Florida Doctor Charged After Fatal Surgery Error
A Florida physician faces serious legal repercussions following the death of a 70-year-old man, which allegedly occurred due to a surgical mistake involving the removal of the incorrect organ.
Dr. Thomas Shakunowski, 44, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of second-degree manslaughter. This indictment arises from the August 2024 demise of the unnamed patient from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as confirmed by the First Judicial Circuit State’s Attorney’s Office on Tuesday.
Shakunowski was apprehended on Monday morning in Miramar Beach, Florida, and taken to the Walton County Jail for a scheduled court appearance on Tuesday.
According to prosecutors, Shakunowski mistakenly excised the man’s liver instead of his spleen during a laparoscopic splenectomy performed on August 21, 2024. This error reportedly caused “catastrophic blood loss” and led to the patient’s death on the operating table, as indicated in a press release from the prosecution.
Following the incident, the Alabama Board of Supervisors issued a temporary suspension of Shakunowski’s medical license, which was later revoked entirely by the Alabama Board of Medical Licensing within the same year. His medical license in Florida was also suspended in 2024.
Details from legal filings reveal that Shakunowski had recommended surgery after the patient presented with abdominal pain and imaging tests suggested an enlarged spleen along with suspected blood in the peritoneum, albeit without active bleeding. Over the following days, he reportedly urged the patient to proceed with the surgery, eventually convincing the patient on the third day.
The legal documents suggest that despite the patient experiencing cardiac arrest mid-operation, Shakunowski continued with the surgery. It is alleged that he mistakenly thought he had removed the spleen but, in a state of shock and confusion, failed to identify the organ accurately. An autopsy later revealed no evidence of a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm; instead, the patient’s spleen remained intact while the liver was missing.
Furthermore, the filing indicates that Shakunowski is not only facing manslaughter charges but also two additional counts of medical malpractice, one of which allegedly resulted in the death of another patient. In May 2023, he purportedly removed part of a patient’s pancreas during a procedure intended to excise the left adrenal gland. Additionally, in a surgery conducted in July 2023, he is accused of removing part of a patient’s intestine, causing a gastrointestinal perforation, which ultimately led to the patient’s death shortly after being transferred to the ICU.
As of now, it remains unclear if Dr. Shakunowski has secured legal representation. The First Judicial Circuit State’s Attorney’s Office has not yet responded to requests for further comments on the case.
