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Woman Gets €7.4 Mn Settlement Over False Cervical Smear Result

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Apoorva
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An Irish woman who was terminally ill has become the public face of a cervical smear cancer scandal in the country. She is to receive €7.4 million in reimbursement after five days of legal negotiation with the country’s national health executive.

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Emma Mhic Mhathúna is one of 209 women who received false negative results in smear tests between 2010 and 2104. These inaccuracies came to light only two months ago.

She was falsely informed that her original smear in 2013 was clear. However, in May this year, she discovered the cancer had spread to her bones and she was dying

“I’m dying when I don’t need to die. And my children are going to be without me, and I’m going to be without them,” the 37-year-old single mother told the Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

“I tried to do everything right by breastfeeding and being a full-time mum and sacrificing my own life for them. I didn’t see it as a sacrifice and now I’m going to miss out. And I don’t even know if my little baby is going to remember me,” she added.

Mathúna told RTÉ that she had to sit down with her five children, who are aged from two to 16, and tell them she was dying. The interview generated anger across Ireland and calls for resignations at the top of the health service.

The results were hidden from the women and were only discovered two months ago during a health assessment. It became known that 162 of such women had not been told about the revised results. Of these women, 17 are now dead.

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The catastrophe has to led to a public inquiry and emergency testing.

Mhathúna and her children took a case against Ireland’s Health Service Executive and Quest Diagnostics, the US lab accountable for the mistake. A full hearing was due to take place, but the case was settled out of court after five days of negotiations between the parties.

Justice Kevin Cross approved of the settlement and informed that he was pleased the parties managed to resolve their differences. The HSE admitted legal responsibility for failing to reveal the findings of the audit and Quest Diagnostics admitted liability for misreading the smears.

Read Also: Ireland Abortion Referendum: Changing For People’s Welfare

Apoorva Lamba is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv     

Ireland cancer Emma Mhic Mhathúna Scandal
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