lonedad, I know exactly what you are saying. Once you take your feet away from the pedals, your orientation is lost. In my case I was scratching my legs, needed to brake, put my right foot back where I thought the brake should be, but it was the clutch. Huge astonishment factor! Sh!t my brakes have failed! I was at fault of course, but there was no malice. I hit the car in front, owned up, and paid up. It sounds to me that this is what happened to you. If you had landed on the brake pedal it wouldn't have happened, but you didn't, alarm and astonishment set in, and you were doomed.
Don't let it ruin your life. You never intended harm.