A Florida grand jury indicted a doctor on a second-degree manslaughter charge tied to what prosecutors described as a wrong-organ removal during surgery in 2024, according to court and law-enforcement statements reported by the Associated Press.
In the case announced by the prosecutor for the First Judicial Circuit, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky faces the charge for an Aug. 21, 2024 operation that was scheduled as a laparoscopic splenectomy, but prosecutors said he removed the patient’s liver instead of his spleen. The indictment centers on the medical step authorities say resulted in fatal complications.
Prosecutors said the patient died on the operating table after what law enforcement officials described as catastrophic blood loss. The AP report said the patient was a 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in a statement that authorities’ duty is to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor. The case was presented as a criminal matter rather than a civil malpractice claim, with the indictment serving as the charging decision.
The AP report said Florida suspended Shaknovsky’s medical license after the surgery. It also reported that records showed Shaknovsky voluntarily surrendered his medical license in Alabama after regulators moved to revoke it.
The report said available court records did not name an attorney for Shaknovsky. The manslaughter charge, the suspension, and the license surrender are separate actions in different systems, and the indictment does not by itself establish guilt.
While the allegations are serious, the case will proceed through the criminal process in Florida, where the next steps typically include legal filings and court proceedings that will determine what evidence prosecutors can present and how the defense responds.