Terminally ill Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul who sued over her CervicalCheck smear tests were today awarded a total of €2.1million by the High Court as she won her landmark action.
Mr Justice Kevin Cross said Ruth Morrissey’s life had been ruined and she has suffered a life sentence.
She won her case against the HSE and two US laboratories in relation to the misreading of her cervical smear slides in 2009 and 2012 in the landmark action relating to the CervicalCheck controversy.
But the judge ruled the HSE is entitled to an indemnity against the laboratories in respect of the entirety of the claim except for €10,000 relating to the the fact that Ms Morrissey was not informed of an audit review of her smear tests.
The judge also ruled the HSE was not negligent over not giving repeat imaging and surveillance to the 37-year-old woman.
Paul Morrissey held his wife as the judge read out a summary of his judgement.
Ms Morrissey had walked into the Four Courts with the aid of a crutch.
The landmark action which ran for 37 days before Mr Justice Kevin Cross is regarded as a test case relating to the CervicalCheck controversy.
Legal teams representing other women who are taking similar type actions relating to smear tests taken under the CervicalCheck screening programme have been monitoring the case which started in July last year with three days at hearing and resumed in January for a further 34 days of evidence.
In her proceedings, Ms Morrissey and her husband Paul Morrissey, of Monaleen, Co Limerick had sued the HSE and two US laboratories, Quest Diagnostics Ireland Ltd with offices at Sir JohnRogerson’s Quay, Dublin along with Medlab Pathology Ltd with offices at Sandyford Business Park, Dublin 18.
It was claimed there was an alleged failure to correctly report and diagnose and there was an alleged misinterpretation of her smear samples taken in 2009 and 2012 and her cancer spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2014.
It was further claimed a review of the 2009 and 2012 smears took place in 2014 and 2015 with the results sent to Ms Morrissey’s treating gynaecologist in 2016, but she was not told until May 2018 of those results which showed her smears were reported incorrectly.
The HSE admitted it owed a duty of care to Ms Morrissey.
The laboratories denied all claims.
The Morrissey side further contended when the case resumed in January this year if Ms Morrissey had been told the results of the smear test audits in late 2014 or early 2015, she would have insisted on an MRI and other scans.
Ms Morrissey was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 and suffered a recurrence last year.
The court has previously heard the recurrence in her pelvic wall has spread to her bone and she has at maximum two years to live.
