Family accuses FMC of negligence over daughter’s death

•Demands N700m damages

Family members of Iretiogo Oluwadara Akanro, a 40-year-old lady, who died during a routine Computed Tomography (CT) scan at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, Ogun State, have accused doctors at the hospital of professional negligence, leading to the demise of their daughter.

The Akanro family is now seeking justice and accountability, demanding N700 million in damages from the hospital for what it alleged as gross negligence and a series of preventable errors.

The Guardian learnt that before the incident, the deceased, who was in good health except for a persistent cough, visited Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro, several times for medical attention but her condition didn’t improve.

On May 17, 2024, accompanied by her mother, Iretiogo returned to the hospital to report the lack of progress. She was then referred to the Pulmonology Department, where a doctor, after examining her and conducting a Spirometry test, scheduled a CT scan for May 24, 2024.

It was gathered that on that fateful day, Ireti and her parents arrived at FMC in Abeokuta, but what should have been a routine diagnostic procedure turned into a nightmare, leading to her untimely death due to complications from the CT scan.

According to the family’s legal representatives, Don Akaegbu & Company, the hospital staff’s negligence began even before the scan commenced.

The lawyer said the hospital failed to consider Ireti’s special communication needs, which hindered her ability to express any concerns or discomfort during the procedure. Furthermore, the medical team, he said, allegedly neglected to administer a test dose of the contrast dye, a crucial step to check for adverse reactions.

“The situation took a tragic turn when Ireti began experiencing distress during the scan. Shockingly, the consultant doctor and senior registrar were absent, leaving an inexperienced junior doctor to handle the emergency alone. The lack of senior supervision and the delay in responding to Ireti’s deteriorating condition proved fatal.

“By the time the medical personnel returned to check on her, it was already too late.

“Due to the panic that set in among the medical team, Ireti’s mother sensed something was wrong, and hurried into the procedure room. There she found her daughter gasping for breath, her eyes filled with fear and pain.

“Desperate, the medical personnel instructed the mum to keep calling Ireti’s name and hitting her on the back to revive her.” The lawyer added: “The antidote should have been readily available and administered. Essential resuscitation equipment such as oxygen was missing, which also should have been administered.

“When all efforts seemed to be failing, Iretiogo was then whisked away to an inner room in a bid to resuscitate her. However, according to her mother, she had already stopped breathing and her head had fallen lifelessly.

“The vital seconds ticked away, and despite their efforts, Ireti could not be revived. The hospital’s glaring lack of preparedness and the delayed response sealed her fate.”

Meanwhile, the devastated and heartbroken family has, through Don Akaegbu & Company, issued a pre-action notice to the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of FMC, detailing the grievous lapses that led to Ireti’s death.

In the notice, the family highlighted that the procedure was conducted without the necessary oversight of a consultant doctor or senior registrar.

It also accused the hospital of overlooking Ireti’s special communication needs, leading to insufficient care as well as inadequate monitoring, stressing that vital signs were not properly monitored, which could have alerted the staff to complications.

When contacted, spokesperson for the FMC, Mr Segun Orisajo, said the hospital was already holding meetings with the family on the issue before it decided to go to the media, describing it as a betrayal of trust.

He said: “I am not reacting. There was a time their lawyer wrote to us and we were already preparing our own thing but it is already attracting media attention.

“We had some resolutions and the next thing they did was to go to the media. They have already started a media trial and we are not interested in having any issue with them for now.”

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