Doctor accused of removing man’s liver instead of his spleen, causing him to die in surgery

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (WAFF/Gray News) - An Alabama man died in surgery when a doctor reportedly removed the wrong organ.

The man’s widow, Beverly Bryan, has hired an attorney to represent her and her late husband over the matter.

Attorney Joe Zarzaur says William Bryan started feeling pain in his left side last month while the couple was on the way to visit their rental property in Florida.

William Bryan was admitted to the Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital over concerns for his spleen and was recommended for surgery by Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky.

Beverly Bryan was said to be reluctant for her husband to have the surgery in Florida and wanted to bring him back to Alabama, but they were told he could experience complications if they left the hospital.

Zarzaur said William Bryan went ahead with the procedure, but the doctor ended up removing his liver instead of his spleen, causing him to bleed out and die on the operating table.

“Unfortunately, for our client what he took out was fatal to Mr. Bryan,” Zarzaur said. “His family, of course, has hired us to pursue the cases against all the potential defendants, the doctors in the room, potentially the nurses, the hospital for credentialing issues, all those things are wrapped into one.”

According to Zarzaur, Shaknovsky also performed a previous wrong-site surgery last year where he was accused of removing a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing an adrenal gland resection.

Beverly Bryan says she is pushing a lawsuit and a criminal investigation related to her husband’s death.

A spokesperson for the hospital said the situation is being investigated.

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