Family accuses LASUTH of negligence over accident victim’s death

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The family of a 46-year-old man, Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi, has accused the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital of negligence, alleging that he was left for more than six hours without emergency treatment after sustaining serious injuries in a road crash.

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Ojelabi’s brother, Kolawole Ojelabi, made the allegation in a Facebook post mourning his brother, who died at the hospital on September 12, 2026, six days after the accident.

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According to Kolawole, Olatunde was driving his family to church on September 6, a day before his 46th birthday, when a commercial tricycle allegedly made an abrupt turn while travelling along Ijegun Road, Ikotun, Lagos State.

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However, the LASUTH management, in a statement shared on its Facebook page on Thursday, denied that Olatunde was left unattended, saying he was assessed and managed by relevant clinical teams after being brought to the hospital following the road crash.

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According to Kolawole, Olatunde swerved to avoid hitting the tricycle but crashed into a stationary vehicle.

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He said the impact deployed the vehicle’s airbags but caused the steering wheel to hit Olatunde’s face, leaving him with severe injuries, particularly on the right side of his face.

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Kolawole said Olatunde was initially taken to a nearby private hospital but was referred to LASUTH because of the severity of his injuries.

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According to him, Olatunde arrived at the LASUTH Medical Emergency Unit before 9am but was allegedly left outside the emergency ward after the medical team on duty said there was no bed available.

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Kolawole alleged that his brother remained without what the family considered urgent emergency intervention for more than six hours before his condition deteriorated.

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“He began to convulse and eventually suffered a cardiac arrest,” he said.

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He added that medical personnel subsequently intervened to resuscitate Olatunde and performed a tracheostomy to create an airway for him.

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Kolawole said his brother was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, adding that the family was instructed to buy a plastic bucket, towel and detergent to clean the floor where his brother’s blood had spilled.

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He further alleged that he was asked to go to the ICU himself to determine whether there was a bed space available for Olatunde.

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According to him, the family later paid for carers and was asked to purchase medications and conduct several tests during the first three days in the ICU.

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Kolawole, however, said the family was not adequately informed about the purpose of some of the medications or the treatment strategy.

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“I eventually had to seek the assistance of one of the senior doctors at LASUTH to come to the ICU and brief my brother’s wife and me about his condition,” he said.

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He said the doctor explained the interventions and investigations carried out before describing Olatunde’s condition as “still critically ill.”

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Kolawole said the experience left the family questioning whether his brother’s condition might have been different if he had received immediate emergency attention after arriving at LASUTH.

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He questioned why an accident victim in critical condition was allegedly left waiting because there was no bed and whether appropriate emergency protocols, triage and trauma assessments were promptly carried out.

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“Could earlier intervention have prevented the deterioration that followed?” he asked.

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Kolawole said his brother died on September 12, five days after his 46th birthday.

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He said the family was seeking answers about the circumstances surrounding his treatment, adding that the matter was not only about their grief but also about accountability in emergency healthcare.

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“If there were failures in the care he received, those failures must be confronted honestly, transparently and without fear,” he said.

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Kolawole urged the Lagos State Government, LASUTH management, healthcare regulators and other relevant authorities to examine what happened and establish the facts.

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“Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi was alive when he arrived at LASUTH. He left the hospital six days later in death.

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“His family deserves answers. Lagos deserves answers. And Nigerians deserve a healthcare system in which an emergency patient is treated first as a human life to be saved—not as a number waiting for a bed,” he concluded.

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Meanwhile, in its statement, LASUTH said Olatunde was assessed as a polytrauma patient requiring multidisciplinary specialist care.

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The hospital stated that he was assessed and managed by relevant clinical teams, including different consultant surgeons, based on the nature and severity of his injuries.

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LASUTH said the patient’s condition was critical and required intensive monitoring and multidisciplinary management.

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“Despite the interventions and supportive care provided, the patient’s clinical condition unfortunately deteriorated, and the patient subsequently passed away in the Intensive Care Unit, approximately seven days after presentation,” the statement read.

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The hospital said the allegation that the patient was simply left unattended was “not consistent with the information available to the hospital regarding the patient’s care.”

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LASUTH explained that, as a tertiary healthcare institution, it provides specialised and multidisciplinary care for critically ill and severely injured patients.

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It added that patients with complex trauma might require the coordinated involvement of several medical specialties and that outcomes could be influenced by the severity and extent of injuries despite “appropriate and timely” medical intervention.

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The hospital, however, acknowledged the concerns raised by the deceased’s family and said it understood the distress and grief associated with losing a loved one.

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“Management acknowledges the concerns expressed by the family and understands the distress and grief that accompany the loss of a loved one,” the statement added.

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LASUTH said it took allegations concerning patient care seriously and would review the circumstances surrounding the patient’s presentation, treatment, progression and eventual outcome through appropriate institutional processes.

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According to the management, the review would help establish the facts and identify any areas requiring further attention.

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The hospital said it would provide further clarification through appropriate channels where necessary, while respecting the confidentiality of the deceased patient and the privacy of his family.

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LASUTH reaffirmed its commitment to providing “safe, timely, compassionate, and evidence-based care” to patients and upholding professionalism and accountability in healthcare delivery.

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A senior official of the hospital who spoke with PUNCH Metro over the telephone on Thursday on the matter confirmed the statement but pleaded not to be quoted while the victim’s brother did not respond to the message sent to him for further details as of the time of filing this report.

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