A doctor and the sister of deceased engineer Charles Henry Amissah has filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General, three major hospitals, and a number of other medical professionals for what she claims was a series of negligent actions that resulted in her brother’s death following an Accra traffic accident.
As the administratrix of Charles Henry Amissah’s estate, Dr. Matilda Amissah is suing the High Court in Accra for GH¢20 million in general damages in connection with the February 2026 event that sparked national indignation and reignited discussion over Ghana’s enduring “No Bed Syndrome.”
The lawsuit names the Attorney General’s Department, the Ghana Police Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, and a number of physicians and nurses who work there.
Charles Henry Amissah, a 29-year-old Electronic and Automation Engineer with Promasidor Ghana Limited, was involved in a hit-and-run accident on the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Overpass at approximately 10:30 p.m. on February 6, 2026, according to the statement of claim submitted to the High Court’s General Jurisdiction Division.
According to the lawsuit, family members reported Amissah missing at the Adentan Police Station after he failed to return home. Officers from the Nima Police Station visited the family four days later to let them know that the accident victim had been taken to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Dr. Amissah informed the court that when the family arrived at the hospital mortuary, they saw the body outside the cold room, decaying and covered with maggots.
According to the writ, the injured engineer was first taken to the Police Hospital by the National Ambulance Service following a distress call. However, it is stated that ambulance workers were notified by facility officials that there was not a bed available.
The plaintiff alleges that because the man was bleeding profusely, ambulance personnel begged medical personnel to at least provide first assistance, but no emergency stabilisation was given.
The lawsuit further claims that when the patient was sent to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, another request for emergency care was allegedly turned down due to a lack of beds.
The complaint states that the ambulance eventually arrived at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, where the plaintiff alleges that despite the ambulance staff’s requests to treat the patient on a stretcher, hospital professionals once more refused to provide prompt care.
According to the lawsuit, Charles Henry Amissah was declared dead at Korle-Bu after experiencing cardiac arrest at around 12:50 a.m.
The plaintiff contends that her brother could have survived if emergency measures had been taken sooner and that he lived for more than two hours while being transferred between hospitals.
According to court filings, the post-mortem results include extensive blood loss, fractures, deep lacerations to the right upper arm, and trauma-related consequences from exsanguination.
Despite the seriousness of his condition, Dr. Amissah is accusing the hospitals and medical staff of being negligent by failing to give emergency triage, stabilise the patient, perform essential assessments, and prioritise urgent care.
Additionally, she claims that because the body could not be laid in state during burial rituals due to decomposition, the treatment of the body after death caused further stress to the family.
The lawsuit is based on the conclusions of the government-appointed committee that looked into the death’s circumstances and was led by Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa.
Earlier this month, the committee came to the conclusion that the engineer’s death was caused in part by the medical staff at the three institutions, and that prompt emergency measures could have prevented his death.
Despite the patient arriving alive at all three locations, the investigation highlighted significant shortcomings in emergency response protocols, poor inter-institutional coordination, and physicians’ failure to deliver prompt life-saving care.
The committee also suggested more extensive changes to Ghana’s emergency healthcare system and suggested disciplinary action against a number of medical personnel listed in the lawsuit.
According to Dr. Amissah, the defendants’ conduct caused the family great mental and financial suffering, especially since the deceased had taken on the role of primary carer for their mother following the death of their father in 2019.
After the writ is served, the defendants have eight days to appear or face judgement being entered against them.
Source: newsthemegh.com