Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania
Validity of PAP Smears and Quality Control
Approx. 2 years ago, my wife had her normal PAP smear. At that time, the lab reported that there were no problems. One year after that time, they did ''Quality Control'' on their work. They found out that they made a mistake on their original work. It turns out that my wife had moderate cervical dysplasia. This was taken care of last year, but has now recurred. My question is, does she have any rights to go against the lab, because they waited so long to do quality control. We realized that the PAP smear testing is not 100% accurate, but to wait so long to check someone's work is, what we feel, unacceptable. Thank you very much.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Validity of PAP Smears and Quality Control
If a lab misreads a papsmear, the lab is negligent and there may be basis for a lawsuit..
However, there are two parts to a lawsuit. First there must be negligence which it appears there is in this case. Secondly, there must be damages.
There would be damages in this case if the dysplasia your wife experienced would not have recurred and if she has an increased likelihood of more serious problems in the future because she had not been properly diagnosed in the first place. Only a doctor could make those determinations.
It is imperative that you act promptly to contact counsel and to have her medical circumstances evaluated as soon as possible.
Marc Pachtman, Esq.
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