Three major hospitals in Accra, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), and Ghana Police Hospital, are facing a GH¢20 million lawsuit over the death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Henry Amissah following what his family describes as a chain of medical negligence and denial of emergency care.
The suit was filed at the General Jurisdiction Division of the Accra High Court by Dr. Matilda Amissah, a medical doctor and sister of the deceased, acting as administratrix of his estate.
The lawsuit also names several doctors, nurses and the Attorney-General as defendants.
According to court documents, Charles Amissah, an Electronic and Automation Engineer with Promasidor Ghana Limited, was involved in a hit-and-run accident near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Overpass at about 10:30 p.m. on February 6, 2026.
The suit states that personnel from the National Ambulance Service responded to the scene and initially transported him to the Ghana Police Hospital for emergency treatment.
However, medical staff allegedly informed the ambulance team that there was no available bed space to admit him.
The family claims ambulance personnel pleaded with hospital staff to at least stabilise the victim because he was bleeding heavily, but no emergency intervention was provided.
He was then referred to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, where the plaintiff alleges another request for urgent treatment was declined on similar grounds of unavailable beds.
According to the filing, the ambulance subsequently proceeded to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where medical personnel allegedly again failed to provide immediate life-saving treatment despite appeals from emergency responders to attend to the patient on the stretcher.
The lawsuit states that Charles Amissah later suffered cardiac arrest around 12:50 a.m. and was pronounced dead at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after spending nearly three hours being moved between hospitals without receiving adequate emergency care.
Court documents cited in the case indicate that post-mortem findings revealed deep laceration injuries to the right upper arm, severe blood loss, fractures, and trauma-related complications resulting from exsanguination.
The plaintiff argues that Charles Amissah remained alive throughout the transfers and could have survived if any of the hospitals had initiated timely emergency interventions such as bleeding control, IV fluids, or blood transfusion.
The family is accusing the hospitals and medical personnel of negligence, including failure to provide emergency triage, failure to stabilise the patient, failure to conduct urgent medical assessments, and failure to prioritise emergency care despite the severity of his injuries.
The suit also alleges that the handling of Amissah’s body after death caused additional emotional trauma to the family, claiming his body was found in a decomposing state outside the mortuary cold room days later.
The lawsuit follows the findings of a government-appointed investigative committee chaired by former Ghana Health Service Director-General Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa.
The committee concluded earlier this month that Charles Amissah died from “medical neglect” and denial of emergency care, adding that timely intervention at any of the three hospitals could have saved his life.
The committee also recommended disciplinary action against several health professionals, including Dr. Anne-Marie Kudowo of the Police Hospital, Dr. Nina Naomin Eyram of Ridge Hospital, and Dr. Aida Druante and Dr. Genevieve Adjah of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, among others.
Following the release of the report, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh directed that disciplinary measures be taken against the medical personnel named in the findings, while the government announced plans to reform emergency healthcare systems to prevent similar incidents in future.
