The remains of late Hannah Philip is yet to be buried, 152 days after her death due to issues over payment of N1.5 million balance of hospital bills.

The notoriety of detaining dead bodies by hospitals under the guise of unpaid financial obligations has come under legal and judicial notice as a bereaved Philip Umulor family has sued a Lagos private hospital, Genesis Specialist Hospital Limited, before an Ikeja High Court for withholding the corpse of their 38 year old daughter, late Hannah Philip and preventing it from being taken away for burial since her death on April 16, 2024.

The late Ms. Phillip died two days after the hospital performed a brain surgery on her. She was referred to the hospital from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) after an inflammation was found on her brain.

Before the brain surgery, two radiology tests were carried out on her by two different radiology laboratory companies, Foremost Radiology Consultants Limited based at 50, Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos, and Broad Places Radiology located at 15 Babatunde Street, off Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos.

Foremost Radiology Consultants carried out a head CT Scan on April 5, 2024. The results were as follows:

“Indications: CVA.

Comparison study: None.

Technique: 2.5mm axial slices were obtained from the base of skull and posterior cranial fossa and 5mm over the rest of the brain.

Findings: There is hyperdensity in the sulci, sylvian fissure and the basal cisterns suggestive of subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Similar hyperdensity is seen in the posterior horns of the lateral ventricles, suggestive of intraventricular extension.

There is no intra axial collection noted.

There is no lesion in the cerebral hemisphere, basal ganglia, thalami, brainstem and the cerebellum. 

The ventricles are normal.

The lateral ventricles are symmetrical.

There is no midline shift or area of abnormal calcification.

The sella and parasellar structures are unremarkable.

The cranial vault is intact.

Mastoid air cells and visualized sinuses appear normal.

Conclusion: Features are suggestive of subarachnoid hemorrhage with intraventricular extension (fisher grade 2).”

The result was signed by Dr Arebi-Olugbile, a Consultant Radiologist.

Broad Places Radiology also conducted Head CT Angiogram three days later, on April 8, 2024. The results stated:

“HEAD CT ANGIOGRAM

Indication: Acute subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Comparison Study: None.

Technique: Pre- and post-contrast 0.625mm axial slices were obtained with 3D volume rendering reconstruction from the aorta of aorta to the brain. 

Finding: There are subarachnoid hyperdensities more in the suprasellar cistern.

There is a berry aneurysm (6x10mm; neck: 1.8mm) arising from the siphon of the right carotid artery extending into the sella turcica.

The rest of the vessels are normal.

The jugular bulb is normal. No dehiscence of the jugular plate is noted.

Conclusion: Above are features of a right carotid aneurysm.”

The test was authorized by Adeyomoye A.A.O.

According to the pleadings filed before the court by Mr Kola Dopamu, lawyer to the Phillips family, the surgery was conducted on April 12, 2024 after the family had paid N5.150 million demanded by Genesis Hospital. Unfortunately, Hannah Phillips passed away four days after at 4.15am on April 16.

After her death, the hospital informed the deceased family of an outstanding N1.849 million to be paid before the corpse could be released to the family for burial. The family, still grieving, replied that they had paid N5.150 million and that is full and final payment as they were not informed of an outstanding at the point of initial payment. 

Since then, the corpse had been in the custody of the hospital who placed it in a TOS morgue. So far the corpse has been in the morgue for 152 days.

In a 26 paragraph affidavit sworn to by one the deceased sisters, Rebecca Umulor Philip, the family stated that their inability to bury the deceased has placed them against their culture and they stand the risk of other calamities befalling them.

 “According to the customs of the people of Warri in Delta State, where a young person dies, it is imperative to immediately carry out the passage rites to ward off evil and deaths of youths in the family and the community,” she said.

Rebecca further stated that the delay has caused the family extreme distress particularly because of the religious and cultural significance. 

Additionally, she stated that the hospital has no right to seize the corpse even if they were being owed, as they can pursue their payment in a more lawful manner. She therefore urged the court to order the release of the corpse so that the family can bury it.

However, the Medical Director of Genesis Specialist Hospital, Dr Olumuyiwa Onabanjo denied the claims of the plaintiffs, saying that the facts as claimed by Rebecca Philip does not truly represent the facts and circumstances of this suit.

In a 17 paragraph affidavit which he deposed to, and filed in court by the hospital’s lawyer, Mr Felix Oguntade,  Dr Onabanjo said that the applicants “did not at any time pay the entire sum charged as the bill for treatment of their sister, late Miss Hannah Phillip (the deceased).”

Rather, he argued, the Applicants knew that their outstanding bill was N1.849 million, which upon their plea was discounted by N349,820 to bring the balance to NI.5 million.  Thus, the sum of N5.15 million was a deposit towards the surgery agreed to be performed on the deceased.

