A Florida surgeon is facing a serious lawsuit following a surgical error that led to the death of 70-year-old William Bryan.

The incident occurred in August 2024 during a scheduled splenectomy, when Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky of Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach allegedly removed Bryan’s liver instead of his spleen, resulting in catastrophic blood loss that resulted in Bryan’s death.

Bryan, who was visiting Florida with his wife Beverly, began experiencing severe abdominal pain and was admitted to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a spleen disorder. Although Bryan and his wife were initially hesitant, Dr. Shaknovsky and the hospital’s chief medical officer, Dr. Christopher Bacani, convinced Bryan and his wife that immediate surgery was necessary.

During the operation, Dr. Shaknovsky allegedly removed Bryan’s liver, mistaking it for the spleen. He then told Bryan’s wife that the organ had become seriously diseased, had enlarged to four times its normal size, and had migrated to the other side of the body. The error was not discovered until after Bryan’s death, when it was confirmed that the spleen was still intact while the liver had been mistakenly removed.

In response to this tragic mistake, Beverly Bryan has filed a lawsuit against Dr. Shaknovsky and Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital.

According to the North Okaloosa-based Crestview News Bulletin, the lawsuit accuses the hospital and Dr. Shaknovsky of gross negligence and medical malpractice and seeks both criminal and civil penalties. The lawsuit also references a previous incident in 2023 in which Dr. Shaknovsky allegedly removed part of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenalectomy, raising further doubts about his competency.