The Pap test (also known as a Pap smear) is a simple procedure developed over 60 years ago to test for cervical cancer. Since the test was developed, millions of women have been tested through this method, and the rate of death due to cervical cancer has dropped significantly.

During a Pap test, cells are collected from a cervix and are analyzed under a microscope to assess if there are cancerous or pre-cancerous cells present. If cancerous or pre-cancerous cells are present, further testing is required to determine the nature of the cells, including various kinds of biopsies. If a woman determines that she has been the victim of a late cancer diagnosis, she may have grounds for a lawsuit. 

The Pap test is most effective when it is administered regularly throughout a person’s lifetime. New guidelines suggest that women between ages 21 and 29 should receive a Pap test every three years, and those between the ages of 30 to 65 should receive them every five years.

Pap smears are determined to be an effective and efficient way to detect cancer, or in most cases, the presence of pre-cancerous cells. Though the tests are very effective, no medical process is perfect. In some cases, women have discovered that a Pap test was analyzed incorrectly and that medical professionals missed the presence of cancerous or pre-cancerous cells entirely when analyzing a patient’s pap test.

Many women do not discover a mistake has been made until they are diagnosed with cervical cancer after having recently been told that a Pap test was free of cancerous and pre-cancerous cells. In some cases, women discover that they have late-stage cervical cancer, when cancer could have been prevented or slowed had they had an accurate Pap test.

Mistakes made in reading a Pap test most often occur because medical lab staff is overworked. Because of the popularity and commonality of the Pap test, data suggest that the tests were ordered and/or provided in almost 17.3 million physician office visits and 3.5 million hospital departments in 2014.

Given the sheer number of tests processed each year in the United States, errors can, and do, occur. Lab technicians are often overworked, a situation which can lead to false information and misdiagnoses in Pap tests, and as a result, a late cancer diagnosis for a patient.

Patients who receive a “healthy” or “normal” Pap smear and are then given a late cancer diagnosis are often devastated by the news because had they been able to receive accurate information from their Pap tests earlier, they could have taken action to protect their health.

However, filing a legal claim against a medical provider can afford a wronged patient some compensation from an injury incurred by receiving an incorrect Pap test result. Late cancer diagnosis lawsuits and other legal action can help patients receive compensation to help with medical expenses, missed work, pain and suffering, and more.