Is there any way to dispute a negative item and remove it from the credit report?

Yes, you can do that.
All you have to do is pull your credit report, make a copy of it, mark the inaccurate negative items, attach required documents and send it to the specific bureau along with the creditor. Send your mail through registered post with a return receipt request.
The specific bureau will investigate the issue and will get back to you. If it's with multiple credit reports, that is, from the major 3 bureaus, you'd have to follow the same procedure.

An accurate negative item stays on the report for 7-10 years.

If you see any error in your credit report, first inform the credit reporting company in writing about what you believe is inaccurate. Your letter must indicate the errors clearly, mention the reason why you dispute the information, and ask for removal or correction. The errors might include the accounts that don’t belong to you, some negative items that have expired but haven’t yet dropped off the report, few personal information errors, and a paid off account still showing as unpaid.
You must also ask the creditor or lender about the information you're disputing.