Woman who had wrong leg amputated during surgery for cancer treatment sues hospital

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A woman who had the wrong leg removed during surgery is suing the hospital after she was left a double amputee.

Surgeons at Selby General Hospital in Marietta, Ohio, removed 74-year-old ​Sharon Jacks’ lower left leg in September 2025 when they were supposed to remove her lower right leg.

Her right leg was scheduled to be amputated as part of her treatment for squamous cell carcinoma, her attorney, Brad Layne, told The New York Times.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the second-most common form of non-melanoma skin cancer, after basal cell carcinoma.

​“She went into surgery and, when she woke up, the wrong leg had been taken off,” Layne told WBNS 10TV. “I can tell you from what I’ve determined that the surgeon actually marked the correct leg, pre-surgery.

“The mark was still on the correct leg after the wrong leg had been taken off.”

​The Independent has contacted Selby General Hospital, part of the Memorial Health System, for comment.

​Layne told The Times that Jacks had the correct leg removed four months after the other surgery took place. That left her as a double amputee.

​“Complete and total failure by multiple medical professionals caused this catastrophe,” the attorney said in a statement obtained by WCHS. “Now every day for the rest of her life, Sharon Jacks must live with the consequences of those failures.”

​Speaking to WBNS 10TV, he argued that records suggested checks took place during surgery with the goal of ensuring that the operation’s details were correct.

​“Every person in that operating room is responsible to make sure that (sic) that is verified before moving forward,” he said. “The records say that that happened twice, but somehow Ms Jacks is missing a leg that should not have been removed.”

The lawsuit alleges that Jacks was left with physical injury, permanent disability and medical expenses, as well as “humiliation” and emotional distress.

​The 74-year-old, who is suing both Selby General Hospital and her surgical team, is seeking both punitive and compensatory damages, Layne told The Times.

​In a statement obtained by WBNS 10TV, Selby General Hospital said that operating room procedures were not followed.

​“Our proactive review of what took place confirmed this was an avoidable event and that our expected operating room procedures were not followed,” the statement read. “Those involved were held accountable for their actions and are no longer in their positions.”

​“Our clinical and leadership teams have implemented corrective measures across our organization to prevent a situation like this from recurring,” the statement continued. “This included mandatory retraining of all surgical employees to reinforce our patient safety policies.”

The Independent has also contacted Kayser, Layne & Clark (Layne’s law firm) for comment.