LASUTH RESPONDS AS FAMILY SEEKS ANSWERS OVER ACCIDENT VICTIM’S DEATH

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 accident. Olatunde died at the hospital on September 12, 2026, six days after the crash. His brother, Kolawole Ojelabi, made the allegations in a Facebook post mourning his brother and called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his treatment and death.

According to Kolawole, Olatunde was driving members of his family to church on September 6, a day before his 46th birthday, when a commercial tricycle allegedly made an abrupt turn along Ijegun Road, Ikotun, Lagos State. He said Olatunde swerved to avoid hitting the tricycle but crashed into a stationary vehicle. The impact reportedly caused the vehicle’s airbags to deploy, while the steering wheel struck Olatunde’s face and caused severe injuries, particularly to the right side of his face. He was initially taken to a private hospital before being referred to LASUTH because of the severity of his injuries.

Kolawole alleged that Olatunde arrived at the LASUTH Medical Emergency Unit before 9am but was left outside the emergency ward after medical personnel reportedly said there was no available bed. He claimed his brother remained without what the family considered urgent emergency intervention for more than six hours before his condition deteriorated, after which he began convulsing and suffered cardiac arrest. Medical personnel subsequently resuscitated him and performed a tracheostomy to create an airway before he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. Kolawole also alleged that the family was instructed to buy a plastic bucket, towel and detergent to clean the blood on the floor and that he was asked to check the ICU himself to determine whether a bed was available.

The deceased’s brother further said the family later paid for carers and was asked to purchase medications and conduct several tests during Olatunde’s first three days in the ICU. He alleged that the family was not adequately informed about the purpose of some of the medications or the overall treatment strategy until he sought the intervention of a senior LASUTH doctor. The doctor, according to Kolawole, briefed him and Olatunde’s wife about the interventions and investigations carried out and described the patient as still critically ill. The family subsequently questioned whether earlier emergency intervention could have prevented the deterioration that followed and urged the Lagos State Government, LASUTH management, healthcare regulators and other relevant authorities to establish what happened.

LASUTH, however, denied that Olatunde was simply left unattended. In a statement shared on its Facebook page on Thursday, the hospital said he was assessed as a polytrauma patient requiring multidisciplinary specialist care and was managed by relevant clinical teams, including consultant surgeons, based on the nature and severity of his injuries. The hospital said his condition was critical and required intensive monitoring and multidisciplinary management, but despite the interventions and supportive care provided, his condition deteriorated and he died in the ICU approximately seven days after presentation. LASUTH said the family's claim that he was left unattended was not consistent with the information available to the hospital, while acknowledging the family's concerns and grief. The management said it would review the circumstances surrounding his presentation, treatment, progression and eventual outcome through appropriate institutional processes, with further clarification to be provided where necessary while respecting patient and family confidentiality.