Parents of a deceased 300-level student of Elizade University who died last month of heart-related ailment have petitioned the university for the claim of N1 billion.
According to the parents, the death of their daughter was caused by negligence on the part of the institution.
In a petition signed by the solicitor to the parents of the late Miss Owodolu, Barr. Femi Emodamori stated that the deceased who was asthmatic was not properly attended to by the university clinic when she developed a crisis in the university hostel in the middle of the night on November 16, 2021.
The petition which was addressed to the Vice-Chancellor of the institution and its Founder, Chief Michael Ade Ojo added that the deceased who chose to become a Nurse with determination to be the best in life and to humanity but ironically died as a result of medical negligence.
While giving the institution seven days to comply with the demands of the parents of the deceased, Emodamori emphasised that failure on the part of the university will compel his clients to institute an action against the University and its officials in a court of law.
“Our Clients informed us that their ward/daughter, Miss Owodolu Temitayo (deceased) was at the time of her death a 300 level student of Nursing in your University, residing in the University Female Hall of Residence.
“She reportedly suffered an asthmatic attack in the early hours of 16th November 2021 and was consequently admitted to the University Medical Centre facility for treatment, in the course of which she was pronounced dead at about 8:00 am, in circumstances that reveal a clear case of medical negligence.
“The late Miss Owodolu Temitayo, according to Our Clients, was asthmatic, a medical condition which she disclosed fully to your University in the medical reports which she, like all other students, submitted upon her admission into the University. She had however been effectively managing the ailment.
“According to our brief, the deceased was moved into the University Medical Centre at about 5:11 am. Unfortunately, the University usually turns its Generator off at 1:00 am, so the entire University, including the Medical Centre, was in a total blackout at the time of her admission, according to our Clients.
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“The medical personnel in the Medical Centre reportedly attended to the deceased during the blackout and reportedly lamented that they would be unable to treat the patient using the necessary electrically powered equipment, including the Nebuliser, which is essential for the treatment of acute exacerbation of severe asthma.
“Consequently, according to our brief, the medical personnel asked the deceased to continue using the same Ventolin inhaler she had been applying before her presentation in the Medical Centre.
“Although the deceased was reportedly placed on a drip upon her admission, the nurse attendant thereafter abandoned her for one and half hours, during which there was a backflow of blood into the drip from her body.
“Within the same period, she was coughing consistently, indicating that her respiratory tract was infected. She also vomited and it was her sister who cleaned up the vomit and alerted the Doctor, in the absence of the nurse attendant.
“Strangely, the Doctor was said to be sleeping. Eventually, the same patient that was still healthy enough to engage her sister in humorous and intelligent conversation after the commencement of treatment at the Medical Centre, died in the hand of your Medical personnel.
“If the University Medical personnel could not effectively treat or manage the deceased patient, why was she not referred to another facility?
“The University Medical personnel never referred the deceased for proper treatment, apparently because they were not even on ground to observe her properly, to know the point at which on-going treatment was no longer producing the desired clinical improvements.
“It is a notorious fact that asthma is a preventable, treatable and reversible medical condition. You would, therefore, agree with us that it is quite unusual in medical practice for an asthmatic patient who walked into the hospital herself to die in the hands of a Medical Doctor.
“Her death is an irredeemable loss to the entire Owodolu Family. She was a brilliant, visionary, focused and disciplined person, the joy of her parents, and the pride of her extended family.
“She was determined to be the best in life and succour to humanity and the distressed; that explains why she chose to become a Nurse. Ironically she died as a result of the worst imaginable kind of medical negligence.
“While money cannot buy or repay life, you would agree that damages are claimable to compensate and assuage the loss of life due to negligence, as in the instant case.
Consequently, Our Clients are demanding the following from your University:
“A formal acceptance and apology for the medical negligence that caused the death of Miss Owodolu Temitayo; Damages of One Billion Naira (N1,000,000 000), only, for the negligence;
“Immortalization of the late Miss Owodolu Temitayo, preferably by properly equipping the University Medical Centre and naming it after the deceased.
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