Family of young mother who died after alleged misreporting of smear slides settle case

High Court Reporters

The family of a young mother who died of cervical cancer has settled a High Court action over the alleged misreporting of her smear slides.

The woman was only in her 30s when she died just 16 days after she married her long-term partner.

Her husband brought an action against US laboratory Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and the HSE over the death of his wife eight years ago.

His counsel Oonah Mc Crann SC instructed by Augustus Cullen Law solicitors told the court that the woman was diagnosed with cervical cancer in the summer of 2014, and she was treated with chemoradiation, but her condition continued to deteriorate until in early 2015, the cancer was reported as Stage 4 with secondary cancer in the lungs, liver bone and lymphatic system. The couple were married at the start of summer that year and she died 16 days later.

The details of the settlement are confidential.

The case related to the alleged misreading and misreporting of the woman’s cervical smears taken in February 2009 and February 2012 under the CervicalCheck screening programme. All the claims were denied.

It was claimed that in February 2009 the woman attended for her first smear test and the slide was analysed by Quest Diagnostics at its laboratory in New Jersey in the United States.

The sample was reported back as negative and it was recommended that the woman have a repeat smear three years later.

In 2012, the woman went back for a smear test and her sample was again analysed by Quest Diagnostics at their New Jersey laboratory. It was reported back as negative with a recommendation for a repeat smear after three years.

In September 2012 the woman began to complain of lower abdominal pain and she was placed on a hospital waiting list for gynecological review.

Diagnosis

However, in 2014, it is claimed she suffered bleeding and pain and had to go to hospital. An ultrasound revealed what was thought to be a fibroid in the wall of the uterus. A sample taken later from the presumed fibroid reported an invasive carcinoma.

Towards the end of August 2014 , a scan reported that the woman had a probable primary cervical cancer and this was confirmed a few days later after further tests.

She was admitted to hospital and she had to have external beam radiation therapy and also chemotherapy . During that time she had to have blood transfusions but she later deteriorated. A scan in in April 2015 showed that there been extensive progression of the disease and she was discharged back to hospice care with a diagnosis of stage four cervical cancer which metastasis to the lungs liver, bone and lymphatic system.

It was claimed that from 2012 the woman felt that there was something wrong with her and that she repeatedly claimed that she did not feel right but she felt that no one was listening to her.

Following media coverage of the Vicky Phelan case in 2018, the woman’s husband asked if his wife had been part of the CervicalCheck internal audit review but it is claimed she had not been included. In November 2018, it is claimed her husband consented for the woman’s slides to be included in a review by the Royal College of Gynaecologists .

It is further claimed that the review found that the 2009 smear had been allegedly incorrectly reported as negative.

In the proceedings it was claimed the woman’s cancer was allowed to develop unhindered until her diagnosis in August 2014 by which point the disease had metastasised with much less chance, it was claimed of curative treatment.

The woman’s husband it was claimed had to watch his wife endure difficult treatment in severe pain. The couple it is claimed had initially hoped that the treatment would be curative and they were devastated when they realised the extent of disease.