The family of Dingle woman Joan Lucey, who died before mediation could take place in her High Court case over her cervical smear slides, will now continue her action.
Her son Sean and her daughter Sinead will take her place in the legal action against the HSE and two laboratories over Mrs Lucey’s smear tests of 2011.
Retired nurse and widow Joan Lucey from Cooleen, Dingle died last Friday just hours after the HSE and the laboratories pledged to begin mediation towards resolving the case and after her lawyers had gone to court twice pleading for mediation to begin as Mrs Lucey was on her deathbed.
In the High Court this afternoon, the Lucey family counsel Oonah McCrann SC told the court that after all sides had agreed to mediation last Friday it had been brought forward to Saturday morning instead of the scheduled date for the following Tuesday.
“We woke up to the sad news on Saturday morning that Mrs Lucey had passed away,” Counsel said.
She said mediation in the case continued but after two days it had finished at 10pm yesterday (Tuesday) and was unsuccessful.
She asked that the action now be reconstituted in the names of Mrs Lucey’s son Sean and her daughter Sinead who are executors of their mother’s will. She said they were ready to proceed with the hearing of the action next Friday.
Mr Justice Kevin Cross who offered his sympathy to the Lucey family on their loss told the parties that while mediation has not been successful so far, it does not mean the parties cannot re-engage with mediation in the case.
“It’s not over, until it’s over,” the judge said .
Mrs Lucey’s claims for general damages fell away when she died but the action can now be reconstituted as a fatal claim, with her children replacing her as plaintiffs.
The action is against the HSE, Clinical Pathology Laboratories Incorporated, and MedLab Pathology Ltd in relation to the alleged misreading, misinterpretation or misreporting of Mrs Lucey’s cervical smears taken in February and August 2011. The claims are denied.
Mr Justice Kevin Cross had last week urged mediation to take place, The judge said the parties should take instructions at the highest level to see if the case of Joan Lucey could be resolved through mediation.
On that occasion her counsel said all Mrs Lucey was being offered on her deathbed was hollow sympathy. The previous week the widow through her lawyers in court made yet another plea to the HSE to attend mediation talks directly with her side.
Joan Lucey had sued the HSE, Clinical Pathology Laboratories Incorporated (CPL)with headquarters in Austin, Texas, USA and MedLab Pathology Ltd with registered offices at Sandyford Business Park, Dublin.
She sued in relation to the alleged, misreading or misinterpretation or misreporting of her cervical smears taken in February and August 2011.
It's claimed that notwithstanding undergoing regular smear tests as advised, cytological cell changes in Mrs Lucey were allegedly allowed to develop and spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in July 2019.
All the claims are denied.
Clinical Pathology Laboratories (CPL) has also joined as a third party in the proceedings consultant obstetrician Dr Mary McCaffrey of the Scotia Clinic, Tralee , Co Kerry. CPL has claimed there was an alleged failure to assess or investigate Mrs Lucey when she attended the clinic on April 29th 2011 and it is claimed it resulted in an alleged missed opportunity to diagnose pre-invasive disease.
All these claims are denied.
