After an inaccurate report of a cervical smear sample resulted in the death of a 41-year-old woman three years later, her family was successful in bringing a High Court action against the responsible parties. The woman, who must remain unnamed because of law court orders, fought through intense pain before passing away nine years ago, according to Mr Justice Paul Coffey.
The family’s chief legal representative, Ms. Oonah McCrann of Cantillons Solicitors, reported to the court that the woman would always seek routine health checkups and had her last smear screen in 2012. The family argues that this sample was alleged to have been inaccurately reported, and that an accurate report could’ve detected cellular changes and potentially saved her life.
According to Ms. McCrann, the months leading to the woman’s death saw her reaching out to CervicalCheck about the 2012 sample and her GP regularly filling out review forms. However, she was left in the dark about a June 2015 review, which found that the original slide was misinterpreted. A correct diagnosis would have flagged borderline changes requiring further screening.
The husband lodged a lawsuit against Clinical Pathology Laboratories Incorporated, who analysed the woman’s sample in 2012, and the Health Service Executive (HSE) over his wife’s death. Despite there being no acceptance of fault in the lawsuit, Ms. McCrann announced to the court that the case has been settled via mediation. The court examined the approval of €60,000 each awarded to the two children and the allocation of the €35,000 statutory mental distress payment.
The lawsuit claimed that a smear sample taken from the woman was sent to CPL Laboratories for testing as part of the CervicalCheck screening programme. She was told by a letter from CervicalCheck in March 2012 that everything was normal. However, in 2013, she experienced irregular bleeding and was advised to have a hysterectomy by a specialist. Following a discovery of a 5cm tumour on her cervix, a scan carried out in December 2013 revealed she had cervical cancer. She then underwent radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and brachytherapy.
In the spring of 2014, a woman was diagnosed with persistent, low-volume cervical cancer, which left her in considerable discomfort. Later, it was discovered that she also had residual metastatic disease. In summer the same year, her health providers feared that the imaging suggested a recurrence of her illness, with recommendations for palliative chemotherapy emerging in December.
Undeterred, she sought alternative treatment overseas but her health failed to improve, culminating in her hospitalisation in April 2015. She was subsequently subjected to traditional palliative chemotherapy. It was reported that her pain kept worsening, becoming increasingly severe and incapacitating.
In the following June, her tumour had grown to a size of 9.5cm. She experienced a detrimental arterial hemorrhage later the same month and required resuscitation with 35 blood units, followed by admission into an intensive care unit. Hopes for her recovery dimmed as her overall health deteriorated, with her passing away in late July of 2015.
In the light of media exposure surrounding the Vicky Phelan case in 2018, it was reported that her widower was summoned to a meeting, where it was revealed that the 2012 smear test had not been accurately read. If it had been, she would’ve been advised to have a follow-up smear test after six months. This could possibly have led to an early cancer detection through referral.