Funeral and burial expenses are also recoverable as part of the wrongful death claim. This includes costs for funeral services, burial plots, caskets, cremation, headstones, and related expenses. While these damages are more modest than other categories, they provide important reimbursement for families already facing financial strain from lost income and medical bills.
The Statute of Limitations for Surgical Error Wrongful Death Claims
Under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, wrongful death claims in Georgia must generally be filed within two years from the date of death. This deadline is absolute and strictly enforced by Georgia courts. If the claim is not filed within two years, the right to pursue compensation is permanently lost regardless of how strong the case may be.
For surgical error cases, the two-year period begins running on the date the patient died, not the date the surgery occurred or when the error was discovered. This distinction matters because surgical errors sometimes cause death days, weeks, or even months after the procedure. Families must calculate the deadline from the actual date of death to avoid missing the filing window.
Georgia’s medical malpractice statute of repose under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71 adds another timing consideration. This law bars medical malpractice claims filed more than five years after the negligent act occurred, even if the injury or death happened within that time and the two-year wrongful death statute has not expired. However, the statute of repose does not apply if a foreign object was left in the body, which is relevant to retained surgical instrument cases. The interplay between these timing rules makes it essential to consult an attorney promptly after a death occurs.
How Surgical Error Wrongful Death Claims Are Proven
Medical Records Review and Analysis
The foundation of any surgical error wrongful death claim is a comprehensive review of all medical records related to the surgery, hospitalization, and death. These records include pre-operative assessments, surgical notes, anesthesia records, nursing notes, post-operative care documentation, pathology reports, autopsy reports, and billing records. Each document provides pieces of the puzzle showing what happened during surgery and afterward.
Attorneys work with medical experts to analyze these records, identify departures from accepted standards, and trace the causal chain from the error to the death. Medical records often contain critical admissions or documentation gaps that support the negligence claim. For example, if surgical counts show missing sponges or instruments, or if anesthesia records show dangerous gaps in monitoring, these details become powerful evidence of negligence.
Expert Medical Testimony
Georgia law requires expert testimony to establish the standard of care, breach, and causation in medical malpractice cases under O.C.G.A. § 24-7-702. The expert must be qualified by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education to testify about the medical issues in the case. In surgical error cases, this typically means retaining a surgeon who practices in the same specialty as the defendant.
The expert will review all medical records, depositions, and other case materials before forming opinions about whether negligence occurred and caused the death. At trial, the expert explains to the jury what a competent surgeon should have done, how the defendant’s actions fell short, and why those failures directly caused the patient’s death. Without credible expert testimony, even the most egregious surgical error case cannot succeed in Georgia courts.
Depositions of Medical Providers and Staff
Depositions allow attorneys to question the surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses, and other medical staff under oath before trial. These questioning sessions preserve testimony, reveal what each person knew and did during the surgery, and often expose contradictions or admissions that support the negligence claim. Operating room staff may testify about rushed procedures, inadequate staffing, malfunctioning equipment, or communication failures that contributed to the fatal error.
Defendants often attempt to minimize their role or shift blame to other providers during depositions. Skilled attorneys use prior statements, medical records, and hospital policies to challenge these deflections and establish accountability. Deposition testimony becomes especially important if witnesses change their stories later or become unavailable for trial.
Hospital Policies and Surgical Safety Protocols
Hospitals maintain extensive policies and procedures designed to prevent surgical errors. These protocols cover surgical site verification, instrument counting, anesthesia monitoring, infection control, and numerous other safety measures. When a surgical error occurs, comparing the hospital’s own policies to what actually happened often reveals clear negligence.
Attorneys obtain these policies through discovery and use them to show that hospital staff knew the correct procedures but failed to follow them. If a hospital’s own written protocol requires three separate patient identification checks before surgery, and staff performed only one check before operating on the wrong patient, the hospital’s own standards prove the negligence. These internal documents are often more persuasive to juries than external standards because they represent the hospital’s own recognition of what safe surgery requires.
The Role of Hospital Negligence in Surgical Error Deaths
Hospitals can be held directly liable for surgical errors through several legal theories beyond the negligence of individual surgeons or staff. Understanding hospital liability is critical because hospitals typically have far greater insurance coverage and financial resources than individual physicians.
