10/01/2026
She ended up losing both legs?! 👀
An Ohio woman went into surgery expecting to lose her right leg, but woke up without her left.
Now, she and her husband are suing the hospital, doctors and other medical providers involved, alleging a series of safety failures allowed the devastating mistake to happen.
Sharon S. Jacks and her husband, Dannie, filed the lawsuit over the surgery at Selby General Hospital.
According to the complaint, Jacks had consented to a right below-knee amputation because of disease affecting her right leg.
Instead, surgeons amputated her left lower leg.
The lawsuit says medical records allegedly contained multiple references to Sharon's right leg. The surgical schedule called for a right below-knee amputation, the preoperative diagnosis involved the right leg and the surgical time-out reportedly documented verification of the correct patient, procedure and surgical site.
But the operative specimen was identified as a left below-knee amputated limb.
The lawsuit alleges the wrong-leg amputation happened despite multiple opportunities for members of the surgical team to recognize the discrepancy and stop the procedure.
Three medical experts who submitted affidavits supporting the lawsuit go further.
A perioperative nursing expert said the surgical team failed to meaningfully participate in required safety protocols and failed to recognize and act on opportunities to prevent the mistake.
A general surgeon said multiple safeguards, including preoperative verification, site marking, the surgical time-out and even specimen confirmation, allegedly failed to stop the wrong-leg amputation.
An anesthesia expert also alleges the anesthesia team should have recognized that the wrong extremity had been prepared and draped and should have stopped or delayed the procedure until the discrepancy was resolved.
Sharon Jacks is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for what the lawsuit describes as permanent disability, pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical expenses, lost earnings and loss of enjoyment of life.
Her husband is also seeking damages for loss of companionship and other effects on their marriage.
Selby General Hospital released the following statement:
“In September 2025, an adverse surgical event occurred at Selby General Hospital. At that time, our team responded immediately to address the medical needs of the patient involved and provide support to their family.
"Our proactive review of what took place confirmed this was an avoidable event, and that our expected operating room procedures were not followed. Those involved were held accountable for their actions and are no longer in their positions.
"Caring for our patients is our daily work, and ensuring patient safety is a firm commitment across our organization. All our internal safety procedures and protocols were thoroughly reviewed by our partners at the Mayo Clinic and are aligned with industry standards that guide high-quality healthcare in the communities we serve.
"We also fully cooperated with a review by the Ohio Department of Health, which confirmed that our surgical protocols are safe and effective. Our clinical and leadership teams have implemented corrective measures across our organization to prevent a situation like this from recurring. This included mandatory retraining of all surgical employees to reinforce our patient safety policies and procedures, as well as developing additional requirements where needed.”
“We are saddened by what occurred, and our team continues to keep this patient and their family in our prayers.”
