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A Florida doctor is facing second-degree manslaughter charges after authorities say he removed a patient’s liver instead of his spleen during a 2024 surgery, leading to the patient’s death.
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, was indicted by a Walton County grand jury over the death of William Bryan, a 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. According to the Office of the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, Dr. Shaknovsky was arrested in Miramar Beach, Florida, and booked into the county jail where he is awaiting his first court appearance.
The incident happened at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast hospital while Bryan and his wife were vacationing in Destin, Florida. After experiencing abdominal pain, Bryan was diagnosed with a suspected enlarged spleen, and Dr. Shaknovsky recommended surgery. Despite requests from Bryan’s wife to move him back to Alabama, Dr. Shaknovsky insisted, saying Bryan could "bleed to death if he was moved."
Prosecutors allege that during what was supposed to be a laparoscopic splenectomy, Dr. Shaknovsky accidentally removed Bryan’s liver instead of his spleen. The mistake led to catastrophic blood loss and Bryan’s death on the operating table. An autopsy later found Bryan's spleen untouched and his liver missing. Dr. Shaknovsky reportedly continued the operation even as the patient went into cardiac arrest.
Following the surgery, the Alabama and Florida medical boards suspended Dr. Shaknovsky's licenses. His New York license was also suspended in 2025. Public records show Dr. Shaknovsky has faced prior malpractice accusations, including a $400,000 settlement in 2024 for a 2023 incident where he removed part of a patient’s pancreas instead of the adrenal gland, and another case where a patient died after part of their intestine was removed.
Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said, "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."
Bryan’s widow has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Shaknovsky and the hospital.