An Alabama husband died on a Florida operating table when the doctor mistakenly removed the man’s liver during surgery before the surgeon attempted to pass off the organ as an “enlarged spleen,” according to a lawyer representing the man’s widow.

William Bryan and his wife Beverly were visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County, Florida last month when he suddenly began experiencing lower left abdominal pain.

The 70-year-old Muscle Shoals, AL resident went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County, where he was admitted for further tests over concerns about an abnormality of the spleen, Zarzaur Law P.A. said Friday on Facebook.

General Surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, persuaded the reluctant family for Bryan to undergo surgery at the hospital or he “could experience serious complications if he left the hospital,” the law firm claims.

Bryan agreed with the doctors and underwent a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure on Aug. 21.

In the middle of the surgery, Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver by transecting the major vasculature supplying the liver

The surgical cut resulted in “immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death,” the post read.

After erroneously removing Bryan’s liver, the general surgeon labeled the organ as a “spleen,” which was only identified as a liver after the man’s death.

Shaknovsky proceeded to explain to Beverly Bryan, that her husband’s “‘spleen’ was so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual and had migrated to the other side of (his) body.”

Inside the human body, the liver is located on the upper right side of the abdominal cavity, just below the diaphragm, and above the stomach, right kidney, and intestines.

The spleen, located on the upper left side of the abdomen next to the stomach, is significantly smaller than the liver, between 1,100 and 1,400 grams lighter, and is roughly the size of a fist.

Zarzaur Law claims Dr. Shaknovsky had a previous “wrong-site surgery” back in 2023 where he supposedly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection.

That case was settled in confidence.

Beverly Bryan retained the law firm to get “justice” for her husband and is hoping the general surgeon no longer treats other patients.

“My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky. I don’t want anyone else to die due to his incompetence at a hospital that should have known or knew he had previously made drastic, life-altering surgical mistakes,” the widow said in a statement through the law firm.

Beverly Bryan says she is pushing for both civil and criminal proceedings related to her husband’s death.

North Walton Doctor’s Hospital “disassociated” itself with Shaknovsky and have removed all photos and references to the doctor from its website, according to Zarzaur.

Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital said it was investigating Bryan’s death but wouldn’t share more information.

“We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003,” the hospital said in statement obtained by AL.com. “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.”

Following William Bryan’s death, an apparent small cyst was discovered on his spleen which is believed to be the cause of the pain he was hospitalized for.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A former state employee who said he leaked information about the plans to build golf courses and hotels in Florida’s state parks has apparently been fired.

But James Gaddis, who described himself as an “ethical whistleblower,” said he doesn’t regret making the public aware of the proposals, according to the Palm Beach Post.

“I just happen to be a guy in the middle of all this and the clock was ticking, and I figured someone has to step up to the plate and stop the madness,” Gaddis told the newspaper.

Gaddis, who worked as a cartographer for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said he was directed to draw up conceptual maps for the proposals to build golf courses, pickleball courts, 350-room hotels and more at nine state parks from Miami to the Panhandle.

Tasked with illustrating the plans to build sprawling developments in some of Florida’s most pristine habitats — some of which are globally rare — Gaddis said he snapped.

“I was drawing the golf course polygons and putting a point down where the hotel was going to go in Anastasia State Park (near St. Augustine) and I was already disgusted but it just kept getting worse and worse,” Gaddis said. “I said, ‘What I am mapping out here is too bad and too egregious and I can’t take this anymore.’”

Gaddis said he wrote up a summary of the proposals on his work computer and shared it, helping spark protests and massive public backlash against the plans, which the department has since withdrawn. Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis calling the initiative “half-baked” and “not ready for prime time”.

After leaking the information, Gaddis was put on administrative leave on Aug. 30. The next day, he got a letter of dismissal in the mail saying he violated department policies.

A spokesperson for DEP did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

A single father of an 11-year-old, Gaddis is being applauded as a hero on social media by opponents of the proposed development. As of Tuesday afternoon, a GoFundMe page created by Gaddis had raised more than $95,000.

A state salary database has his annual salary listed at $49,346.04

Wade Wilson is officially on death row.

The 30-year-old Florida man who was sentenced to death last week for murdering two women was transferred from the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers to the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford on Friday where he now awaits execution.

The photo attached to his Inmate Population Information profile appears old as Wilson appears fresh-faced and without his infamous tattoos.

Newsweek has contacted Wilson’s lawyers and the Florida Department of Corrections for comment.

On August 27, the families of Wilson’s victims Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz clapped, laughed, and hugged each other when Judge Nick Thompson decided that Wilson would be put to death for strangling both women within hours of eachother in October 2019.

Wilson is the first convicted killer in Florida to be put to death after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial law change. DeSantis signed a law in April 2023 reducing the requirement for jurors to recommend a death sentence from a unanimous decision to an 8-4 vote in favor. Experts argue that this change has turned capital resentencing and trials into a “quintessential game of chance” for those facing the death penalty.

In June, nine of the 12 jurors in Wilson’s case recommended the death penalty for the murder of Melton and 10 recommended death for the murder of Ruiz.

Life on Death Row

The 274 Florida male death row inmates are housed at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford which has a capacity of 1,486 inmates. Raiford is a Union County town located in the northern part of the county and southwest of Jacksonville.

The two female Florida death row inmates are housed at Lowell Annex in Lowell.

Death row cells measure 6-by-9 feet with a height of 9.5 feet. Inmates awaiting execution, after the governor signs a death warrant, are housed in death watch cells, which measure 12-by-7 feet with a height of 8.5 feet.

Death row inmates are served three meals a day: at 5 a.m., from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., and from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Meals are prepared by prison staff and delivered to the cells in insulated carts. Inmates use sporks to eat from a provided tray.

Before execution, inmates can request a last meal with a maximum budget of $40, and the food must be purchased locally to prevent extravagance.

Death row inmates can have visitors but they must be approved in advance. Inmates receive mail daily, excluding holidays and weekends. They are allowed snacks, radios, and 13-inch televisions in their cells but do not have cable television or air-conditioning. Inmates cannot gather in common areas but can watch church services on closed-circuit TV.

While on death watch, inmates may have radios and televisions positioned outside their cell bars. They’re allowed to shower every other day and are counted at least once an hour.

Death row inmates are handcuffed whenever they are outside their cells, except during their time in the cell, exercise yard, or shower. Inmates remain in their cells except for medical appointments, exercise, social or legal visits, and media interviews. When a death warrant is signed, the inmate is placed on death watch status and is allowed a legal and social phone call.

Death row inmates wear distinctive orange T-shirts, while their pants are the same blue pants worn by regular inmates.

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