Emma Mhic Mhathúna begins High Court case over CervicalCheck

Emma Mhic Mhathúna and her five children have begun a High Court action over alleged delays relating to CervicalCheck smears.

The terminally ill Co Kerry woman has, along with her five children who range in age from two to 16 years, sued the HSE and a US laboratory used by CervicalCheck.

She is one of the 209 women with cervical cancer who were found to have received incorrect smear tests during a clinical audit of past tests by the CervicalCheck screening programme after their cancer diagnoses.

The 37-year-old is among 162 of those who were only told about the incorrect tests after Limerick woman Vicky Phelan settled her court case against a US laboratory for €2.5 million.

Ms Mhic Mhathúna was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016.

Her barrister told the High Court on Wednesday his client, who was in court for the application, wants the case settled as soon aspossible.

Patrick Treacy SC asked the HSE to make a decision on its stance on liability in the case within the next 24 hours because time is of the essence for his client.

"She has been told by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Minister for Health that everything will be done and nobody will be forced to got to court and there will be mediation. She wants it settled as quickly as possible," Mr Treacy told the High Court.

Counsel for the HSE Patrick Hanratty SC said it was the first they had heard of being asked to decide on liability in the next 24 hours.

He said the HSE realistically could not make a decision on full liability in that timeframe.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross said it was not fair to force a party into that position The court, he said was not the place to make political statements.

Unique case

Mr Treacy told the court in was a unique case and it involved the mother and her five children.

He said Ms Mhic Mhathúna is seriously ill and and he asked that the case be heard in the next few weeks.

He said a number of issues had emerged in the case including in relating to another cervical smear of 2010. He said the case centred on a cervical smear of 2013 but new documents suggested for the first time that there was a 2010 smear as well which would have required Ms Mhic Mhathúna to have a procedure.

Counsel said that information was not in documents provided by Cervical Check.

Mr Justice Cross adjourning the case until Thursday for case management said everything will be done at the courts end to facilitate Ms Mhic Mhathúna’s case.

The court also heard on Wednesday there were no outstanding issues between the sides in relation to two other legal actions involving women suing over alleged delays relating to CervicalCheck smears.

Those cases and another action by a woman who has ovarian cancer relating to previous cancer checks are scheduled to be heard in the High Court in July.

Outside court, Ms Mhic Mathuna stood by her solicitor Cian O’Carroll who said she would not be add ing to what was already said in court.

Mr O’Carroll said it was a concern that documents had now revealed that there had bewen an audit of 2010 smears as well as audits of smears in 2011, 2012 and 2013.