The answer to this depends on the circumstances of the victim’s death. For example, let’s say Mary is killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. The personal representative of Mary’s estate could file a wrongful death lawsuit against the drunk driver. And if the driver was operating his employer’s vehicle at the time, the employer could also be named as a defendant.
But suppose Mary was alive when she got to the hospital and subsequently died as the result of negligence on the part of the surgical team. In that scenario, the estate could file a wrongful death claim against the doctor and possibly the hospital as well. Or maybe the doctors did nothing wrong but a defective medical device used in the surgery later caused Mary’s death. The manufacturer of the device could then be sued for wrongful death.