Doctors in the US state of Ohio accidentally amputated the wrong leg of a woman during surgery. On September 15, 2025, Sharon Jacks was supposed to undergo an amputation of her right leg below the knee because of a medical condition, but after the operation she discovered that her left leg had been removed. The woman has filed a lawsuit against the surgeon, members of the surgical team, and the hospital, the New York Post reports.
Four-year-old Sharon Jacks was scheduled to have her right leg amputated below the knee because of squamous cell carcinoma. According to medical records, the surgeon correctly marked the leg that was supposed to be removed before the operation. However, during the procedure, doctors amputated the opposite limb. The mark on the right leg, which was originally intended for surgery, remained in place.
Squamous cell carcinoma usually begins in cells in the upper layer of the skin. On the arms and legs, the tumor may appear as a sore that does not heal for a long time, a firm or scaly lump, a crust, or an area of altered skin. In more aggressive or advanced cases, the tumor can grow deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, muscles, nerves, and other structures.
According to the lawsuit, before the operation began, the medical team performed the required verification procedure — the so-called surgical “time-out” — twice. During this procedure, the patient’s identity, the type of surgery, and the correct surgical site are supposed to be confirmed. Despite these checks, the error was not detected before the amputation began.
After it became clear that the wrong leg had been removed, doctors also had to amputate the right leg — the one that actually required surgery. As a result, Jacks lost both legs.
Selby General Hospital confirmed that a serious surgical incident occurred in September 2025. The hospital said an internal investigation found that the incident could have been prevented and that standard operating-room safety procedures had not been followed.
According to hospital representatives, the employees responsible for the error no longer work at the facility. Following the incident, hospital management also introduced additional measures to prevent a similar case from happening again.
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