Florida surgeon charged with criminal manslaugter after unintentionally removing wrong organ

A recent criminal indictment of a Florida surgeon is sending shockwaves through the healthcare and legal communities, raising a critical question: can a physician be criminally prosecuted for medical malpractice? 

A Florida grand jury recently returned an indictment against Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky for second-degree manslaughter after he allegedly removed a patient’s liver instead of the intended spleen during a 2024 procedure, resulting in the patient’s death from catastrophic blood loss. The case stems from what was supposed to be a routine laparoscopic splenectomy on a 70-year-old patient. An autopsy later confirmed that the spleen remained intact while the liver had been removed.

This case is significant because traditionally even egregious medical errors fall within the realm of civil malpractice, not criminal law. Medical malpractice requires proof that a physician breached the applicable standard of care, causing injury or death. The remedy is monetary damages, not incarceration. Criminal liability, by contrast, requires a much higher showing. Prosecutors must prove gross negligence or recklessness rising to the level of criminal conduct, and they must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, as opposed to the much lower civil preponderance of the evidence standard. In this case, authorities allege that the surgeon’s actions “constituted criminal conduct under Florida law,” supporting a manslaughter charge.

The line between civil malpractice and criminal liability has historically been reserved for cases involving intentional harm, physician impairment (e.g., intoxication), or conduct so reckless that it demonstrates a conscious disregard for human life. Here, by contrast, the prosecution does not allege intentional misconduct, but instead alleges that Dr. Shaknovsky “removed an organ he believed to be the spleen, but due to his shock and the chaos, he was unable to properly identify the organ.” This theory has caused concern among healthcare providers that this case may signal a lowering—or at least a testing—of that threshold.

According to news reports, there is evidence suggesting that state regulators had previously raised concerns about Dr. Shaknovsky’s performance, including other alleged surgical errors. Such a pattern of adverse events could support a theory of recklessness rather than isolated negligence. The Florida medical board has suspended Dr. Shaknovsky’s license following the incident in question, and he reportedly surrendered licenses in other states as well.

The central legal question in this case will be where the judge and/or jury will draw the line between negligence (enough for civil liability) and criminal recklessness. If successful, the prosecution’s theory could create a precedent—formal or informal—for pursuing criminal charges in cases involving extreme, yet unintentional, medical errors.

GWB represents physicians and other healthcare providers in connection with government investigations and litigation, both criminal and civil. If you need assistance with such a matter, please contact us.