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Ohio Woman Sues Hospital After Surgeons Amputate Wrong Leg

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 9 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).

9 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Sharon Jacks, a 74-year-old Ohio woman and army veteran, is suing Selby General Hospital after surgeons allegedly amputated her left leg instead of her right during a procedure in September 2025. Jacks, who has squamous cell carcinoma, needed her lower right leg amputated as part of her cancer treatment plan. After the error, she later underwent surgery to remove her right leg as originally planned, leaving her a double amputee. Her lawsuit accuses the hospital of negligence, battery and reckless conduct, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Sharon Jacks, 74, is suing Selby General Hospital in Ohio.

    Reported byLeftRight

  2. Surgeons amputated her left leg when the procedure was meant to remove her lower right leg.

    Reported byLeftRight

  3. Jacks later had her right leg amputated as originally planned, making her a double amputee.

    Reported byLeftRight

  4. Jacks has squamous cell carcinoma, and the amputation was part of her cancer treatment.

    Reported byLeftRight

  5. The lawsuit alleges negligence, battery and reckless conduct, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

    Reported byLeftRight

  6. Jacks is described as an army veteran.

    Reported byLeft

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Left outlets use straightforward, factual headlines, with one noting Jacks' military background and another using more dramatic language around the error.

    74-year-old army vet sues hospital after surgeons amputate wrong leg
    NBC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    6 outlets

    Right-leaning outlets largely use similarly factual headlines, though some include vivid quotes or dramatic descriptors of the mistake.

    Ohio woman sues hospital that amputated her wrong leg
    The Washington TimesRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    Shocking Amputation Error

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right4

    Horrific hospital blunderblunderchopped off the wrong leghorrible mistake

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    Horrific hospital blunderMore neutral: Hospital error

    ‘Horrific’ adds dramatic judgement beyond describing the alleged medical error.

    Horrific hospital blunder as surgeons amputate the WRONG leg forcing woman to become double amputee,…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Euphemism

    blunderMore neutral: error

    ‘Blunder’ downplays the severity of an alleged surgical error that left a patient without both legs.

    Horrific hospital blunder as surgeons amputate the WRONG leg forcing woman to become double amputee, lawsuit…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    chopped off the wrong legMore neutral: amputated the wrong leg

    ‘Chopped off’ is a graphic, dramatic verb choice for a surgical procedure rather than a neutral description.

    An Ohio woman is now a double amputee after her surgeon allegedly chopped off the wrong leg when she underwent a required amputation procedure.

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    Shocking Amputation ErrorMore neutral: Amputation Error

    ‘Shocking’ adds dramatic judgement rather than neutrally describing the alleged medical error.

    Woman Sues Hospital After Shocking Amputation Error

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    horrible mistakeMore neutral: error

    Adds dramatic judgment beyond a neutral description of the surgical error.

    An Ohio woman has filed suit after waking up from surgery to discover a horrible mistake had been made — her surgical team had amputated the wrong leg, according to her…

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • legal accusations of negligence
  • medical details of the cancer treatment
  • Jacks' personal background
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • NBC NewsLeft

    74-year-old army vet sues hospital after surgeons amputate wrong leg

    An Ohio woman is suing a hospital, accusing its doctors of amputating the wrong leg during surgery.

    Read at NBC News (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Woman Sues Hospital After Sensational language“Shocking Amputation Error”‘Shocking’ adds dramatic judgement rather than neutrally describing the alleged medical error.More neutral: Amputation ErrorDisagree with this highlight?

    A woman has filed a lawsuit against an Ohio hospital after doctors amputated the wrong leg during an operation. Sharon Jacks, 74, is accusing Selby General Hospital of gross negligence, battery, and reckless conduct after her left leg was removed in September 2025, instead of …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
  • The New York TimesLeft

    Ohio Woman Sues Hospital After Wrong Leg Is Amputated

    Sharon Jacks, 74, said she went into surgery for the amputation of her lower right leg last year, but her left leg was removed instead. She has accused Selby General Hospital of negligence.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

6 outlets

Leads with

  • description of the surgical error
  • hospital's alleged liability
  • details of the lawsuit
See the 6 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Ohio woman sues hospital that amputated her wrong leg

    An Ohio woman is suing a hospital that she says amputated the incorrect leg, leaving her as a double amputee.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    Lawsuit: Surgical Team Amputated the Wrong Leg on Ohio Woman

    An Ohio woman has filed suit after waking up from surgery to discover a Sensational language“horrible mistake”Adds dramatic judgment beyond a neutral description of the surgical error.More neutral: errorDisagree with this highlight? had been made — her surgical team had amputated the wrong leg, according to her civil complaint.

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    Ohio cancer patient sues hospital after surgeon allegedly amputated wrong leg

    An Ohio woman is now a double amputee after her surgeon allegedly Loaded verb“chopped off the wrong leg”‘Chopped off’ is a graphic, dramatic verb choice for a surgical procedure rather than a neutral description.More neutral: amputated the wrong legDisagree with this highlight? when she underwent a required amputation procedure.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Cancer patient sues hospital after surgeon allegedly amputated wrong leg: ‘Defies explanation’

    Ohio cancer patient Sharon Jacks is suing Selby General Hospital after surgeons allegedly amputated her wrong leg.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • Just the NewsFar Right

    Elderly woman sues hospital after surgeons amputate the wrong leg

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

    Read at Just the News (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Sensational language“Horrific hospital blunder”‘Horrific’ adds dramatic judgement beyond describing the alleged medical error.More neutral: Hospital errorDisagree with this highlight? as surgeons amputate the WRONG leg forcing woman to become double amputee, lawsuit claims

    An Ohio woman is a victim of a double amputation after her surgeon allegedly mistook her right leg for her left.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    2 hr 29 min later

    Its first report, Sep 29, 5:40 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    Daily Mail, Sep 29, 3:11 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Daily MailRightSep 29, 3:11 PM EDT
  2. The New York TimesLeftSep 29, 5:40 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightSep 29, 9:11 PM EDT
  4. Fox NewsFar RightSep 30, 2:49 AM EDT
  5. The Daily BeastFar LeftSep 30, 6:42 AM EDT
  6. NBC NewsLeftSep 30, 11:53 AM EDT
  7. Breitbart NewsFar RightSep 30, 2:39 PM EDT
  8. The Washington TimesRightOct 1, 5:54 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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