Alabama dad dies in Florida hospital when doctor removes wrong organ in 'catastrophic death'

A father of three from Alabama tragically passed away on the operating table when a surgeon removed the wrong organ, according to a lawyer for the man's widow.

William Bryan was enjoying a holiday with his wife Beverly in Okaloosa County, northwestern Florida , when he came down with severe pain in his lower left abdomen. The 70 year old from Muscle Shoals, Colbert County, Alabama, visited Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County for a check-up.

After being tested, Mr Bryan was found to have hemoperitoneum and a splenic injury a bleeding spleen. Despite his wife Beverly's preference to delay surgery until they returned home to Alabama, doctors warned that Mr Bryan could face serious complications or even bleed to death without immediate surgery, Joe Zarzaur, the Florida-based lawyer representing Mrs Bryan, shared.

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On the 21st of August, Mr Bryan underwent what was supposed to be a splenectomy a surgery removing the spleen located at the upper left of the abdomen performed by surgeon Thomas Shaknovsky. He agreed to the procedure after being briefed on the "risks, benefits, and alternatives" alongside his wife.

A shocking mistake during the operation was revealed by a surgical pathology report given by the attorney: instead of extracting Mr Bryan's spleen, Dr Shaknovsky mistakenly took out the patient's liver.

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The removal resulted in the severing of a major artery that caused sudden blood loss and eventually led to Mr Bryan's death, the lawyer added. The attorney claimed that the doctor didn't immediately notice the mistake and mislabelled the removed liver specimen as "spleen".

However, following an autopsy on the man, the medical examiner determined that his liver had been removed, while his spleen was still in his body with a cyst attached to it. Zarzaur said during a press conference on Tuesday: "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."

The lawyer stated: "The spleen had a small cyst on it that had some bleeding around it, but it was not a fatal issue. It was a fairly routine-looking cyst. It probably would have been very treatable."

The devastated widow described Mr Bryan, her husband of 33 years, as "such a good man" with whom she had three children. She said: "I was lucky enough to be the wife of William Bryan, who's also known as Bill Bryan, and I'll always be grateful for the time that I had with him. We have three children (and) eight grandchildren and they're grateful for the time that they had with him too."

Mrs Bryan has spoken out about the deep pain her family is experiencing, claiming that her husband passed away because of the incompetence of the doctors involved in the negligence of the Ascension Hospital. " She expressed: "They took him from us while he was completely helpless on the operating table. They removed his liver instead of his spleen, so of course, he bled to death on the operating table."

"In a heart-wrenching account, Mrs Bryan condemned her husband's death as "unnecessary and brutal" and told how their Alabama community is "devastated" by the loss. Remembering her spouse, she added: "He brought joy to every life that he ever touched.

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. "Ascension provided insights into their response via a statement offered to USA Today, ensuring that they are conducting a "thorough investigation" of the tragedy. The statement declared: "We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event.

"The institution also reflected on its reputable past with these words: "Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2001. Patient safety is and remains our number one priority.

"Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family. We hold the privacy of our patients in the highest regard. We do not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation. ".