Class action investigators are reviewing claims of potential pap smear malpractice after numerous women were reportedly diagnosed with late stage cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is one of the primary health problems a Pap smear test is supposed to detect. Lab companies who process these tests face potential Pap smear malpractice allegations for failing to detect cancer during treatable stages.

Class action lawyers are currently encouraging women who had received negative results for cervical cancer but were later diagnosed with the disease to consider filing a Pap smear malpractice lawsuit. There are a number of damages patients can seek when filing a Pap smear malpractice lawsuit. These include, but are not limited to:

• Medical expenses
• Hospital treatment
• Loss of income or work
• Pain and wuffering
• Wrongful death

One woman reportedly died from cervical cancer even though she had received a negative Pap smear result in 2008. She died just three years later in 2011, with her husband filing a Pap smear malpractice lawsuit on her behalf.

The Pap smear malpractice lawsuit named the medical lab that processed the Pap smear test which found no signs of cervical cancer. The man ultimately alleges this mistake resulted in his wife’s death, with the jury awarding him $15.8 million.

The class action investigation primarily pertains to women who were diagnosed with cervical cancer in the last five years, or had lost a loved one from the disease due to Pap smear result misdiagnosis.

Overview of Pap Smear Malpractice

Considering that this medical test is one of the most commonly performed and inexpensive medical tests in the United States, the number of pap smear malpractice claims could be in the thousands. Pap smear exams are gynecological procedures that are designed to detect a multitude of health problems, including early stage or precancerous cervical cancer.

More specifically, medical labs analyze the Pap smear samples for any signs of abnormal and dysplastic endocervical cells. These cells are signs of cancer, which spur several other tests the patient should undergo to determine if cancer is present.

When a Pap smear exam is conducted properly, cervical cancer should be caught in its very treatable early stages. Cervical cancer affects approximately 1.6 out of every 100,000 women.

In addition, 41 million women are screened with cervical cancer every years, with 40,000 to 50,000 cases of abnormal cells or precancerous cervical cancer discovered. From this, there are about 17,000 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed and 7,000 deaths per year.

Even with these statistics, the Pap smear exam has reduced the rate of cervical cancer deaths by 70%, since it was introduced in 1943. Overall, properly conducted Pap smear exams can detect up to 98% of cervical cancer cells and almost completely prevent the disease from becoming fatal.

However, in 16% to 40% of cases, there may be false negative results. This is when the laboratory fails to detect abnormal cells indicating cervical cancer. Considering that it is estimated that 90% of all cervical cancer deaths are preventable, medical laboratories analyzing these tests could be at risk for Pap smear malpractice.