Elderly woman sues hospital after surgeons amputate the wrong leg

A 74-year-old Ohio woman is suing a hospital, alleging surgeons amputated the wrong leg. 

Sharon Jacks filed the lawsuit this month in Washington County Common Pleas Court in Marietta, Ohio. According to the lawsuit, her left leg was amputated at Shelby General Hospital in September 2025. The surgery was intended to remove her right leg, NBC News reported. 

Jacks later underwent the proper procedure, removing her right leg, leaving her a double amputee, according to her attorney Brad Layne. 

The lawsuit names nine defendants in the suit, including the hospital and Jacks’ medical and surgical teams. It accuses them of gross negligence, battery and reckless conduct.

Layne told NBC that the surgical team amputated the wrong leg after marking the correct one. The team, according to Layne, realized the error during the procedure and told Jacks’ family members before she woke up.

In a statement, the hospital said the incident was an "avoidable event." The hospital says it has retrained all its surgical staff following the botched surgery, and staffers involved in Jacks' operations "are no longer in their positions."