One dead and a ruined career, that’s how this case in the United States can be summed up. A surgeon is being prosecuted after a medical error with dramatic consequences. According to ABC News, a grand jury in Florida indicted Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky for second-degree manslaughter. The official announcement was made on Tuesday by the prosecutor.
The events date back to August 21, 2024. The doctor was performing a laparoscopic splenectomy on a 70-year-old patient from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. According to authorities, he allegedly removed the liver instead of the spleen, causing massive bleeding.
The patient died on the operating table
This surgical error caused a fatal hemorrhagic shock, with the patient dying directly on the operating table. Investigators believe that the evidence gathered justifies criminal charges, based on the analysis of the circumstances and actions taken during the procedure.
Following the tragedy, the doctor’s medical license was suspended in Florida. At the same time, he gave up practicing in Alabama as a revocation procedure was initiated.
