Surgeon accused of wrongfully removing liver had history of malpractice, lawsuit alleges
The widow of a man who died after a surgeon allegedly removed his liver instead of his spleen has filed a wrongful death suit, claiming that the doctor, hospital, and health system are involved in a coverup.
In a court filing, Beverly Bryan alleges that her late husband, William Bryan, 70, was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Florida when he began experiencing sudden, severe pain on the left side of his body. After being examined by clinicians, it was determined that Mr. Bryan would require emergency surgery to remove his spleen, which was at risk of rupture.
He was prepared for an emergency laparoscopic splenectomy, and that was the last time his wife saw him alive.
According to Mrs. Bryan’s claim, the surgeon in charge removed the wrong organ—her husband’s liver. Upon noticing the mistake, Thomas Shaknovsky, MD, allegedly labeled the extracted organ as a “spleen” and “maintained to himself and others around him that he had removed Mr. Bryan’s spleen and that Mr. Bryan’s cause of death was a splenic artery aneurysm,” Mrs. Bryan and her legal team claim in the lawsuit.
“He repeated this assertion over and over to numerous staff and other physicians who looked at him like he was crazy,” they added.
The court filing also claims that the hospital CEO can be seen on security footage speaking to Shaknovsky outside the surgery room, which Ms. Bryan believes was part of a coverup. Despite the evidence, the hospital was not forthcoming about the accident. According to Ms. Bryan, the hospital confirmed Shaknovsky’s lie as the cause of death: splenic artery aneurysm.
The incident occurred on August 21, 2024. After an autopsy, Mr. Bryan’s death was ruled a homicide the following September. Shortly after, Shaknovsky was fired and stripped of his medical license.
Similar incidents raise suspicions
An investigation into his past revealed that this may not be the first time Shaknovsky was linked to mysterious cases of potential malpractice.
According to the complaint, he had other incidents in which patients were severely injured as a result of alleged surgical errors. An example mentioned in the lawsuit involves a 58-year-old male surgery patient referred to as “G.D.,” on whom Shaknovsky aimed to remove an adrenal gland but ended up extracting part of the pancreas. When alerted to the error, Shaknovsky allegedly claimed the adrenal gland had “migrated” to a different location in the patient's body.
G.D. suffered severe harm as a result and has to endure life-altering consequences. The 2023 incident resulted in Shaknovsky being placed on leave from the hospital, the lawsuit against him and Ascension claims. However, the near fatal error reportedly went unacknowledged.
To date, no criminal charges have been filed against Shaknovsky. The civil lawsuit against him is likely to move forward later this year.
HealthExec has reached out to Ascension—a faith-based non-profit hospital system that operates Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital—for comment on the allegations and will update this story with any response.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.