Corporate negligence holds hospitals responsible for maintaining safe conditions, implementing proper policies, credentialing qualified staff, and ensuring adequate supervision. If a hospital grants surgical privileges to an incompetent surgeon without proper credential review, or if hospital administrators ignore patterns of surgical complications by a particular surgeon, the hospital can be held liable for deaths that result. Georgia courts recognize that hospitals have independent duties to patients beyond merely providing a facility where doctors work.
Hospitals are also vicariously liable for the negligence of their employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior. If a hospital-employed nurse, anesthesiologist, or other staff member commits a negligent act during surgery that causes death, the hospital can be held responsible for that employee’s actions. This vicarious liability does not apply to independent contractor physicians in most cases, but many surgical team members are direct hospital employees whose negligence creates hospital liability.
Comparative Negligence and Its Effect on Surgical Error Claims
Georgia follows a modified comparative negligence rule under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 that can reduce or eliminate recovery in wrongful death cases where the deceased patient bears some responsibility for their death. If the deceased’s own actions contributed to the outcome, their recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault. If the deceased is found 50 percent or more at fault, the family recovers nothing.
In surgical error cases, defendants sometimes argue that the patient contributed to their death by failing to disclose medical history, not following pre-operative instructions, or having pre-existing conditions. For example, if a patient failed to disclose they were taking blood thinners before surgery and this contributed to fatal bleeding, defendants might argue comparative fault. However, courts scrutinize these defenses carefully because surgical errors often occur regardless of patient factors.
Most surgical error wrongful death cases involve little to no patient fault because the errors represent fundamental departures from surgical standards. Wrong-site surgery, retained instruments, and anesthesia miscalculations rarely involve patient contribution. When comparative negligence does apply, it makes thorough case investigation even more important to document that the surgical error was the dominant cause of death and any patient factors were minor or unrelated.
Common Defenses in Surgical Error Wrongful Death Cases
Known Surgical Risk Defense
Defendants frequently argue that the patient’s death resulted from a known complication of surgery rather than negligence. All surgeries carry inherent risks disclosed during the informed consent process, and not every bad outcome constitutes malpractice. Defendants present evidence that the outcome was an unfortunate but unavoidable complication rather than the result of substandard care.
Plaintiffs counter this defense by showing that the complication occurred because the surgeon departed from accepted techniques, failed to respond appropriately when problems arose, or made preventable errors that increased the risk. Expert testimony becomes crucial in distinguishing between unavoidable complications and negligent errors. For example, while bleeding is a known risk of surgery, excessive bleeding caused by cutting the wrong blood vessel represents negligence, not an unavoidable complication.
Pre-existing Condition Defense
Defendants often claim the patient’s pre-existing health conditions caused or contributed to the death rather than any surgical error. They point to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, or other conditions as alternative explanations for the fatal outcome. This defense attempts to shift focus from what the surgeon did wrong to the patient’s underlying health status.
Successful plaintiffs demonstrate that while the patient may have had health challenges, the surgical error was the direct and proximate cause of death. Medical records and expert testimony show the causal chain from the error to the death, distinguishing between background health conditions and the specific negligent act that proved fatal. Many patients with significant health issues undergo successful surgery every day because their surgeons follow proper protocols.
Statute of Limitations Defense
Defendants always check whether the lawsuit was filed within Georgia’s two-year statute of limitations under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. If the deadline was missed, they move to dismiss the case regardless of the merits. Courts strictly enforce this deadline with very few exceptions, making it one of the strongest defenses when it applies.
Plaintiffs can sometimes overcome statute of limitations challenges by showing the case falls within an exception, such as fraudulent concealment where defendants actively hid the error or misled the family about the cause of death. However, these exceptions are narrow and difficult to prove. The far better approach is filing the lawsuit well before the two-year deadline approaches.
The Discovery Process in Surgical Error Wrongful Death Litigation
Discovery is the formal process where both sides exchange information, documents, and testimony before trial. This phase typically lasts 12 to 18 months in complex surgical error cases and determines whether the case will settle or proceed to trial.
Written discovery begins with interrogatories asking the parties to answer detailed questions under oath, requests for production demanding copies of documents and records, and requests for admission asking the parties to admit or deny specific facts. In surgical error cases, plaintiffs request all medical records, hospital policies, credentialing files, incident reports, and communications related to the surgery and death. Defendants request information about the deceased’s medical history, earning capacity, and family relationships to evaluate damages.
