A Florida surgeon now faces criminal charges after a patient died on the operating table during a procedure that reports say ended with the removal of the man’s liver instead of his spleen.
Newly obtained deposition testimony, first reported by NBC, shows Thomas Shaknovsky describing the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Shaknovsky, 44, also said he is “forever traumatized” by what happened, according to the reported account. The case has drawn intense scrutiny because of the severity of the alleged surgical error and the extraordinary stakes inside the operating room.
“Incredibly unfortunate” and “forever traumatized” — that is how the surgeon reportedly described the death at the center of the criminal case.
Key Facts
- Florida surgeon Thomas Shaknovsky faces criminal charges tied to a patient’s death.
- Reports indicate 70-year-old William Bryan died during surgery.
- Authorities allege the surgeon removed the liver instead of the spleen.
- A deposition from November, recently obtained by NBC, details the surgeon’s regret.
The available record remains narrow, and key details still depend on court proceedings and reporting from the deposition. But the broad outline has already raised urgent questions about surgical oversight, operating-room safeguards, and how such a catastrophic mistake could occur. When a case moves from medical tragedy to criminal prosecution, it also forces a wider debate over where negligence ends and criminal liability begins.
For Bryan’s family, the legal process now unfolds alongside an irreversible loss. For the surgeon, the deposition suggests a defense shaped at least in part by remorse, though regret alone will not answer the central questions before investigators and the courts. What happens next matters well beyond one Florida operating room: the case could influence how hospitals, prosecutors, and medical boards respond when an alleged surgical error turns fatal.