Joan Rivers' daughter has hired a high-profile New York City law firm, in what reports are saying is the first step of her filing a costly lawsuit against the endoscopy clinic that performed a procedure on her mother, ultimately leading to her death.

The law firm Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Maloof, Bloom & Rubinowitz confirmed that the comedienne's daughter, Melissa Rivers, had contracted with them to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death. Reports say Ms. Rivers is looking to sue Yorkville Endoscopy in Manhattan, where her mother underwent a minor throat procedure on Aug. 28, for wrongful death.

"In order to fully determine all the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Joan Rivers, we confirm that our firm has been engaged by Melissa Rivers and her family," said Ben Rubinowitz, managing partner, in a statement.

According to the New York Daily News, Ms. Rivers is expected to be named the executor in her mother's estate once the will is filed in court, and will then have the ability to sue the clinic.

Joan Rivers, 81, underwent a laryngoscopy and upper GI endoscopy at Yorkville Endoscopy after she reportedly had complained of a hoarse voice. During the procedure something went wrong, and Ms. Rivers suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest. She was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she died a week later.

The New York Medical Examiner's office recently released a report on the incident, saying that Ms. Rivers died from anoxic encephalopathy and called the incident "a predictable complication of medical therapy."

If a lawsuit is filed and isn't settled, many in outpatient surgery will closely watch the trial. "Not all the answers are in, but we all need to know the what and why so that we may learn," says Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Robert Kotler, MD, FACS. "To think that Joan likely died of asphyxiation is bothersome. If, as a result of either an anesthetic or surgical mishap she was suffering from laryngeal obstruction, a tracheostomy may have saved the day.

The burning question, of course, if whether the endoscopy center had an anesthesia provider on board. Dr. Kotler also wants to know if Yorkville had a tracheostomy surgical tray. "Perhaps not," he says. "Perhaps not even any standard surgical instruments. We do not know enough. But some day, we shall and the lessons will be there."

Kendal Gapinski