§ 9-3-72.Foreign objects left in body

A sponge or instrument left inside a patient after surgery presents a problem the ordinary malpractice timeline handles badly: the patient often has no way to know anything went wrong until symptoms appear, which can be well after the two-year or even the five-year periods in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71 would have run. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-72 responds with a true discovery rule for this specific situation.

Where a foreign object has been left in a patient's body, the general limitations of O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71 do not apply at all. Instead, the patient has one year from the date the negligent or wrongful act or omission is discovered to bring the action — a period that starts running only once the problem comes to light, rather than from the date of the surgery or the date of the resulting injury.

The statute narrows what counts as a “foreign object” for this purpose. It excludes a chemical compound, a fixation device, or a prosthetic aid or device. That exclusion keeps items intentionally placed in the body as part of treatment — surgical hardware, implants, and similar devices — outside this exception, reserving the one-year discovery rule for objects that were never supposed to remain in the body at all.