In June 2025, a Virginia medical malpractice case was settled for $1.15 million in which the plaintiff alleged that her doctor’s office failed to tell her the results of an HPV test that caused a delay in being diagnosed with cervical cancer and resulting in a poor prognosis for Stage IVB cervical cancer as well as the loss of her ability to conceive children.
The plaintiff was 36-years-old when she became a new patient of the defendant gynecologist in April 2021. She complained to the gynecologist that she had pelvic pain and experienced pain during intercourse and bleeding after intercourse.
The woman attended a follow-up visit with the gynecologist one week later during which an internal examination by the gynecologist found a very hyperemic cervix that bled to the touch. Lab tests were ordered that included a PAP smear and HPV testing that reported back normal cytology but detected two high-risk HPV strains, including HPV 18, which is one of the most aggressive types of HPV that is associated with cervical cancer. The woman claimed she was not told about the lab results.
Two years alter, the woman was diagnosed with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, which had spread by that time to her pelvic lymph nodes and subsequently to her lungs. She required extensive radiation and chemotherapy treatments and later required lung surgery.
The defense argued that the gynecologist’s records for the woman indicated that the lab results were posted to the woman’s online portal and that office staff attempted to contact the woman. The defense further argued that the woman was told that she needed to return to the office for a six-month follow-up Pap smear but failed to do so, and she failed to return to the office as instructed when she did not become pregnant after six months.
The defense also noted that the woman’s symptoms were intermittent and improved with antibiotics, that she had spent significant periods of time out of state during the two year period, and the defense further argued that there was no clinical evidence of cancer at the April 2021 visit that required an immediate colposcopy or biopsy. Lastly, the defense argued that woman’s treatment and outcome would likely have been the same if her cancer was detected earlier.
The plaintiff’s experts opined that the combination of the woman’s symptoms, the gynecologist’s findings upon physical examination, and the positive HPV 18 result in April 2021 required diagnostic evaluation by colposcopy, and that earlier diagnosis of cervical cancer would have resulted in a cure.
If you or a loved one suffered harm due to misdiagnosis of cervical cancer in Virginia or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Virginia medical malpractice attorney or a medical malpractice attorney in your state who may investigate your cervical cancer malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a cervical cancer medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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