A Florida doctor facing accusations that he caused a patient’s death by removing the wrong organ was working as a Lyft driver when authorities took him into custody earlier this month.
Body camera footage obtained by NBC News shows deputies from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office stopping an SUV at a busy intersection in Miramar Beach on April 13. The vehicle was being driven by Dr. Thomas “Jacob” Shaknovsky, 44. As officers surrounded the SUV with weapons drawn, Shaknovsky appeared disoriented and told them there were passengers in the back seat while he was being ordered out and handcuffed. After he was placed in a patrol car, deputies informed him he was under arrest on a manslaughter charge.
Two passengers, who were visiting the area, then got out of the vehicle and appeared shaken by the encounter. One later told deputies she initially believed they were being robbed when officers approached with guns. A witness later provided a screenshot of Shaknovsky’s Lyft profile to an attorney representing families of former patients. The account, listed under his middle name, showed a five-star rating based on more than 3,000 rides. Lyft said it removed him from the platform once it became aware of the arrest and reached out to the rider involved.
The arrest came about a week after a grand jury indicted Shaknovsky on a second-degree manslaughter charge tied to the death of William Bryan, a 70-year-old man who died during surgery in August 2024. The procedure was intended to remove Bryan’s spleen, but prosecutors allege the surgeon instead removed his liver, leading to fatal blood loss. Bryan died during the operation.
Following the incident, Shaknovsky’s medical license in Florida was suspended, and he later lost his licenses in Alabama and New York.
He is also facing a lawsuit connected to the 2023 death of another patient, Dorothy Dorsett, also 70. Her family alleges that he failed to properly manage complications after surgery, resulting in sepsis.
Neither Shaknovsky nor his attorney has responded publicly. He is scheduled to be arraigned on May 19, and if convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.