A banner reading: Ebola is real, Protect yourself and your family, warns people of the Ebola virus in Monrovia, Liberia, Saturday Aug. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)

The two women came from opposite ends of Liberian society - one a beauty queen and daughter of a prominent lawmaker, the other an ordinary home maker from a remote northern town.

When they both needed urgent healthcare, however, these differences meant little. Neither had the deadly Ebola infection, but both were turned away from hospitals overrun by an outbreak that has killed more than 3,800 people, 2,200 in Liberia alone.

In the end, it was Comfort Fayiah, the ordinary 27-year-old, who survived, giving birth to twins in the street as passers by did what they could to provide some privacy.

Nikita Forh, 21, died at her father's plush Monrovia home, unable to secure the treatment she needed to fend off an asthma attack because doctors at the JFK hospital in the capital requested a certificate proving she did not have Ebola.

"I told them that if I carried my daughter home she would not make it through the night, but they did not listen," Edward Forh, a member of the house of representatives for Montserrado County, told national radio.

"My daughter died before my eyes like a dog. Those nurses killed my child," he said. "I will sue the government."

Liberia's Medical and Dental Council says it is investigating Forhs case and warned that any medical staff caught rejecting or refusing sick people would be investigated.

"We took an oath to restore or protect lives," Dr John Mulbah, the council's director, told a news conference.

With Ebola, that oath has become much more complicated. Medics lacking equipment and training fear unwittingly exposing themselves and other patients to Ebola in caring for other healthcare needs.

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Health care crippled as Ebola overwhelms hospitals in Liberia