Depositions follow written discovery and involve attorneys questioning witnesses under oath with a court reporter recording testimony. Key depositions include the surgeon and other operating room staff, hospital administrators, expert witnesses, and family members who can testify about damages. These sessions often last several hours and provide attorneys with crucial testimony they will use at trial or settlement negotiations. Deposition transcripts become part of the permanent record and can be read into evidence if a witness is unavailable or changes their testimony later.
Settlement Negotiations vs. Trial in Surgical Error Cases
Most surgical error wrongful death cases settle before trial because both sides face significant risks if a jury decides the outcome. Settlements provide certainty, avoid the expense and stress of trial, and allow families to receive compensation sooner. However, settlement negotiations require careful strategy and knowledge of case value to achieve fair results.
Settlement discussions typically begin after substantial discovery has occurred and both sides have retained expert witnesses. The plaintiff’s attorney presents a demand package detailing the evidence of negligence, the strength of causation testimony, and the full extent of damages. Insurance companies evaluate their exposure based on the likelihood of jury verdict for the plaintiff and the probable award amount. Cases with clear liability and sympathetic facts settle for higher amounts because insurers recognize their trial risk.
When cases do not settle, they proceed to trial before a jury. Georgia juries hear the evidence, determine whether negligence occurred and caused the death, and assess damages if they find for the plaintiff. Surgical error trials often last one to two weeks and involve extensive medical testimony. Jury verdicts can be substantially higher than settlement offers when jurors are moved by the evidence and sympathize with the family’s loss. However, trials also carry risk of defense verdicts where the jury finds no liability or reduces damages based on comparative fault.
Why Legal Representation Matters in Surgical Error Wrongful Death Cases
Complexity of Medical Malpractice Law
Surgical error wrongful death cases involve some of the most complex areas of law, combining medical malpractice standards, wrongful death statutes, expert testimony requirements, and intricate procedural rules. Attorneys must understand both legal principles and medical concepts to effectively prosecute these claims. Without specialized knowledge, families risk filing claims that do not meet legal requirements or failing to identify all liable parties and sources of compensation.
Georgia’s medical malpractice laws include specific requirements not found in other personal injury cases, such as mandatory expert affidavits under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1 that must be filed with the complaint. Missing these technical requirements can result in case dismissal before the merits are even considered. Experienced attorneys know these requirements and ensure compliance from the beginning.
Access to Medical Experts
Proving surgical error cases requires testimony from qualified medical experts who can credibly explain complex medical issues to juries. Finding and retaining appropriate experts requires professional networks that most families do not have. Attorneys who regularly handle medical malpractice cases maintain relationships with respected experts across medical specialties.
Expert witness testimony is expensive, with qualified physicians charging substantial fees for record review, report preparation, depositions, and trial testimony. Established law firms advance these costs on behalf of clients, only recovering them if the case succeeds. This arrangement allows families to pursue justice without paying expert fees out of pocket while the case progresses.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a surgical error wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia?
You generally have two years from the date of your loved one’s death to file a wrongful death lawsuit under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. This deadline is strictly enforced by Georgia courts with very few exceptions, and missing it means losing your right to pursue compensation permanently. The two-year period begins on the date of death, not the date of the surgery or when you discovered the error. However, Georgia’s statute of repose under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71 also bars medical malpractice claims filed more than five years after the negligent act occurred, even if the death happened within that time. Given these complex timing rules, you should consult a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible after the death to protect your legal rights and ensure sufficient time for case investigation before deadlines expire.
What compensation can my family receive in a surgical error wrongful death case?
Georgia law allows recovery for the full value of the life of the deceased under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, which includes both economic and intangible components. Economic damages cover the financial support your loved one would have provided over their expected lifetime, including lost wages, benefits, and household services. The intangible component recognizes the value of your loved one’s companionship, guidance, and presence that cannot be measured purely in financial terms. Georgia does not cap these damages, allowing juries to assess the true value of the life lost. Additionally, the estate can recover medical expenses incurred from the injury and funeral and burial costs. The total compensation depends on factors like your loved one’s age, health, earning capacity, and the strength of evidence proving the surgical error caused their death. Cases with clear liability and significant economic losses often result in substantial settlements or verdicts.
