Given the broader adoption of co-testing and primary HPV testing, it is easier for medical providers today to diagnose cervical cancer sooner and save lives. However, when healthcare providers ignore a positive HPV test, fail to order follow-up testing, or don’t communicate results to a patient, valuable time can be lost. This can increase the likelihood of cervical cancer forming and spreading, possibly even resulting in fatal consequences.
If your doctor never told you about a positive HPV test or ordered follow-up testing and you developed cervical cancer, you may have legal grounds to file a medical malpractice claim. An experienced medical malpractice attorney from Powers & Santola, LLP can review your situation and explain your legal options. Start today for a free consultation.
What Is HPV?
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common group of over 200 related viruses that spread through skin-to-skin contact during sexual activity. Some types of HPV can cause cancer, warts, or other health issues. This name comes from the fact that some HPV types cause papillomas, which are warts but not cancer.
Some types of HPV are known to cause cancer, including cancers of the cervix, which is at the base of the womb at the top of the vagina, as well as the vagina, vulva, penis, anus, and parts of the mouth and throat.
Once a patient tests positive for HPV, healthcare providers can help determine which type of HPV it is. This helps determine what type of follow-up testing is required.
HPV can be prevented through the HPV vaccination and the possibility of a high-risk HPV screening test.
What Is the Role of HPV Testing in Preventing Cervical Cancer?
HPV testing prevents cervical cancer by detecting high-risk strains of HPV early, before they can cause dangerous changes to cells. It also identifies the cause of the disease so doctors can treat precancerous cells before they evolve into cancer.
Cervical cancer screenings help identify precancerous cervical cell changes in the hope of finding these changes before they turn into cancer. There are currently three ways that healthcare providers can detect cervical cancer:
- HPV test: This test checks for cells infected with high-risk HPV types known to cause cervical cancer.
- Pap test: A Pap smear, cervical cytology, or Pap test collects cervical cells to check for changes that HPV may have caused. These cells can turn into cervical cancer if they are left untreated. It detects both precancerous cells and cervical cancer cells. Pap smears can also identify other health conditions, such as infection or inflammation.
- HPV/Pap co-test: This test uses an HPV test and a Pap test together to check for high-risk HPV and cervical cell changes.
The HPV test checks cervical cells for specific types of HPV known to cause cell damage and cancer. This helps providers find problems before cancer develops. It also shows if the patient is carrying a long-lasting infection, which is more likely to cause cancer than a short-term one that clears naturally.
The HPV test is more effective than a Pap smear alone because it can detect high-risk infections and precancers more accurately than looking only at cell shape. Regular HPV screening can help prevent most cervical cancers from ever developing, so it is critical in healthcare.
HPV testing also helps guide follow-up care. Doctors can use these results to decide whether a patient needs monitoring or treatment to prevent precancer growth.
How Should a Doctor Respond to a Positive HPV Test?
A positive HPV test does not necessarily mean that a patient has cancer. Instead, it means that high-risk HPV has been detected in the patient’s cervical cells. The first thing that a doctor should do after receiving a positive HPV test result for a patient is to inform the patient about it. Typical patient counseling and education includes explaining that a positive test shows a common high-risk virus, not cancer, that the immune system often clears the infection within two years, and that the result tracks risk over time instead of emphasizing a specific event or partner.
Next, the healthcare provider can recommend follow-up testing, clinical evaluation, or genotyping. Medical professionals can identify whether the lab result is positive for high-risk types of HPV, such as 16 or 18, which are known to carry the highest risk of cancer. They can also compare the HPV result with the corresponding cytology (Pap smear) report. This helps the doctor decide whether to monitor the situation closely or recommend additional testing or treatment.
The next steps the doctor takes depend on several factors, including the patient’s screening history, age, and the type of HPV detected during testing. If the doctor detects a strain other than HPV 16 or 18, they might recommend repeat testing in one year if the Pap smear was normal.
However, if HPV 18 or 16 was detected, abnormal Pap cell changes are identified, or persistent HPV infections have occurred, follow-up testing may be recommended, such as:
- Colposcopy: A colposcopy is a clinical procedure that provides a thorough examination of a patient’s cervix under a specialized microscope. The healthcare provider may apply a solution to help highlight any abnormal areas. If the provider detects abnormal areas, they may recommend a cervical biopsy.
