US Edition
Children can claim damages for ‘lost years’ after medical negligence, Supreme Court rules
The UK Supreme Court's decision aligns compensation for injured children with adults, potentially increasing damages by over £800,000, impacting NHS cost liabilities.
- The UK Supreme Court today held there is `no basis in law` for treating injured children differently, allowing a girl born in 2015 to recover lost earnings for her full working life.
- The case arose after fetal monitoring during labour showed an abnormal heartbeat that was not acted on, producing severe hypoxic brain injury at birth and admitting failures by the Trust.
- In 2023 the High Court awarded £6,866,615 plus £394,940 per year, and the parties agreed the girl would have worked until age 68 with a normal life expectancy.
- Today the decision means additional damages exceeding £800,000 will be decided later, potentially imposing significant costs on the NHS, the girl's family and their lawyers say.
- By aligning children's claims with adults', the ruling brings children's compensation law into line with adolescents and adults with life-shortening injuries and highlights the girl's severe cerebral palsy requiring 24-hour care.
7 Articles
7 Articles
Children can claim damages for 'lost years' caused by medical negligence, Supreme Court rules - paving the way for multi-million-pound pay outs
The decision comes more than four decades after a Court of Appeal judgment stating children cannot receive damages under the law.
NHS England’s troubled maternity units already paying to settle negligence lawsuits at twice the level in Scotland will have to pay even more
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account - 12266421 Name - JOHN ROBERTSON In the Guardian today, the above and: The NHS will have to spend more money settling lawsuits involving negligence during childbirth after a supreme court ruling that lawyers said puts right a “historic injustice”. The court ruled on Wednesday t…
How will the Supreme Court birth ruling affect NHS costs?
Legal change and budgetary consequences A recent ruling by the Supreme Court clarified that children who sustain disabling injuries at birth in England can pursue claims for future lost earnings and related damages. That legal interpretation expands the scope of compensation available in…
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