How Lagos woman died amid allegations of medical negligence at LASUTH

A 65-year-old woman, Margaret Mowalola Akinduntire has died under troubling circumstances, with her family accusing the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, of negligence and avoidable delays in her treatment.

According to her family, Akinduntire's condition deteriorated after LASUTH allegedly postponed a critical surgical procedure due to the Ramadan fasting period, despite her suffering complications from a previous surgery in which a surgical needle was reportedly left inside her body.

Her son, who shared a decade-long ordeal, recounted a timeline marked by repeated medical errors and inaction. The family’s traumatic journey began in 2013 when Akinduntire underwent surgery to remove her right kidney.

A year later, she complained of persistent pain at the surgical site. “She felt something sharp at the surgical site. When we went to LASUTH, they opened her up again without anesthesia and found a surgical needle left inside from the initial procedure,”; he said.

Despite the gravity of the mistake, the family chose not to pursue legal action at the time. In 2024, after a successful leg operation and subsequent diagnosis of fibroids, they returned to the hospital seeking immediate surgical intervention.

However, the family claims doctors refused to proceed until after Ramadan, even though the fibroids had caused significant discomfort and health complications.

“She began to lose weight rapidly, her abdomen became severely bloated, and the delay in surgery pushed us to look elsewhere for help,”; her son explained.

After being turned away at one hospital due to a missing medical file, Akinduntire was temporarily stabilized at a private clinic in Agege.

In a desperate attempt to escalate the matter, the family turned to social media, tagging Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in a post. Shortly afterward, LASUTH reportedly found her file and resumed treatment.

Yet according to the family, internal sources later claimed that hospital staff had deliberately concealed the file. “They believed she was a hopeless case and did not want to waste their time,”; her son said.

Despite renewed attention and intervention, Akinduntire died on Wednesday at the hospital’s Surgical Emergency Unit without receiving the surgery that might have saved her life.

In response to the accusations, LASUTH's management firmly denied any wrongdoing. Chief Medical Director, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, dismissed the family’s claims as “untrue”; and “baseless.”;

Supporting this stance, Prof. Adebowale Adekoya stated that the patient’s family had been consistently informed throughout the treatment process and insisted that surgeries had indeed been conducted during Ramadan.