William Bryan (left) and his wife Beverly (right) before he died when a surgeon made an error during his procedure (Picture: Zarzaur Law)
A surgeon is accused of removing a man’s liver instead of his spleen and covering up the patient’s death.
Dr Thomas Shaknovsky cut into William Bryan’s liver during a splenectomy and continued to dissect the body part amid bleeding, according to an emergency order by the surgeon general of Florida.
Shaknovsky proceeded to place a ‘readily-identifiable liver’ on the operating table and claimed it was Bryan’s spleen, per the order.
Furthermore, nurses and the Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital tried to cover up Shaknovsky’s mistakes and wrote false information in Bryan’s death certificate and other documents, alleges the lawsuit victim’s family filed on Thursday.
The four nurses and the hospital in Walton County ‘had an obligation to accurately report Mr Bryan’s death’ but instead ‘misrepresented the cause of death’, states the complaint.
Bryan was 70 years old when he died on August 21.
He was an Alabama resident and was with his wife, Beverly, visiting his rental property in the Sunshine State when he experienced pain on the left side of his body.
Bryan was advised to have surgery but refused because he wanted to see his doctor back home, but ended up having the surgery.
‘This heartbreaking loss has devastated the family of William Bryan, and we are seeking justice for this senseless tragedy,’ stated their attorney, Joe Zarzaur.
Beverly said that her husband was a ‘homicide victim in the operating room’.
Shaknovsky’s license was suspended by State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo due to ‘repeated egregious surgical errors resulting in significant patient harm’ to not only Bryan but other patients as well.
The surgeon’s license was retired on November 14, according to state records.
GenesisCare USA of Florida, which was named in the suit, would not comment on pending litigation but told McClatchy News that ‘our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted’.
Bryan’s family is seeking over $50,000 in damages for medical and funeral expenses, mental pain and suffering and loss of companionship and protection.
In another surgery, Shaknovsky mistakenly removed a patient’s pancreas, according to an emergency suspension order, and in a separate procedure in 2023 his patient died.
The suit was filed nearly a year after a Connecticut doctor was sued for allegedly killing an infant by using a vacuum 15 times during the delivery to try to expedite the birth.
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