National News Desk

Medical Malpractice Settlements: Missouri Family Receives $4 Million in Pap Smear Settlement

Posted by Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 12, 2002 12:00 AM EST
Category: Major Medical
Tags: Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care, Diagnosis Errors

The family of a woman who died of cancer due to an alleged improper Pap smear reading has settled a medical malpractice lawsuit with the laboratory involved for $4 million. Dr. Lynne Toombs-Datema, 37, died of cervical cancer in 2000, six years after a cytotechnologist at Metropolitan Reference Laboratory in St. Louis failed to detect the presence of abnormal cells when analyzing her Pap smear. Defense attorneys argued that the abnormal cell count was very low at the time of the Pap smear's review, and the failure to recognize their presence did not constitute negligence on the part of the laboratory.


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