The use of Pap smears has become an invaluable tool in detecting the presence of cervical cancer early on and allowing for treatment before it develops. This has greatly reduced the rate of cervical cancer in women. However, the process is not infallible. Recent incidents have shown that there is a real risk of false negative Pap smears.

False negative Pap smears could occur if the test itself were defective, or if it was misread due to the negligence of medical labs. The danger of false negative Pap smears is that a patient may be led to believe that they are cancer-free and therefore not undergo the necessary cancer treatment until it is too late.

Pap Smear Screening

A Pap smear screening collects cells from a patient’s cervix, which are then examined for any evidence of cancer or abnormalities that may indicate the possibility of a future diagnosis of cervical cancer. This allows a patient who shows signs of cancer to undergo preventative treatment, which can stop cancer entirely.

In the last few decades, the use of Pap smear screening has reduced the rate of cervical cancer by 60 percent. Now, women who regularly undergo Pap smear screenings are rarely diagnosed with cervical cancer—either because they did not have signs of the disease in the first place, or because it was caught early enough to be treated.

The American Cancer Society encourages women age 21 to 29 to receive Pap smears every three years. Between the ages of 30 and 65, the suggested regularity reduces to every five years.

Unfortunately, some who receive a Pap smear screening that clears them of cervical cancer risk may later end up with a cervical cancer diagnosis. This may be due to the negligence of medical labs for failure to diagnose cervical cancer early on. For instance, a medical lab may have misread Pap smear results, even though the cancer was in fact there.

Ireland’s False Negative Pap Smears Problem

Because of the proven effectiveness of Pap smear screening, Ireland has a government-funded Pap smear program. Unfortunately, a serious problem occurred when the program incorrectly reported to hundreds of the women who underwent the screening that the tests did not show signs of cervical cancer.

So far, 221 Irish women have been diagnosed with cervical cancer after receiving false negative Pap smears. Tragically, 18 of these women have since died.

In response, some have begun to sue the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) as well as the U.S. laboratory responsible for the false negative Pap smears. The Irish screening program is also updating its cervical cancer screening process.

“Later this year, we are moving to a new type of smear test, where we will also test for the presence of HPV virus. The testing for HPV will offer an additional level of accuracy and reassurance,” said the CervicalCheck website.

Filing a Lawsuit Over False Negative Pap Smears

If you believe your Pap smear failed because of a medical lab’s failure to diagnose cervical cancer, you may be able to file a lawsuit. Filing a false negative Pap smears lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by cervical cancer, nor can it bring a loved one back to life. But filing a lawsuit can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses, hospital stays, and lost wages.