Woman with terminal cervical cancer settles case against HSE and US laboratory
The woman who cannot be identified by order of the court, the High Court heard, has incurable Stage Four cervical cancer. The action related to five smear tests taken between 2011 and 2018.
Her counsel, Patrick Treacy SC instructed by Cian O'Carroll solicitors, told the court that the case had been resolved after mediation this week. The settlement against the HSE and the US laboratory Quest Diagnostics Incorporated with an address in New Jersey is without an admission of liability.
The action had been case managed by the High Court because of the woman's diagnosis.
Woman's claims
In the proceedings, it was claimed as a result of alleged delay, the woman lost the opportunity of cure and her life expectancy has been severely impaired and her enjoyment of life has been catastrophically damaged.
It was claimed her cancer had been allegedly allowed to develop and spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until she was ultimately diagnosed following her attendance at a hospital emergency department in late 2024.
It was claimed that the woman had a smear test under the CervicalCheck screening programme in February 2011 and the report showed a lesion and a procedure was arranged with a follow smear arranged for six months later.
She had another smear test in December 2011 which came back as negative and also in June 2012 which was also negative. At the end of December 2013, it was claimed the woman had another smear test and cells of uncertain significance were detected and a referral was made to a colposcopy clinic.
A further smear test in October 2014 came back as negative and she also had a smear test in August 2018 which was returned as negative. She became unwell on holiday last year and on her return home she was referred for review where an MRI scan showed a cervical tumour and she began chemotherapy.
It was claimed had any of the five smear tests been correctly reported, there would have been a different approach to her care and she would have been advised to undergo a hysterectomy. It was contended that on the balance of probabilities her high grade pre-cancer would have been cured and it would not have developed into advanced cancer lesion requiring intensive palliative chemotherapy.
All of the claims were denied. Noting the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said he was delighted to hear the case had been resolved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
‘I got scared when I Googled it' – Former world darts champion Michael Smith fears he needs major surgery
He will be able to continue playing before the potential operation DARTS WORRY 'I got scared when I Googled it' – Former world darts champion Michael Smith fears he needs major surgery WALKING WOUNDED Michael Smith reckons he will need a new shoulder when he finishes throwing darts because his body is 'literally packing up'. The St Helens darts star – who has slumped to 21 spot in the world rankings – is in constant pain and a fortnight ago, he was told by medics he has severe osteoarthritis in his shoulder. 2 Michael Smith may need shoulder replacement surgery Credit: Getty Smith, 34, earned the title of World Champion back in 2023 after beating Michael van Gerwen in the final. Advertisement Since then, he has struggled to stay at the top of the darts world due to the emergence of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler. However, the former champ is set to continue his career with the help of injections. Due to his condition, he will be left potentially needing surgery after he retires from darts. When the father-of-two went online for more information and googled the condition, he admits he got 'scared' by the diagnosis and the long-term implications. Advertisement Bully Boy could ultimately require a shoulder replacement by the time he is in his mid-forties. Separate from these challenges, he has struggled to walk properly on his left foot – he has taken antibiotics and painkillers to curb the agony – and a course of steroids might be on the agenda. He told Online Darts: "I went on holiday, so it was the third one I missed. "I got my MRI back for my shoulder. I've got severe osteoarthritis or something like that—I can't even say it properly. Advertisement "The next step now is injections for my shoulder and wrist. Moment Michael Smith BREAKS dartboard in anger as he issues public apology "Worst case is a shoulder replacement, which isn't great, but that would only be when I retire. For now, it's injections. "A new shoulder would be like learning to play again. I got scared when I Googled it. "I just heard arthritis, but then all the stuff before it scared me. "They mentioned cortisone for my wrist, PRP which I need too, and then shoulder replacement where they cut your rotator cuff. Advertisement 2 He will continue playing on with injections Credit: Getty "That's where I panicked. But the operation won't be until I retire anyway—45, 46 maybe. For now, I'll just deal with it. Smith does not currently have a next match scheduled. He recently missed out on qualification to the World Matchplay for the first time since 2013. His last time at the oche ended in defeat as he was beaten in the first round of