DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. (Court TV) — A Florida doctor is facing manslaughter charges after he allegedly removed the wrong organ from a patient during surgery.
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky is facing criminal charges for the death of a patient. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office)
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, was indicted by a Walton County grand jury on a single charge of second-degree manslaughter in the death of his patient, William Bryan, 70.
Bryan and his wife, who lived in Alabama, were on vacation in Florida when Bryan fell ill. A hospital report reviewed by Court TV indicates he was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital and was diagnosed with having multiple issues with his spleen that required surgery. Bryan initially demurred, saying he wanted to be discharged and return the five hours home to Alabama, but when his condition worsened, he ultimately agreed to the surgery.
On Aug. 21, 2024, Bryan was supposed to undergo a routine laparoscopic splenectomy. But investigators say, instead of removing the patient’s spleen, Shaknovsky removed his liver instead. Shaknovsky’s operative report makes no reference to the alleged error. “The spleen was exposed, noted to be severely deformed,” the defendant wrote in his report. “Spleen noted to be quite friable and certainly the large side made the dissection challenging.” The word “liver” does not appear in the report.
Joe Zarzaur, an attorney retained by Bryant’s family, told Law & Crime that the mistake goes beyond the realm of accidental. “You can’t accidentally take out someone’s liver,” he said. “And the reason you can’t accidentally take out somebody’s liver is that it has more connection points than most any other organ in the body. So when you take out the liver, you have to basically dissect it out carefully, because it has so many different connection points that nobody, not even a brand-new surgeon, would not know they’re taking out the liver.”
“Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor,” Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in a statement announcing the indictment. “The Grand Jury has spoken, and our responsibility is to ensure the charges are carried out through the proper legal process. Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family and their unspeakable loss.”
In a video statement posted to YouTube, Zarzaur claimed that this wasn’t the first time Shaknovsky has made a critical error: “Perhaps most concerning is that Dr. Shaknovsky had a previous wrong-site surgery in 2023 where he mistakenly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection,” he said. Zarzaur warned that the defendant may still be treating patients for the U.S. Military. “The military system is not tied to any particular state, and I guess he has figured out a way to continue practicing medicine and not disclose what’s going on in his civilian life,” Zarzaur told Law & Crime.
Shaknovsky was released from custody on a $75,000 bond. He is due to return to court for a hearing on May 19.
