NIGHTMARE SCENARIO

Surgeon Indicted After Horrifying Mistake During Operation

Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky faces 15 years in prison if convicted over a botched procedure.

A doctor has been indicted on a manslaughter charge after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen. The patient, 70-year-old William Bryan from Alabama, died on the operating table at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach, Florida, after Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky allegedly removed the wrong organ in August 2024. A grand jury has now indicted Shaknovsky on a second-degree manslaughter charge. The doctor, 44, was arrested on Monday morning and later released on bond, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said. “Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor,” Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in a statement. Shaknovsky is due to be arraigned in Walton County Circuit Court on May 19, and he faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. After the botched surgery, Shaknovsky voluntarily surrendered his medical license in Alabama. Authorities in Florida then suspended his medical license. Mr. Bryan’s wife, Beverly, said, “[My husband] would want his death to be the reason that more people didn’t get hurt by that doctor.”