the Players Championship 21 by Polish ace Krzysztof Ratajski. Advertisement When Smith won the world title after years of heartbreak – he beat Michael van Gerwen 7-4 in the final and hit a nine-darter – he celebrated throughout the following season, and even had a wild holiday in Las Vegas with his wife. However, his second-round defeat in December 2024 to Dutchman Kevin Doets meant he dropped £485,000 off his rankings, denying him a spot in some TV events. Smith has essentially written off the rest of this year in terms of performances but he is determined to return to form at the PDC World Darts Championship – where there is £1million on the line for the winner. On September 20, he will undergo eye laser surgery, which will mean skipping some European Tour events. He added: "This is not going to stop me. I'll be back. I don't know anything else but to play darts and to fight. Advertisement "I'm a Manchester United fan. Like them, I'm a sleeping giant. I will wake up one day. "At home, when I'm practising, I'm in a good place. I feel right. Then I go to Pro Tours and just one bad game, in your head, it just goes back to square one. "My main issue now is getting everything right for December. Listen, if I win five games in the Worlds, I'm back in the top ten, it's like 200 grand. "Everyone will forget my year then. If I want to win it, which I know I've done before – I've been in the final three times – I could be back in the top three or top four. Never say never. "For me, I know I'll be back up there. It's the idiocy of when you see people's comments online. Advertisement "I managed my schedule poorly when I became World Champion. I didn't do the full year as much as I should. "I just concentrated more on TV. It bit me in the a*** for the next two years."
Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Mum's five-year-old with scoliosis to get MRI after Irish Mirror intervention
The mum of a five-year-old child - who has recently been diagnosed with scoliosis - has now been assured that her daughter will get her MRI scan after the Irish Mirror intervened. Last week, we reported how Carolann Walsh was worried that her daughter Hannah, who has recently been diagnosed with scoliosis, had been told they may have to wait eight months to a year just to get an MRI scan. Carolann, from Kilkenny - who as a teenager fought her own battle with the health service after her planned spinal fusion surgery was cancelled in 2009 due to ward closures - now says she is 'fighting the exact same fight' - this time for her own daughter, Hannah. Her daughter Hannah was recently diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition where the spine curves abnormally. In Hannah's case, Carolann says the pressure on her spine is causing relentless headaches, sometimes escalating into migraines. However, Hannah was referred to University Hospital Waterford. And after communicating with Children's Health Ireland (CHI), this reporter discovered that Waterford is not a Children's Health Ireland hospital. We passed this information onto Ms Walsh, who responded, saying: 'CHI have confirmed that Waterford is not one of their hospitals — something I only discovered after a journalist [Irish Mirror's Nicola Donnelly] raised the question and CHI themselves asked whether Hannah was under their care. 'At Waterford Hospital, I had actually been told she was on one of the fastest lists available to her, which caused a lot of confusion,' said Ms Walsh. 'Up until that point, I was operating under the wrong assumption through no fault of my own. 'Once I got that clarification, I went straight back to my GP at Airfield Medical Practice, who then referred Hannah to Crumlin Hospital, which does fall under CHI. 'Today (Tuesday), however, I was contacted directly by a spinal nurse who reassured me that Hannah will be seen, and confirmed there are currently no waiting times for MRIs at their hospital,' said Ms Walsh. 'That has given us some much-needed relief after weeks of uncertainty, and now we can focus on Hannah instead of being caught up in waiting lists,' said Ms Walsh. Carolann says she stands in solidarity with the parents of the late Harvey Morrison Sherratt (pictured) (Image: 'That said, I still stand in solidarity with the parents of the late Harvey Morrison and all the families whose children are waiting for scoliosis surgery. I will continue to speak out on their behalf. 'This is an issue that stretches back as far as 2008 — I lived through it as a child myself and now I see my own daughter facing the same battles . 'It's also important to highlight that Simon Harris promised in 2017 that no child would wait longer than four months for spinal surgery. 'That promise has been broken and here we are 16 years later with nothing having changed. 'It simply should not be happening,' said Ms Walsh. Earlier last week, Children's Health Ireland confirmed to us that there is 'no waiting list for urgent MRI for scoliosis treatment'. 'CHI cannot comment on individual cases. Every child's care plan is different. An MRI may be postponed to allow for a growth spurt or other clinical factors - these are clinical decisions. 'There is no waiting list for an urgent MRI for scoliosis treatment.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here . The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