- Cervical biopsy: In a cervical biopsy, a doctor takes a small sample from the cervix if they identify suspicious tissue during the colposcopy. The sample is then sent to a lab to check for cell changes that could indicate cancer or precancer. These changes may use the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grading system (CIN), which indicates how much the cervical cells have changed, as follows:
- CIN 1: Mild cell changes are present that usually clear up on their own.
- CIN 2: Moderate cell changes that may require treatment.
- CIN 3: These are severe cell changes with a high risk of turning into cancer if they are left untreated.
If this follow-up testing identifies precancerous lesions, treatment may be recommended.
When Failing to Respond to a Positive HPV Test Is Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is not necessarily present just because there is a negative health outcome. Instead, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the accepted standard of care and harms a patient as a result.
To win a medical malpractice case, you or your lawyer must be able to show the following:
Standard of Care
The standard of care is the treatment that another healthcare provider in a similar geographic area and specialty area would provide under similar circumstances.
For example, another medical provider might recommend testing when they identify cancer symptoms. Early-stage cancer symptoms of cervical cancer may include:
- Vaginal bleeding after sex or menopause
- Abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as between periods or periods that are heavier or longer than normal
- Watery or smelly vaginal discharge
- Vaginal discharge that contains blood
- Pelvic pain
- Pain during sex
It may indicate that a healthcare provider has waited too long and the cancer has spread if more advanced symptoms have appeared, such as:
- Difficult or painful bowel movements
- Rectal bleeding when having a bowel movement
- Difficult or painful urination
- Blood in the urine
- Abdominal pain
- Dull backache
- Swelling of the legs
- Fatigue
It is also in line with the standard of care to order follow-up testing once there is a positive HPV test result.
Deviation from the Standard of Care
Next, you must show what your healthcare provider did that deviated from the standard of care. This could include failing to document the positive test result in your medical records or failing to communicate it to you. It could also include failing to order follow-up testing.
Causation
Causation connects the negative health outcome to the doctor’s actions or inactions. For example, the cancer might not have had the opportunity to form if precancerous cells had been detected earlier when they should have been.
Establishing causation begins with a careful analysis of your medical records. This can help determine when you received the positive HPV test and whether anyone communicated that information to you.
It also requires consulting with a medical expert witness. New York requires a certificate of merit to support a medical malpractice lawsuit, stating that your attorney consulted a licensed physician knowledgeable about the relevant issues and concluded that there is a reasonable basis for the medical malpractice case. Expert witnesses may also testify in court to help connect the doctor’s actions with the development or spread of cancer.
Damages
Damages are the economic or non-economic losses you suffer because of the delay in diagnosis and treatment, such as medical bills, pain, and suffering. By the time more advanced symptoms appear, treatment may be more difficult.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help prove each of these legal elements. They may also hire medical experts who can
Financial Compensation You Can Seek If You Are a Victim of Medical Malpractice
If your doctor failed to communicate a positive HPV test or failed to order follow-up testing when they should have, you could have developed cervical cancer, or the cancer was allowed to spread undetected; you could face significant physical, emotional, and financial consequences. You can seek compensation for the damages you have sustained, such as:
- Increased medical costs for
- Ongoing medical treatment and care, including rehabilitation and therapy
- Future medical expenses
- Lost wages for lost income you incurred while you were receiving treatment or recovering from cancer treatments
- Reduced earning capacity that reflects changes in your long-term earning potential
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and psychological trauma as you grapple with the fear of your mortality or lost trust in your medical providers
- Reduced quality of life, which acknowledges the real-life impacts that the delayed diagnosis of cancer has had on your life
As experienced medical malpractice lawyers, the legal advocates at Powers & Santola, LLP can help identify and pursue compensation for all the damages that you are eligible to recover.
What Is the Deadline to File a Medical Malpractice Case?
In cases involving a delayed cancer diagnosis, New York has a special law that applies. While the typical deadline to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in New York is two and a half years after the negligent act or end of continuous treatment, in delayed cancer diagnosis cases, the deadline is two and a half years from the discovery of the misdiagnosis of cancer. However, the deadline is seven years from the negligent act in any event.
Contact the Legal Team at Powers & Santola, LLP to Discuss Your Case
If your doctor did not respond properly to a positive HPV test and you were harmed as a result, you may have legal grounds to file a medical malpractice case. The experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Powers & Santola, LLP have fought for personal injury and medical malpractice victims for over three decades. In that time, we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for our clients.
Contact us today to get started with a free case review. We can discuss your legal rights and options, and how we can help. We look forward to working with you.
