Case Note – We currently act for a client who is seeking to bring a claim for medical negligence against the HSE and various parties due to the mis-diagnoses of high-grade abnormal cells in her smear tests.
The facts present as follows:
- Our client attended cervical smear check in 2010 and her results were described as NAD (no abnormality detected). She was advised to repeat the smear in three years.
- In late October 2012, our client presented herself at the well woman clinic with a breast lump and was diagnosed with breast cancer.
- In January 2013, our client underwent a further smear test, showing some abnormal cells, with a repeat smear to take place in 6 months.
- During her treatment for breast cancer, abnormalities were noticed in her ovaries and she was subsequently diagnosed with cervical cancer.
- Our client underwent gruelling, intense and invasive treatment, which resulted in further physical and psychological complications.
- In late 2017, our client’s consultant was informed that an audit was carried out on our client’s 2010 and 2013 smear tests, which in fact, showed that the initial findings in both tests were incorrect and high-grade lesions were present.
- Our client has been advised by her consultant that if the correct results were noted in 2010 and 2013, her treatment would have been a painless day procedure under local anaesthetic.
We have obtained an expert medical report on liability from a specialist consultant in the United Kingdom and we have issued High Court proceedings against the laboratory and the Health Service Executive for the misdiagnosis of our client.