The family of 46-year-old Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi has accused the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital of negligence, alleging that he was left without emergency treatment for over six hours after being brought in with serious injuries from a road accident.
The allegation was made by his brother, Kolawole Ojelabi, in a Facebook post mourning his sibling who died at the hospital on September 12, six days after the crash.
According to Kolawole, Olatunde was driving his family to church on September 6, a day to his 46th birthday, along Ijegun Road in Ikotun, Lagos, when a commercial tricycle made a sudden turn in front of him. In an attempt to avoid hitting the tricycle, he was said to have swerved and rammed into a stationary vehicle.
Kolawole said the impact deployed the airbags but the steering wheel hit Olatunde’s face, leaving him with severe injuries on the right side. He was first taken to a private hospital nearby before being referred to LASUTH due to the severity of his condition.
The family claimed he arrived at the Medical Emergency Unit of LASUTH before 9 a.m. but was kept outside the ward after officials on duty said there was no available bed. Kolawole alleged that for more than six hours, his brother did not receive what the family considered urgent intervention until he started convulsing and later suffered cardiac arrest.
He said medical personnel eventually resuscitated him and carried out a tracheostomy to create an airway, after which he was moved to the Intensive Care Unit. Kolawole further alleged that the family was asked to buy a plastic bucket, towel and detergent to clean blood spills on the floor and to personally check the ICU for bed space. He added that they paid for carers and bought drugs and paid for tests in the first three days without adequate explanation of the treatment plan.
Kolawole said it took the intervention of a senior doctor in the hospital to properly brief him and his brother’s wife on Olatunde’s condition, which was described as still critically ill. He questioned whether earlier intervention could have prevented the deterioration and why a critically injured accident victim would be left to wait for a bed without prompt triage and trauma assessment.
Olatunde died on September 12, five days after his 46th birthday. Kolawole said the family was not only grieving but also seeking accountability and answers about the circumstances of his care, urging the Lagos State Government, LASUTH management and health regulators to investigate the matter.
In a response shared on its Facebook page on Thursday, LASUTH management denied that Olatunde was left unattended. The hospital said he was received as a polytrauma case requiring multidisciplinary care and was assessed and managed by relevant clinical teams, including consultant surgeons, based on the severity of his injuries.
The management said his condition was critical and required intensive monitoring, adding that despite interventions and supportive care, he deteriorated and died in the ICU about seven days after presentation. It stated that the claim that he was simply left unattended was not consistent with available records on his care.
LASUTH noted that as a tertiary facility, it handles complex trauma cases that require coordinated input from several specialties and that outcomes could still be affected by the extent of injuries despite appropriate and timely intervention.
The hospital said it understood the family’s grief and acknowledged the concerns raised, adding that it takes allegations relating to patient care seriously. According to the management, the circumstances surrounding Olatunde’s presentation, treatment and eventual outcome would be reviewed through appropriate institutional processes to establish facts and identify areas needing attention, with further clarification to be provided through proper channels while respecting the patient’s confidentiality and the family’s privacy.
A senior official of the hospital confirmed the statement to PUNCH Metro on Thursday but declined to be quoted, while Kolawole had not responded to messages seeking further details as of press time.
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