I’ve had a wide range of experiences with doctors. Some completely dismissed me and wrote off symptoms, while others conducted tests, therapies, and more to help me feel better. No matter how great some doctors are, the ones who “do harm” tend to negatively skew the experience of going to the doctor. This is especially true when it comes to surgeons; getting a surgery done is already traumatic, but having that doctor make a mistake is enough to scar you for life. Unfortunately, one Alabama family is dealing with that painful reality.
The family of William Bryan may forever distrust surgeons.
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky removed the wrong organ from him during surgery, ultimately killing him. According to People, the Florida grandfather sought medical care from Shaknovsky on August 14, 2024, after having severe abdominal pain during his visit to Okaloosa County, Florida, with his wife, Beverly. In a November 2025 deposition recently obtained by NBC News, the doctor expressed deep regret for his fatal mistake.
On the table, William reportedly began excessively bleeding, and in that moment, Shankovsky said his patient’s heart stopped.
“I couldn’t tell the difference because I was so upset,” Shaknovsky said of the moment he allegedly incorrectly identified William Bryan’s spleen as his liver. “It was like an overflown sink that’s clogged up, and I am looking for a fork at the bottom, trying to feel and find the bleed, and I was not able to do so. After 20 minutes of struggling, desperately trying to save his life, that’s when the wrong-site event took place.”
The doctor also claimed during his deposition that William Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal.’
In her lawsuit, however, Beverly Bryan claimed that the doctor told her his patient’s spleen was “nearly normal.” The surgeon went on to detail just how much losing the patient has “devastated” him.
“I can’t explain to you what it’s like for a surgeon to lose a patient on a table and how demoralizing it is and how devastating it is. And I couldn’t tell the difference because I was so upset,” Shaknovsky said, according to NBC News.
Beverly Bryan sued the doctor for medical malpractice, saying he “wrongfully omitted any reference to Mr. Bryan’s liver being removed to ‘cover up’ his gross negligence/recklessness and to hopefully avoid the embarrassment due to such derelict care.”
In April 2026, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office stated a grand jury determined the doctor is being charged with second-degree manslaughter.
“Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor,” Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson shared in the news release. “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.”
Adkinson added in the release that authorities will continue to work on the case as long as necessary. “We are committed to seeing this case through with the professionalism and integrity our community expects,” he shared.
Shaknovsky is at Walton County Jail awaiting trial.