Dr Onabanjo’ lawyer further averred; 

“The respondents did not at any time refuse to release the body of the deceased on the pretext that there were outstanding bills to clear by the family of the deceased. The applicants also did not, neither at the time of making the aforesaid deposit, nor after the surgery, nor after the deceased had passed, represent to the respondent that they were impecunious as to be unable to settle the bill for services rendered to them. Rather, the applicants represented to the respondent that they would subsequently revert to the hospital, to settle the bill;

The applicants therefore know full well that the body of the deceased was deposited with TOS Hearse Services, an entity that is entirely different from the Respondent and over which the Respondent has no control or power whatsoever. All that they need is to settle the bills for services rendered to them and claim the remains of the deceased. I am therefore bewildered by the applicants’ argument that even if there was outstanding bill to be paid by them, the Respondent has no power or right to detain and retain the body of the deceased.”

Dr Onabanjo further expressed his bewilderment at the applicants’ decision to “litigate over a little issue that could easily be resolved among the Applicants, Respondent and the mortuary”. 

He said further: “They did not make any peaceful effort to receive the remains of the deceased either by way of settling the accrued mortuary and outstanding hospital bills or presenting a payment plan to offset the outstanding bills or engaging the service providers as truly impecunious people. Rather, they come by way of hostile demands and seek to bully the Respondent into discarding with its bills”.

The surgeon blamed the family for the delay in the burial and that any traditional or cultural outcome that they may suffer in entirely their fault. 

“I am further bewildered by the applicants’ arguments that they are subject to traditional customs that compel them to speedily carry out passage rites for the deceased “to ward off evil and deaths of youths in their family and community” and that delay or their failure to so do might lead to further deaths within their family or adversely affect members of their family and same are causing them emotional and psychological trauma. Yet they elected to go through the litigation rout rather than do the needful to have the deceased body buried speedily;

I know for a fact that any delay in the Applicants’ receiving of the deceased’s body or delay in the Applicants’ performance of funeral rites to satisfy their cultural and religious beliefs is wholly attributable to the approach they adopted. As such, they are wholly responsible for any distress occasioned on them thereby and the Respondent who does not share such belief cannot be blamed therefore”.

He further said that the hospital informed the family of their outstanding balance, not only informal way but also through exhibit GSHI. “The Applicants know fully well that their further delay in receiving the deceased body will cause additional morgue bills to them but yet unreasonably chose the route of litigation herein”. 

He argued that the claims of urgency of the matter were false, as the date, August 25th, which they had picked to bury the deceased, had passed and no evil had befallen them, saying; 

“I know for a fact that there is no such urgency in this matter to warrant a grant of this application or compel the Respondent which is not in possession of the deceased’s body to release the same to the Applicants”. He therefore urged the court to refuse the claimants’ application.

However in a further and better affidavit, Rebecca Philip denied ever being told of any further bill after their payment of N1.150 million. 

“The Defendant/ Respondent did not give notice of outstanding bill to the Claimant and did not införm the Claimants or any member of the Deceased’s family orally or by any electronic means. That the Deföndant/Respondent did not inform in writing or orally the Claimant or any member of the Deceased’s family that they were taking the body of the deceased to mortuary and did not also inform the Claimants of the mortuary they were taking the body to. The decision to take the Deceased’s body was unilateral and was done by the Defendant/ Respondent. I and other members of the Deceased’s family were going to the hospital on daily basis after the passing of the deceased to take the deceased body for burial but the Defendant/ Applicant were adamant.”

The matter which was scheduled to come up before Vacation Judge, Justice Aishat Opesanwo, could not hold, as she directed it back to the registry to be assigned to another judge.

Justice Opesanwo told the lawyers present in her court that there was no sufficient time for her to conduct all the cases as the end of vacation was imminent. “Today is the last day this court will sit. Tomorrow is Friday and Monday is another Public Holiday. A new legal year resumes next week and I will ask all of you to go back to the substantive courts originally handling your cases,” she said.

The late Hannah Philip was born thirty-eight years ago to Mr Sunday Phillip Umulor (75), and Mrs Dorcas Phillip Umulor (68), at Ajegunle, Lagos. The Umulors are originally from Aviara, Delta State. She attended Cratians High School, Warri, and Christ Believers Institute, Ijanikin, Lagos.

A Private Chef, she worked in two different companies and was hoping to set up her own restaurant before death came calling. She got married in 2012 but got separated from the marriage a few years after due to emotional abuse. Since then, she concentrated on her dream of owning her business line one day, a dream that has now gone with her. Her sister, Rebecca described her as lovable and beautiful. “She was vibrant, smart, caring and hardworking lady who loved versatility,” she concluded.

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