The Pap smear is the most effective and common way to screen for cervical cancer early. The test can even screen for pre-cancerous cells. If the disease is discovered early, especially in the pre-cancerous stages, doctors can begin to treat the disease and a patient’s likelihood to survive increases.

However, some patients are discovering that the lab results that they get from a Pap smear are unreliable. Because of errors in data, lab reports or an incorrect diagnosis, some patients have received a cervical cancer false negative test result. Later, these patients discover that they do indeed have cancer, and sometimes discover this when it is too late to treat the disease.

Cancer is always devastating, but in these cases, it is especially devastating when it could have been prevented or treated.

Now, lawyers are investigating why patients receive a cervical cancer false negative from Pap smears, and are investigating the possibility of a Pap smear lawsuit. Joining a pap smear lawsuit could allow you to receive compensation for physical, emotional or financial injury you suffered if you developed cervical cancer after receiving a cervical cancer false negative result from a Pap smear.

Pap smears are the most reliable and widespread methods of screening for cervical cancer. If a patient is diagnosed with cervical cancer early, there is a 95 percent chance that the cancer can be treated and cured.

Despite this reliability, Pap smears are not foolproof. Each Pap smear sample has to be examined by human eyes — unlike other lab tests that can be run mechanically, a laboratory technician has to review each Pap smear and examine it for the presence of cancerous cells.

Patients and experts believe that cervical cancer false negatives result from human error. Every person makes mistakes, and in the case of a Pap smear, a mistake can be grave and can endanger human life.

Unfortunately, many laboratory technicians are overworked and overtired, which can make them more likely to make mistakes and more likely to miss the presence of cancer cells. This may then give a patient a false negative cervical cancer result.

Additionally, as Pap smears are so common and effective, hundreds of thousands of the tests are ordered in the United States each year. As each of these tests has to be examined by a human, the sheer numbers increase the likelihood that some of the tests will be read incorrectly, mislabeled, or otherwise reported in error.

Lawyers have been investigating cervical cancer false negative results from Pap smears. Some patients have already filed cervical cancer false negative lawsuits  and are holding medical professionals and laboratories accountable for the errors in work and the incorrect test results they deliver to patients. 

If you developed cervical cancer after receiving a cervical cancer false negative test result, you may be able to join a Pap smear lawsuit and gain compensation. If you are not sure if the negative Pap smear result you received was a false negative, contacting an experienced lawyer can help you determine if you have a legal claim.