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 without emergency treatment for several hours after sustaining serious injuries in a road crash.
Ojelabi died at LASUTH on September 12, six days after the accident.
His brother, Kolawole Ojelabi, made the allegations in a Facebook post mourning the deceased and calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his treatment.
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 on Ijegun Road, Ikotun, Lagos State.
He said Olatunde swerved to avoid the tricycle but crashed into a stationary vehicle.
The impact, according to Kolawole, deployed the vehicle’s airbags and caused the steering wheel to hit Olatunde’s face, leaving him with severe injuries, particularly on the right side of his face.
He said Olatunde was first taken to a private hospital but was later referred to LASUTH because of the severity of his injuries.
Kolawole alleged that his brother 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 Olatunde remained without what the family considered urgent emergency intervention for more than six hours before his condition deteriorated.
“He began to convulse and eventually suffered a cardiac arrest,” Kolawole said.
He said medical personnel later intervened to resuscitate Olatunde and performed a tracheostomy to create an airway before he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit.
Kolawole further alleged that the family was asked to provide items including a plastic bucket, towel and detergent to clean the floor where Olatunde’s blood had spilled.
He also claimed that he was asked to go to the ICU himself to find out whether there was a bed available for his brother.
According to him, the family subsequently paid for carers and purchased medications and conducted several tests during Olatunde’s first three days in the ICU.
Kolawole, however, said the family was not adequately informed about the purpose of some of the medications or the treatment plan.
He said he eventually sought the assistance of a senior LASUTH doctor to brief him and Olatunde’s wife about the patient’s condition.
According to Kolawole, the doctor explained the interventions and investigations conducted before describing Olatunde as “still critically ill.”
The deceased’s brother said the experience left the family questioning whether the outcome could have been different if Olatunde had received immediate emergency attention upon arrival at LASUTH.
He called on the Lagos State Government, LASUTH management, healthcare regulators and other relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding his brother’s treatment.
“Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi was alive when he arrived at LASUTH. He left the hospital six days later in death,” he said.
“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.”
However, LASUTH denied that Olatunde was left unattended.
In a statement shared on its Facebook page on Thursday, the hospital said the deceased was assessed as a polytrauma patient requiring multidisciplinary specialist care.
It said he was assessed and managed by relevant clinical teams, including consultant surgeons from different specialties, based on the nature and severity of his injuries.
The hospital said it took allegations concerning patient care seriously and would review the circumstances surrounding Olatunde’s presentation, treatment, progression and eventual outcome through its appropriate institutional processes.
LASUTH said the review would help establish the facts and identify any areas requiring further attention.
The hospital added that further clarification would be provided through appropriate channels where necessary, while respecting the confidentiality of the deceased and the privacy of his family.
LASUTH reaffirmed its commitment to providing “safe, timely, compassionate, and evidence-based care” and upholding professionalism and accountability in healthcare delivery.
A senior hospital official who confirmed the statement to on Thursday declined to be quoted.
Kolawole had not responded to a message seeking further details as of the time of filing the report.