A man badly injured in a crash which claimed the life of a Huddersfield man has allegedly been assaulted in hospital.
Police and hospital officials are investigating claims that Liam McLaughlin was physically assaulted as he was in a ward at Leeds General Infirmary.
It is alleged he was forcibly restrained by a man.
Mr McLaughlin, 24, has been detained in the hospital with serious multiple injuries since June 13, when he was a passenger in a stolen car which crashed in Calderdale Way, Elland.
The driver of the car, 21-year-old Jamie Baines, died and two other men were injured.
Mr Baines, formerly of Primrose Hill, was the father of a young girl and his girlfriend was expecting a child.
He was at the wheel of a BMW which careered down a wooded banking in the early hours.
Mr McLaughlin, of Newsome, was in the front passenger seat and suffered horrific head injuries, a broken arm and other injuries.
He was taken to the Leeds hospital in a coma and was kept in intensive care for four days before being transferred to a side ward, where the incident is alleged to have happened.
Hospital authorities have confirmed an incident has been reported involving agency staff but said the matter is in the hands of West Yorkshire Police.
Mr McLaughlin’s dad, John Duffy, of Newsome, has been at his son’s hospital bedside along with his former wife Julia and sons John and Steven most days since the accident.
He said: “Liam is in a really bad way and was in an induced coma for days.
“Because of his condition and the injuries to his brain, the hospital have imposed a Deprivation of Liberty order, which means he cannot discharge himself from their care as he is unable to make that decision.
“He has no idea how he came to be in the hospital and has no memory of the crash. It could be months before he is fit enough to come home”.
Mr Duffy said he and others had given statements to West Yorkshire Police about the side room incident.
Police confirmed they have launched an inquiry.
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