The family of the late Charles Henry Amissah, a 29-year-old engineer who died after allegedly being denied emergency medical care at multiple hospitals in Accra, has filed a GH¢20 million lawsuit against three health facilities, some medical personnel and the Attorney General.
The suit, filed at the General Jurisdiction Division of the High Court in Accra by Dr Matilda Amissah, sister of the deceased and administratrix of his estate, accuses the defendants of negligence leading to the death of Charles Amissah following a road accident in February 2026.
The defendants include the Ghana Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, several doctors and nurses attached to the facilities, as well as the Attorney General’s Department.
According to the statement of claim, Charles Henry Amissah, an Electronic and Automation Engineer with Promasidor Ghana Limited, was involved in a hit-and-run accident on the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Overpass at about 10:30 p.m. on February 6, 2026.
The suit states that after he failed to return home, family members reported him missing at the Adentan Police Station. Four days later, they were informed by officers at the Nima Police Station that an accident victim had been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary.
The family alleges that upon arriving at the mortuary, they found the body in a decomposing state outside the cold room and infested with maggots.
Court documents further claim that the National Ambulance Service first transported the injured engineer to the Police Hospital after receiving a distress call, but medical staff allegedly declined admission due to lack of bed space.
According to the suit, ambulance personnel pleaded with staff to administer at least emergency first aid because the victim was bleeding heavily, but no stabilisation treatment was provided.
The plaintiff also alleges that the patient was later transferred to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge where treatment was again allegedly refused on grounds of unavailable beds.
The ambulance subsequently proceeded to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where, according to the filing, medical personnel allegedly failed to provide immediate emergency care despite appeals from paramedics to attend to the patient while he remained on the stretcher.
The suit states that Charles Henry Amissah suffered cardiac arrest at about 12:50 a.m. and was later pronounced dead at Korle-Bu.
Dr Matilda Amissah argues that her brother remained alive for more than two hours while being moved between hospitals and could have survived if emergency interventions had been administered promptly.
The statement of claim cites post-mortem findings which reportedly identified severe blood loss, deep lacerations to the right upper arm, fractures and trauma-related complications resulting from exsanguination.
The plaintiff accuses the hospitals and medical personnel of failing to provide emergency triage, stabilisation and urgent care despite the severity of the injuries sustained by the deceased.
The suit also claims that the handling of the body after death caused additional emotional trauma to the family because the state of decomposition prevented them from laying him in state during funeral arrangements.
The legal action follows the findings of a government-appointed committee chaired by Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, which investigated the circumstances surrounding the death.
The committee reportedly concluded that failures by healthcare personnel at the three hospitals contributed to the death of the engineer and that timely emergency treatment could have saved his life.
It also cited lapses in emergency response procedures, weak coordination among health institutions and failure to provide immediate life-saving care despite the patient arriving alive at all three facilities.
The committee further recommended disciplinary action against some healthcare workers named in the suit and proposed reforms to Ghana’s emergency healthcare system.
The defendants have been given eight days after service of the writ to enter appearance or risk judgment being entered against them in default.