Who can sue for wrongful death after a surgical error in Georgia?
Georgia law establishes a strict hierarchy for who can file a wrongful death claim under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2. The surviving spouse has the first and primary right to bring the claim, and if there are children, they share in the recovery with the spouse receiving at least one-third. If there is no surviving spouse, the children of the deceased have the right to file and share the recovery equally among themselves. This includes adopted children and children born outside marriage who have been legally acknowledged. If there are no surviving spouse or children, the parents of the deceased may file the claim. Only when there is no surviving spouse, children, or parents does the right to file pass to the administrator or executor of the deceased person’s estate under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5. The law does not allow siblings, extended family members, or unmarried partners to file wrongful death claims regardless of their relationship with the deceased. Understanding who has legal standing is essential before pursuing a claim.
How do I prove a surgical error caused my loved one’s death?
Proving causation in surgical error wrongful death cases requires establishing that the surgical error directly caused the death through expert medical testimony and comprehensive evidence. Your attorney will work with qualified medical experts who review all records related to the surgery, hospitalization, and death to identify departures from the accepted standard of care. The expert must explain to the jury what a competent surgeon should have done differently and trace the causal chain from that negligent act to the death. Medical records including surgical notes, anesthesia records, nursing documentation, pathology reports, and autopsy findings provide the factual foundation for this analysis. Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 24-7-702 requires that expert testimony come from a physician qualified in the same specialty who can credibly testify about medical standards. Your attorney will also depose the surgeon and operating room staff to obtain their account of events, often revealing contradictions or admissions that support your claim. The strength of your case depends on clear documentation showing the error occurred and medical expert testimony definitively linking that error to your loved one’s death.
Will my surgical error wrongful death case go to trial?
Most surgical error wrongful death cases settle before trial because both sides face significant uncertainty if a jury decides the outcome. Settlement discussions typically occur after substantial evidence gathering through discovery and once both sides have retained expert witnesses who have formed opinions about liability and damages. Insurance companies evaluate cases based on the strength of evidence proving negligence, the credibility of expert testimony, and the probable jury award if the case goes to trial. Cases with clear documentation of surgical errors, strong causation evidence, and significant damages often settle for substantial amounts because insurers recognize their exposure. However, if settlement negotiations fail to produce a fair offer that adequately compensates your family for the loss, your attorney may recommend proceeding to trial. Jury trials in surgical error cases typically last one to two weeks and involve detailed medical testimony from experts on both sides. While trials carry risks including the possibility of defense verdicts, juries that find negligence often award substantial verdicts that reflect the full value of the life lost and hold negligent providers accountable.
How much does it cost to hire a lawyer for a surgical error wrongful death case?
Most surgical error wrongful death attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless your case results in a settlement or verdict in your favor. The attorney’s fee is a percentage of the recovery, typically between 33 and 40 percent depending on whether the case settles before trial or proceeds through trial and appeals. This arrangement allows families to pursue justice without paying hourly legal fees or advancing costs during the case. The law firm covers case expenses including court filing fees, medical record costs, expert witness fees, deposition expenses, and investigation costs, only recovering these if the case succeeds. If there is no recovery, you owe nothing for attorney fees or advanced costs in most contingency arrangements. This fee structure aligns the attorney’s interests with yours and makes quality legal representation accessible regardless of your financial situation. During your initial consultation, the attorney will explain the specific fee agreement and answer questions about costs so you understand the arrangement before deciding to proceed.
Contact a Roswell Surgical Error Wrongful Death Lawyer Today
Losing a loved one to a preventable surgical error is devastating, and no amount of money can restore what your family has lost. However, pursuing a wrongful death claim holds negligent medical providers accountable and provides financial security for your family’s future. Georgia Wrongful Death Attorney P.C. has extensive experience representing families in complex surgical error wrongful death cases throughout Roswell and Georgia.
Our legal team understands the medical and legal complexities of these cases and has the resources to thoroughly investigate surgical errors, retain qualified medical experts, and pursue maximum compensation for your family. We handle every aspect of your case so you can focus on grieving and healing while we fight for justice on your behalf. Call Georgia Wrongful Death Attorney P.C. today at (404) 446-0271 or complete our online contact form to schedule a free, confidential consultation about your surgical error wrongful death case.