A terminally-ill woman has settled a case against the Health Service Executive and a US laboratory for €7.5 million.
37-year-old mother of five, Emma Mhic Mhathúna was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016.
Her diagnosis came three years after she had received the all-clear from a previous smear test but the results proved to be wrong which came to light after a botched audit of the CervicalCheck screening programme.
She took a case against both the HSE and the US laboratory used by CervicalCheck. Today Mr. Justice Kevin Cross sapproved the settlement, which includes the HSE admitting liability for failing to disclose the findings of the audit carried out. Emma is one of of the 209 women with cervical cancer who received incorrect smear test results.
18 of the 209 women who arte the victims of the scandal, have died having been given incorrect smear test results by the national cervical cancer screening programme. The scandal led to the resignation of health service chief Tony O’Brien.
The government has also agreed a comprehensive package of health and social care measures to support the 209 women and their families, who have been diagnosed with cervical cancer and whose audit result differed from their original smear test.
The scandal was only brought to light in April this year after Limerick woman Vicky Phelan took a case against the HSE and Clinical Pathology Laboratories, the US laboratory which was analysing the tests for Ireland’s National Cervical Screening Programme, for incorrect smear results.
