A doctor who now has no medical license is behind bars after being indicted by a grand jury for removing the wrong organ during surgery on a 70-year-old man, causing his death.
It was a grant jury in Walton County, Florida, that released the charge of second-degree manslaughter against Thomas Shaknovsky over the August 2024 procedure that left an Alabama man dead.
According to a report at the Daily Caller, Shaknovsky’s medical license was suspended in Florida in 2024, and stripped by the state of Alabama. He also had a New York license that was suspended in 2025.
He was being held in the county jail, with an appearance scheduled before a judge, the report said.
A statement from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said the indictment follows an investigation led by the WSCO with support from the office of the state attorney from the First Judicial Circuit and other state and medical officials.
“Shaknovsky’s patient was set to receive a laparoscopic splenectomy, but Shaknovsky allegedly removed his liver rather than his spleen, resulting in severe loss of blood and the patient’s death on the surgery table,” the report cited officials as explaining.
The grand jury decided the alleged actions rose to the level of criminal conduct.
Sheriff Michael Adkinson said, “Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor. The grand jury has spoken, and our responsibility is to ensure the charges are carried out through the proper legal process. Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family and their unspeakable loss.”
The report cited WEAR News 3 for the identification of the victim, William Bryan, who had vacationed in Destin, Florida from Alabama when the man became ill.
He went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast and saw Shaknovsky.
“Bryan’s wife, Beverly, alleged that she tried to convince the doctor to allow her to take her husband home,” the report said, but she was told he would bleed to death if he was moved.
She has begun a wrongful death case against Shaknovsky and the hospital.
The Daily Caller confirmed Shaknovsky earlier had been accused of removing a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of their left adrenal gland during a May 2023 surgery.
