William Bryan, 70, died in August 2024 after the doctor removed his liver during surgery. The widow of a man who died during surgery allegedly because his liver was removed instead of his spleen has filed a lawsuit claiming the doctor’s actions led to her husband’s death and that the Florida hospital covered it up. Beverly Bryan, and her 70-year-old husband William Bryan of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, were visiting family in Okaloosa County, Florida, when William experienced pain in his side and was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast hospital in August 2024, for what was determined to be an abnormal spleen.

Medical staff told the couple that an immediate laparoscopic splenectomy was required to prevent serious spleen-related complications. William initially refused, claiming he wanted to be seen by a doctor back home in Alabama, but then agreed to the surgery. Shaknovsky placed the “readily-identifiable liver” on the operating room table and stated it was the patient’s spleen, according to the order.

However, the pathology report said the organ that was labeled as William’s spleen had actually been his liver. He “became a homicide victim in the operating room,” William’s wife told the Miami Herald weeks after her husband's death. The incident wasn’t the first time Shaknovsky had made a fatal mistake, McClatchy News reported. Shaknovsky, who also held a medical license in Alabama, accidentally perforated a patient’s bowel during a gallbladder removal in July 2023, according to a complaint filed in October by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. He then took a leave of absence.

In a third case, Shaknovsky was supposed to remove a 58-year-old man’s adrenal gland but instead wrongly removed part of the patient’s pancreas, according to the emergency suspension order issued in Florida. That patient was left permanently injured, according to the order, which said “Shaknovsky’s continued practice as an osteopathic physician presents an immediate, serious danger to the health, welfare, and safety of the public.”.

Following the three incidents, State Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo suspended Shaknovsky’s license over “repeated egregious surgical errors resulting in significant patient harm.”. Now, a new lawsuit filed by the Bryan family on January 30, goes after not only Shaknovsky, but also Ascension, GenesisCare USA of Florida and four nurses. It states that the hospital and nurses “had an obligation to accurately report Mr. Bryan’s death” and they “misrepresented the cause of death.”.

The lawsuit seeks $50,000 in damages for loss of companionship and protection, mental pain and suffering, funeral expenses, medical expenses and more. The Independent has reached out to Ascension for comment. “Dr. Shaknovsky’s failure to meet the accepted standard of care and Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast’s involvement in the alleged cover up has caused irreparable harm, and no family should have to endure such grief due to medical negligence. We are committed to holding these actors accountable for their actions.”.