William Bryan was a 70-year-old man from Alabama who suddenly began suffering from lower left abdominal pain. Per USA Today, Bryan went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Florida for a splenectomy as it was discovered he had an enlarged spleen. The Bryan family's attorney, Joe Zarzaur, said that Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky persuaded Bryan and his wife, Beverly, to have the procedure done there instead of Alabama, their home state.
The law firm representing Bryan's family said the couple was warned by Shaknovsky that Bryan "could experience serious complications if he left the hospital." However, in the middle of the procedure, Shaknovsky removed Bryan's liver by accident. Per the Pensacola News Journal, "Shaknovsky removed Bryan's liver and, in so doing, transected the major vasculature supplying the liver. Causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss that resulted in Bill Bryan's death."
"I have the pleasure of representing Mrs. Bryan and her family. Unfortunately, we represent her in one of the most egregious cases of medical malpractice that I've ever been involved with," Zarzaur said in a press conference. "The doctors kept suggesting that it was too dangerous to move him, that his spleen could rupture, and they needed to go forward with the procedure."
A Florida Doctor Took The Wrong Organ From A Patient
According to Zarzaur, an autopsy was performed on Bryan. The medical examiner determined that Bryan's liver was gone and his spleen was still present with a small cyst attached. "The spleen had a small cyst on it that had some hemorrhage around it. But it was not a fatal issue," Zarzaur stated. "It was a fairly routine-looking cyst. It probably would have been very treatable."
Beverly Bryan spoke out in defense of her husband. She believes negligence played a major part in her husband's death. "They took him from us while he was completely helpless on the operating table," Beverly stated in a news conference. "He was the best husband and father that I could have possibly asked for. I'll get through this and I'm going to be strong for him because he deserves justice for this."
As of now, the Bryan family intends to file a lawsuit. A criminal investigation is also ongoing.
