A dispute has broken out between the family of a deceased woman and a Lagos ambulance company over allegations of negligence that allegedly led to her death.
The family of 42-year-old Adunola Abiola has accused Medical Ambulance Service of gross negligence in handling the transfer of the critically ill patient in November 2025.
In a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the firm’s Managing Director, Mrs Dara Mould, the family’s lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, said the deceased was a ventilator-dependent ICU patient who relied entirely on continuous life-support systems.
Falana explained that the late Abiola had previously been transported across three continents under strict medical supervision and remained stable before arriving in Nigeria last year.
Upon arrival, she was admitted to Genesis Hospital in Ikeja before being referred to Emazur Multispecialist Hospital in Ojuelegba for further treatment.
The senior lawyer said the ambulance service was engaged to transfer the patient based on the belief that it had the necessary competence, equipment, and personnel for such a critical operation.
However, he alleged that the ambulance lost power en route, causing the ventilator sustaining the patient to fail.
Falana stated that following the power failure, personnel resorted to manual ventilation, which “severely compromised and destabilised” the patient’s condition.
He maintained that the incident demonstrated a fundamental lack of preparedness and constituted a grave breach of medical transport standards.
The lawyer further alleged that the ambulance stalled due to insufficient fuel and lacked a functional siren, which hindered movement through Lagos traffic.
He said the deceased suffered multiple cardiac arrests as a result and died shortly afterwards.
Falana demanded that the company investigate the alleged failures and submit its findings within five days, warning that the family would commence legal action if no satisfactory response was received.
The deceased’s mother, Mrs Folashade Abiola, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH, said the ambulance broke down around Maryland on November 15, eight days after the family arrived from London.
She claimed the ambulance had no backup battery despite regulations requiring a four-hour backup system.
However, Mrs Mould denied the allegations, insisting the ambulance never broke down or stopped during the journey.
She said CCTV footage and GPS tracking data showed continuous movement and uninterrupted ventilation support throughout the transfer, adding that the evidence had been made available to the lawyers.