An Alabama man entered a Florida hospital for a procedure to remove his spleen. On Aug. 21, medical records provided to USA Today by Zarzaur Law show that "Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky performed a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure on William “Bill” Bryan, 70, from Muscle Shoals, Alabama."
Bryan's widow claims that Shaknovsky mistakenly removed his liver instead of his spleen.
“Dr. Shaknovsky removed Mr. Bryan’s liver and, in so doing, transected the major vasculature supplying the liver, causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death,” the statement from the law firm said. “The surgeon proceeded with labeling the removed liver specimen as a 'spleen,' and it wasn’t until following the death that it was identified that the organ removed was actually Mr. Bryan’s liver, as opposed to the spleen.'”
Bryan was in Florida visiting his rental property when he began to experience extreme pain on his side. He and his wife were reluctant to have the surgery done in Florida but were convinced by Dr. Schaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s chief medical officer, to have the surgery immediately.
The law firm says it wasn't immediately clear to the doctors why Bryan died. It wasn't until the organ removed during surgery was examined that it was discovered to be a liver, not a spleen.
What's incredible about this is that, according to the Cleveland Clinic, "the typical human spleen is roughly the size of an avocado, and the typical human liver is roughly the size of a football."
Not surprisingly, this is not the first time that Shaknovsky has mistaken one organ for another.
Shaknovsky had made a similar mistake in 2023, removing portions of a pancreas instead of an adrenal gland, in a case that was settled privately, Zarzaur said.
The employment status of Shaknovsky and Bacani wasn’t immediately clear on Wednesday afternoon. They were not reached for comment.
The Walton County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that authorities are investigating the circumstances around Bryan's death.
“Walton County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office and Office of the State Attorney is reviewing the facts involving the death of William Bryan to determine if anything criminal took place."
A clear case of malpractice, right? Not so fast. Florida has some bizarre malpractice laws, including a "free kill" law that bars family members except the spouse and minor children from suing.
Florida’s “free kill” law is a provision in Section 768.21 in Florida Statutes that prohibits adult children and parents from filing medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors or hospitals when the victim is 25 years old or older.
Only surviving spouses and minor children can file medical malpractice claims under the current law. Florida is the only state whose wrongful death laws differentiate medical malpractice from other types of wrongful death.
"Under Florida law, a six- to nine-month pre-suit process must take place before filing a formal medical malpractice lawsuit with the court," according to the law firm. Also, the Florida medical board could take months to revoke Shaknovsky's medical license.
Meanwhile, he's free to practice weaponized medicine in Florida.
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