Ohio woman sues hospital for allegedly amputating wrong leg during surgery

Marietta, Ohio, on 17 September 2026. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/APView image in fullscreenMarietta, Ohio, on 17 September 2026. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/APOhio woman sues hospital for allegedly amputating wrong leg during surgery Sharon Jacks, 74, alleges hospital removed left leg instead of her right during below-the-knee amputation in 2025

An Ohio woman is suing a hospital after doctors allegedly amputated the wrong leg during a scheduled operation last year.

Sharon Jacks, 74, of Meigs county, alleged that she went to Selby general hospital in September 2025 to undergo a planned below-the-knee amputation of her right leg. Instead doctors removed her left leg during the procedure, according to the lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month in Washington county court in Marietta, where the hospital is based.

Her attorney, Brad Layne, said the error ultimately left Jacks, an army veteran, a double amputee after doctors at another hospital in Ohio had to remove the correct leg four months later.

According to the 32-page complaint, Jacks “suffered physical injury, permanent disability, pain and suffering, emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, medical expenses and other damages”.

Jacks and her husband named nine defendants in the lawsuit, including the hospital and Jacks’ medical and surgical teams, accusing them of gross negligence, battery and reckless conduct.

“Defendants acted willfully, wantonly, recklessly, maliciously, and with conscious disregard for the substantial certainty of catastrophic injury,” the complaint alleged.

The amputation of Jacks’ lower right leg was recommended as part of a treatment plan for a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, according to the lawsuit, and she “consented only to surgery involving her right lower extremity” and “never consented to amputation of her left lower extremity”.

According to the complaint, medical records show that the surgical team conducted two “time-outs” before the procedure. In surgery, these pauses are supposed to be used to confirm the patient’s identity, the planned procedure and the correct surgical site. But “despite multiple opportunities … to identify and correct the error”, the team proceeded to amputate the wrong leg, it alleged.

“The performance of surgery upon the wrong extremity constituted a complete failure of basic safety procedures,” the lawsuit said.

In a statement to WBNS-TV, the hospital acknowledged that “this was an avoidable event, and that our expected operating room procedures were not followed.”

The statement added: “Those involved were held accountable for their actions and are no longer in their positions.

“We are saddened by what occurred, and our team continues to keep this patient and their family in our prayers.”

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of Jacks.