By Molly Goddard
7:33am PST, Feb 7, 2025
A Florida surgeon is being accused of wrongful death and medical malpractice.
Beverly Bryan is suing physician
Thomas J. Shaknovsky for allegedly causing the death of her husband,
William Bryan, after the
doctor removed his liver instead of his spleen during a routine laparoscopic splenectomy in August 2024.
Join us to see what the grieving widow is claiming Thomas and the Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital did to her late spouse…
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According to
The Washington Post, Beverly alleged before William went into the operating room, the specialist reassured her the surgery "would be quick and over and done."
"You'll see him back in a few minutes," she recalled Thomas telling her. However, the procedure ended up being fatal.
In a lawsuit filed on January 30 in the Sunshine State's First Judicial Circuit Court in Walton County, Beverly claimed the doctor
killed her partner by removing his liver instead of his spleen and conspired with the hospital to cover up the mistake.
Per the court documents, Beverly said the medical facility failed to protect William by employing Thomas, who had a history of making serious mistakes in the operating room. Specifically, in 2023 when he operated on the wrong organ on one of his patients.
According to state records, the matter was kept quiet with a $400,000
settlement.
"It really needs to be more transparent when doctors have a bad history," Beverly told the outlet.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital responded to the lawsuit in a statement shared with
People. "We take allegations like this very seriously and our
leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event," they said.
"Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003. Patient safety is and remains our number one priority. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family. We hold the privacy of our patients in the highest regard. We do not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation," the message concluded.
In response, Beverly gave a statement via her attorney. "My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky," she alleged.
"Bill would want everybody to know about his
death, she added. "Because … it's so hard to find out about a physician's past."
On September 24, 2024,
Joseph Ladapo, Florida's surgeon general, ordered an emergency suspension of Thomas' medical license due to Williams' passing and 2023 incident.
According to
TWP, Thomas told state
investigators he couldn't identify the organ he removed during the procedure due to "shock and chaos."
Many surgical staffers allegedly expressed concern with the hospital's chief medical officer,
Joseph Bacani, that Thomas was not skilled enough to perform the surgery on William.
