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How do Georgia malpractice attorneys evaluate foreign object cases?

Published November 7, 2026
No. 70 of 195 in this folder

Filed in Georgia Medical Malpractice FAQ

Last updated: November 7, 2026. Georgia law changes; check the date before relying on any deadline or rule below.

The one-year deadline is the first check in a Georgia foreign object case: the claim must be filed within one year after the object is discovered (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-72). If the injury occurred recently, the normal two years from the injury may end later, and the one-year rule does not shorten them (Spivey v. Whiddon, 1990). Then the attorney confirms the item qualifies as a foreign object, identifies which surgery left it, and measures the harm it caused. Breach may be well documented in these cases, but it still has to be proven through an expert (Oakes v. Magat, 2003).

The screening sequence

1. Date of discovery. When was the object first identified, and by whom? The one-year period runs from discovery. The five-year repose does not apply (§ 9-3-72), so an object left long ago can still support a claim if the patient acts within a year of finding it.

2. Is it a “foreign object”? The statute excludes chemical compounds, fixation devices, and prosthetic aids or devices. A retained sponge or clamp qualifies. A broken surgical screw meant to stay in place does not, and a claim about it follows the standard two-year and five-year rules in § 9-3-71.

3. Which surgery? If the patient had several procedures, imaging, the object’s type, and the operative records help connect it to one surgery and one team.

4. What did it cause? Symptoms, infection, organ injury, and the removal procedure are the damages. An object discovered incidentally with no symptoms may support a smaller claim.

The records an attorney requests

Record	Purpose
Imaging that shows the object	Proof of the object and the discovery date
Operative report from the original surgery	Who operated and what was done
Surgical count sheets and nursing notes	Whether counts were performed and reconciled
Removal operative report and pathology	What the object was and what harm it caused
Post-operative records	Symptoms and complications between surgeries

The expert’s role

A qualified surgical or nursing expert (§ 24-7-702) explains what careful teams do to prevent retained items and where this team’s conduct fell short. The complaint needs an expert affidavit identifying at least one negligent act (§ 9-11-9.1). The case may involve both the surgeon and the nurses responsible for counts, so more than one expert may be needed.

Allocation of fault

Georgia apportions fault among the surgeon, nursing staff, facility, and any properly noticed nonparty (§ 51-12-33). The facility may be responsible for its employed nurses and for its own surgical safety procedures.

What an evaluation does not assume

A strong breach does not mean a fast or certain result. The defense can contest causation and the extent of harm, and the jury decides damages.

Write down the discovery date today

Write down the date and circumstances of discovery today, and request the original surgery’s records. If the discovery date is more than a few months back, the remaining time in the one-year period is the most important fact in the case, unless the two years from the date of injury have not yet run.

This article explains Georgia law in general terms. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines in malpractice cases are short and fact-specific, so talk to a Georgia lawyer about your own situation.