The family of a 46-year-old accident victim, 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 he was admitted with severe injuries.
Ojelabi’s brother, Kolawole, raised the allegation in a Facebook post following the death of the 46-year-old at LASUTH on September 12, six days after he was involved in the crash.
According to Kolawole, Olatunde was driving members of his family to church on September 6, a day before his birthday, when a commercial tricycle reportedly made an abrupt turn while travelling along Ijegun Road in the Ikotun area of Lagos State.
He said Olatunde swerved to avoid colliding with the tricycle but lost control and crashed into a stationary vehicle.
The impact reportedly triggered the vehicle’s airbags, while the steering wheel struck Olatunde’s face, causing severe injuries, particularly to the right side.
Kolawole said his brother was first taken to a nearby private hospital but was referred to LASUTH because of the seriousness of his injuries.
He alleged that Olatunde arrived at the hospital’s Medical Emergency Unit before 9am but remained outside the emergency ward after the medical team reportedly said there was no available bed.
He claimed that his brother did not receive what the family considered urgent emergency intervention for more than six hours, during which his condition worsened.
“He began to convulse and eventually suffered a cardiac arrest,” he said.
Kolawole said medical personnel later resuscitated Olatunde and performed a tracheostomy to create an airway before transferring him to the Intensive Care Unit.
He also alleged that the family was instructed to provide a plastic bucket, towel and detergent to clean the floor where Olatunde’s blood had spilled.
According to him, he was also asked to go to the ICU to check if a bed was available for his brother, while the family later paid for carers and purchased medications and underwent several tests during Olatunde’s first three days in intensive care.
Kolawole further alleged that the family was not given adequate explanations about some of the drugs administered or the treatment being provided.
“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.
He said the doctor subsequently explained the interventions and investigations conducted and described Olatunde’s condition as “still critically ill.”
The deceased’s brother questioned whether the outcome could have been different if his brother had received immediate treatment after arriving at LASUTH.
“Could earlier intervention have prevented the deterioration that followed?” he asked.
Kolawole said the family was seeking answers over the circumstances surrounding Olatunde’s treatment and called for an investigation into the matter.
“If there were failures in the care he received, those failures must be confronted honestly, transparently and without fear,” he said.
He urged the Lagos State Government, LASUTH management, healthcare regulators and other relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the case and establish what happened.
“Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi was alive when he arrived at LASUTH. He left the hospital six days later in death.
“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.
However, LASUTH rejected the allegation that Olatunde was abandoned without treatment, saying he was assessed and managed by the relevant clinical teams after his arrival at the hospital.
In a statement shared on its Facebook page on Thursday, the hospital said Olatunde was treated as a polytrauma patient who required specialised care from several medical disciplines.
LASUTH said different consultant surgeons and other relevant clinical teams assessed and managed him based on the severity and nature of his injuries.
The hospital stated that Olatunde’s condition was critical and required intensive monitoring and multidisciplinary management.
“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.
LASUTH described the claim that Olatunde was simply left unattended as “not consistent with the information available to the hospital regarding the patient’s care.”
The hospital explained that its role as a tertiary healthcare facility involves providing specialised and multidisciplinary treatment to patients with severe injuries and critical illnesses.
It added that complex trauma cases could require the involvement of several medical specialties and that the severity of injuries could affect outcomes despite “appropriate and timely” medical intervention.
LASUTH said it acknowledged the concerns raised by the family and understood the grief associated with the loss of a loved one.
“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.
The hospital said allegations concerning patient care were taken seriously and that it would review the circumstances surrounding Olatunde’s presentation, treatment, clinical progression and death through its institutional processes.
According to LASUTH, the review would help establish the facts and determine whether there were areas requiring further attention.
The hospital said further clarification would be provided through appropriate channels where necessary, while protecting the confidentiality of the deceased and the privacy of his family.
LASUTH also reaffirmed its commitment to providing “safe, timely, compassionate, and evidence-based care” and maintaining professionalism and accountability in healthcare delivery.
A senior LASUTH official who spoke with The Punch by telephone on Thursday confirmed the statement but declined to be quoted.
Olatunde’s brother also had not responded to a message seeking further details as of the time of filing the report.