The Journal
14 hours ago
- The Journal
HSE has helped just 104 younger people move out of nursing homes for the elderly
THE HSE'S PROGRAMME to help younger people transition out of nursing homes has helped just 104 people move into alternative settings, with hundreds more left languishing in care homes designed for older people. Efforts to reduce the cohort of people aged under 65 living in nursing homes are facing obstacles as the HSE has said that after an initial decrease, the numbers have now 'plateaued'. There are still 1,227 people aged under 65 living in nursing homes for older people according to HSE figures given in July of this year. The programme to help younger people move out of nursing homes was set up in response to the 2021 Wasted Lives report by the Ombudsman, which found serious problems in how they were being treated. A team that tracked the issue within the HSE in 2023 found the main reason for people under 65 entering nursing homes that year was due to referrals from acute healthcare settings, typically a hospital. This led to 136 people being placed in nursing homes that year. The next biggest reason was the lack of an alternative appropriate placement (135 cases). Family circumstances, referral from community services, and a lack of a primary carer were other factors that the team found. For 32 cases that year, the reason for the younger being entered into the care of a nursing home was only recorded as 'unknown'. Acquired brain injury is the primary diagnosis for more than one quarter (26%) of all younger people living in a nursing home, according to data provided by an operational tracker which looks at younger people in nursing homes. This is followed by acquired neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, which account for 24% of people in this group. Other people have conditions including cerebral palsy and spina bifida, or in some cases an intellectual disability. Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide, who requested these figures from the HSE, said that the process of transferring younger people out of inappropriate nursing home settings is 'frustratingly slow'. 'This is a desperately sad and indefensible situation. It is another example of how much distance is opening up between our economic prosperity, on the one hand, and the vindication of disabled people's basic rights, on the other. 'Perpetuating younger people's reliance on nursing homes is an affront to their dignity and right to independence,' Quaide said. The Social Democrats TD said that nursing homes are also being used for temporary care for people awaiting a placement in the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Advertisement He pointed out that four years have now passed since the publication of the Wasted Lives report. That initial report was sparked by the Ombudsman receiving a number of complaints from people under 65 who were living in nursing homes at that time. The office carried out 28 visits to people affected by the issue. It found that Ireland has a long way to go in terms of moving from a medical to a social model of disability. As of 30 June 2020 there were some 1,320 people under 65 being supported by the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (the Fair Deal scheme) according to HSE figures. Slow pace of transition In response to the report the HSE set up its U65 Programme Office and an Implementation Project Team. There is an 'U65′ lead in each Community Healthcare Organisation who is responsible for people transitioning to other care settings. Since this work began there have been a total of 104 transitions. The majority of these people have moved to community residential placements including sheltered living, specialised and residential placements, to their own home or family home, or to a new home. It is expected that 17 other people will transfer out of nursing homes before the end of 2025. The HSE said that people who need to stay in nursing homes can avail of enhanced quality of life supports funded by the U65 programme which include access to personal devices, transport, social care, and vocational and therapeutic services, as well as personal assistant hours. However the number of people availing of these supports are very low. In 2024 just 154 of the people who are under 65 living in nursing homes availed of the supports package. The HSE said that there was a decrease in this age group residing in nursing homes between 2021 and 2023, when there was a decrease of around 100 people, but since then the average number of under-65s in nursing homes per month has 'plateaued' to an average of 1,250 people. The HSE's programme provides funding to help people in this cohort transfer to other settings, and the average cost of these transfers is €207,926. The HSE has said that the primary reason why younger people are staying in nursing homes is due to their personal will and preference. 'Disability services recognise that the issue of will and preference is changeable and that there needs to be planned engagements with individuals to better understand their reasons why they may wish to stay,' a spokesperson said. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
