An Army Veteran Became a Double Amputee After Doctors Allegedly Removed the Wrong Leg

Her attorney, Brad Layne, says that “when she woke up, the wrong leg had been taken off.” Sharon Jacks, a 74-year-old Army veteran from Meigs County, Ohio, entered Selby General Hospital in September 2025 for a planned operation on one leg. Her lawsuit says the surgical team removed the other, and she is now a double amputee. 

Jacks Consented to Surgery on Her Right Lower Leg to Treat Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Doctors recommended a below-the-knee amputation of Jacks’s right leg as part of her treatment for squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. According to the lawsuit, she consented only to surgery on her right lower extremity. The procedure was elective and scheduled in advance. Layne says everything was checked off for the correct leg and that “everything seemed to be in order.” One more safeguard had been drawn directly on her skin.

Surgeon Marked the Correct Leg Before the Operation, and the Mark Was Still There Afterward

Medical records reviewed by Layne indicate the surgeon marked the correct leg before the operation, the standard way of flagging which limb is meant for surgery. After the left leg was removed, Layne says, the mark remained on the right one. The lawsuit names the hospital, the surgeon and members of the surgical team as defendants. The operating room itself offered two more chances to catch a mistake.

Two Documented Time-Outs Preceded the Amputation of Jacks’s Left Leg, Lawsuit Alleges

A time-out is a pause in which a surgical team confirms the patient’s identity, the planned procedure and the correct surgical site. According to the 32-page complaint, medical records show the team held two of them for Jacks. The lawsuit argues there were multiple opportunities to identify and correct the error, yet surgeons went on to amputate her left leg below the knee. The cancer that prompted the surgery was still in her right leg.

Four Months Later, Doctors at Another Ohio Hospital Removed the Leg That Was Meant to Go First

Jacks needed a second operation. About four months after the first, doctors at another Ohio hospital removed the right leg that had been scheduled for surgery all along, according to Layne. That procedure made her a double amputee. Layne says she has been cancer-free since the correct operation was performed. Living with two amputations brought changes that reached well beyond the operating room.

Jacks Now Uses a Board and Wheelchair to Get Around, and Her Husband Quit His Job to Care for Her

Layne says Jacks now moves from a board to a wheelchair to reach the bathroom, get into bed, change clothes or go anywhere. The couple faces costs for prosthetics, transportation changes and home modifications. Her husband, Dannie Jacks, quit his job to look after her, since Layne says she could not be left alone to manage their property. Together, they filed a lawsuit with nine defendants.

Nine Defendants Face Claims of Gross Negligence, Battery and Reckless Conduct

Jacks and her husband filed suit in Washington County Common Pleas Court in Marietta. The defendants include the hospital and Jacks’s medical and surgical teams. The complaint cites physical injury, permanent disability, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, and it seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. It calls surgery on the wrong limb a “complete failure of basic safety procedures.” Selby General has already responded publicly.

Selby General Calls It an “Avoidable Event” and Says the Staff Involved Are No Longer in Their Positions

In a statement to WBNS-TV, Selby General Hospital described the incident as “an avoidable event” and acknowledged that its expected operating room procedures were not followed. The hospital said those involved were held accountable and are no longer in their positions. It added that it is saddened by what occurred and keeps Jacks and her family in its prayers. Medicine already has a name for this kind of mistake.

Wrong-Site Surgery Is a “Never Event,” Yet an Estimated 40 Cases Happen Every Week in the US

Hospitals call surgery on the wrong patient or body part a “never event”, because it is never supposed to happen. The lawsuit classifies a wrong-site amputation under that label, citing the Joint Commission. Yet a 2022 statement from the Joint Commission and a perioperative nurses’ association estimated that wrong-site surgeries occur about 40 times a week in the United States. No court has yet decided whether the safeguards failed in Jacks’s operating room.

Allegations Await a Court’s Ruling, but Selby General Has Already Conceded Its Procedures Failed

Sharon Jacks, a 74-year-old Army veteran, went to Selby General to have her cancerous right leg removed and lost her left leg instead. Surgeons at another hospital took the right leg four months later. The hospital has acknowledged that its procedures were not followed, and the claims of negligence and battery remain allegations until a court rules. Jacks and her husband are now adapting their daily life to two amputations.