£60,000 NHS payout after cervical smear results failure

A 37 year old woman has received £60,000 from the NHS after they failed to appropriately analyse her cervical smear results.

Emmeline Smith underwent routine cervical screening in 2010 and this was reported as being normal. When she had her next smear in 2014, abnormal cells were identified. Further investigations revealed that she had cervical cancer.

Following her diagnosis, Emmeline had a hysterectomy and two laser procedures. She then received a letter from Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHSFT saying that they had completed a mass review of past smear results and noted that the result from her 2010 test had not been reported correctly.

Despite this admission, when the case was litigated, the defendant refused to admit liability as they averred that although abnormalities had been missed, this did not amount to negligence and was something that other cytoscreeners would also likely have missed.

Despite this, Fletchers Solicitors were able to secure a settlement of £60,000 due to the avoidable second laser procedure and hysterectomy.

Kate Lozynska, a medical negligence solicitor at Fletchers Solicitors, said: “I am very pleased with the outcome and I hope that this case highlights the importance of regular screening and adequate reporting.”