Reports of cervical cancer being misdiagnosed has led to an intensive malpractice investigation. This lawsuit follows the tragic news that many women received false-negative results from Pap- smear tests. Due to such an error the cancer has developed into possibly life threatening stages that could have been prevented.
Prior to Pap smear tests for cervical cancer it was one of the most common causes of death in the United States. If these tests helped to detect pre-cancerous and cancerous cells, what went wrong now? What has changed regarding their reliability to give an accurate result? The way the test is taken hasn’t changed.
This test (Pap smear) performed by a gynecologist collects cells from a woman’s cervix. The cells are then sent out to be screened for cancer or any other underlying health issue. Medical experts have encouraged testing so that any negative findings could be automatically treated. Abnormalities of any kind result in the patient going for more tests such as the endocervical scraping to collect more cells. Pap smears should be able to identify all forms of cervical cancer, including pre-cancerous stages.
The American Cancer Society deemed these tests so effective that they had recommended women receive them by the age of 18. Therefore, women who have taken a Pap smear should be less of a risk for cervical cancer.
The perceived reliability of these tests is why cases of misdiagnosed patients has led to a tremendous concern in the medical field and with the present cancer lawsuit investigation.
A report states that a woman died in 2011 following a false negative result from a Pap smear. Her husband filed a lawsuit against the medical labs that had examined the results of her test. She was awarded $15.8 million for the case in 2014.
While having a Pap smear has as been more reliable than any other screening test in preventing cancer, it is not perfect. “One of the limitations of the Pap test is that the results need to be examined by the human eye, so an accurate analysis of the hundreds of thousands of cells in each sample is not always possible,” states the American Cancer Society.
There certainly are many other reasons that contribute to cervical cancer misdiagnosis and the CDC says this can be due to human error. There’s been a high processing demand of Pap smears.
In 2014 there were 17.4 million doctor’s offices and 3.5 million outpatient facilities that offered Pap smears. The number of tests exceeded those who could examine them. The CDC reported that the result of errors increased because there were not enough lab technicians for such a high demand of tests.
Cervical cancer lawsuits are filed individually. Therefore, if you have been diagnosed with cervical cancer over the last five years or if you lost a loved because a medical lab didn’t recognize the cancer on a Pap smear, you may be able to file a lawsuit.
