Bottrill payment closes case for cervical cancer battler

By MARTIN JOHNSTON

The woman who triggered the Gisborne cervical cancer inquiry is relieved that Dr Michael Bottrill is finally out of her life.

"I don't want anything more to do with him," the woman known to Herald readers as Jane said yesterday.

The 35-year-old mother of three, a cervical cancer survivor, had just received a cheque from the retired pathologist settling her seven-year legal battle against him for exemplary damages.

She had been preparing for a retrial of her case in the High Court at Auckland starting next month.

The sum of money is secret and Dr Bottrill has not admitted liability.

"I don't need him to admit liability to know that he was wrong," said Jane, whose name remains suppressed. "For me, winning is about ultimate accountability and I believe we have achieved that through the settlement, the Gisborne inquiry and the Privy Council decision.

"I wouldn't have settled unless it was a reasonable amount, but it must remain confidential."

In a joint statement, Jane and Dr Bottrill said their agreement recognised the unique nature of Jane's circumstances and misfortunes.

Dr Bottrill's lawyer, Christopher Hodson, said his client, aged in his 70s, was relieved that Jane's court action was over.

Jane was diagnosed in 1995 with invasive cancer after Dr Bottrill misread four of her cervical smear slides. She needed a radical hysterectomy, radiation and other treatment which has left her with permanent nerve damage in one leg.

In 1995, she started legal action, which - despite failure at round one in the High Court - led to a ministerial inquiry that exposed other failings by Dr Bottrill and by the national cervical screening programme, and to an important Privy Council ruling.

Justice William Young said in rejecting her case in 1999 that he had found for Dr Bottrill by a narrow margin. He had no doubt the pathologist was guilty of negligence, but his actions narrowly avoided the category warranting exemplary damages. In 2000, the judge granted a retrial, after Jane's lawyers outlined evidence of Dr Bottrill's misreading of other women's slides.

The Court of Appeal overturned the retrial decision, but the Privy Council reinstated it.

Antonia Fisher, one of Jane's lawyers, said the case showed how important the Privy Council was.

Jane was "not big business, she's not a wealthy woman, but she was able to have access to the Privy Council to put right a gross injustice".

Jane's battle

1990-1994: Michael Bottrill mis-reads four of her cervical smears.

1995: She is diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer. Surgery, radiation and medical treatment follow. Legacy of nerve damage.

1996: Jane starts legal action.

1999: High Court narrowly rejects case.

2000: Retrial allowed after evidence of wider misreading outlined.

2001: Court of Appeal disallows retrial.

2002: Privy Council permits retrial.

Yesterday: Dr Bottrill settles with Jane, ending prospect of retrial.