A US lab has agreed to pay a cancer misdiagnosis settlement to compensate a false negative cervical cancer result given to an Irish woman.

Sonic Healthcare’s US subsidiary Clinical Pathology Laboratories (CPL) admitted to breach of duty in the settlement where they agreed to pay €2.5 million, or about $4 million, to an Irish woman in her 40s. This settlement is the latest in a large scale scandal involving CPL false negatives.

Between 2010 and 2014, 200 women were reportedly given false negatives from Ireland’s government-backed cervical cancer screening program. This program utilized several laboratories, including CPL, for testing pap smear results.

Some of the women who received a false negative result filed a lawsuit against Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) and three of the laboratories responsible. CPL’s cancer misdiagnosis settlement will resolve the claims against them in High Court.

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that affects a woman’s cervix – the lowest part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. The cancer is most often caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection. When a woman contracts HPV, her immune system fights against the infection and, in some cases, effectively prevents any harm. However, some women may have the virus stick around for years – leading to the development of cancer cells on the cervix.

Early stage cervical cancer is usually asymptomatic, meaning that there are no symptoms. In late stages, symptoms may include vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain, abnormal discharge, and an increase in symptoms after or during intercourse. Unfortunately, cervical cancer is very difficult to treat once it reaches late stages and presents symptoms.

The cancer’s asymptomatic nature used to make it a widespread killer. Because it was often not diagnosed until late into the cancer’s development, many women died after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.

To counteract this, modern medicine recommends that women have pap tests done regularly to screen cervical cells for cancer or pre-cancerous changes. This testing usually begins at age 21 and is meant to be conducted every three years. In some cases, women can go as long as five years between pap tests, but this is usually not recommended for individuals at risk for cervical cancer.

During a pap test, a doctor will scrape cells from the cervix using a specialized tool. These cells are then sent to a laboratory to be tested.

Although these tests are heavily relied upon, they can still turn up false negatives. According to the Mayo Clinic, a false negative pap smear may occur due to an inadequate collection of cells, a small number of abnormal cells, or other cells obscuring the abnormal cells in a sample.

Women who received a false negative pap smear may be able to collect compensation if they developed cervical cancer despite receiving a normal result. A misdiagnosis settlement could help patients and their families collect compensation for a variety of costs and damages, including medical expenses, hospital stays, travel, missed work, pain and suffering, wrongful death, and more. Speak with an experienced cervical cancer misdiagnosis lawyer to evaluate your case.