FAYETTEVILLE — A Washington County jury is being asked to decide if a local women’s clinic was negligent, causing a woman to have surgery that left her unable to have children.

Ramanda and Greg Gilliard sued Parkhill Clinic for Women, claiming Ramanda Gilliard wasn’t notified in 2009 of an abnormal screening result. The couple learned of the result after another abnormal screening result in 2010, several months after they were married.

Ramanda Gilliard was diagnosed with cervical cancer and underwent surgery in New York.

“They dreamed of having kids,” Sach Tolliver, the couple’s attorney, told jurors Tuesday in opening statements. “Greg wanted a football team; she said she’d give him a basketball team.”

The Gilliards argue, if Ramanda Gilliard had been notified of the earlier abnormal screening, she would likely have been able to catch the cancer early, have successful surgery and still bear children.

Parkhill admits a nurse misread the results from the 2009 screening, which led to Ramanda Gilliard not being contacted. But, the clinic contends the Gilliards suffered no damages because the ultimate outcome wouldn’t have been any different.

“The real issue in this case is what effect, if any, did the one-year delay have in this case,” said Walter Cox, an attorney for Parkhill. “The treatment in 2009 would have been the same as it was in 2010. No additional injury was caused by the delay.”

The Gilliards contend Parkhill had no system or policy in place to track results and make sure patients were notified of any abnormal findings in a timely manner.

“This was not an accident. When you don’t have a system in place, it’s only a matter of time before this happens to someone,” Tolliver said. “When you’re dealing with cancer, time is of the essence.”

The Gilliards are seeking no less than $2 million in damages for the inability to have children, $1 million for mental anguish, pain and suffering and additional damages to be determined to pay for possible surrogacy, an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person.

The trial in Washington County Circuit Court is expected to last into next week.