The UK Supreme Court has made a significant ruling that will impact the amount of damages awarded to children injured by medical negligence.
The court's decision, made on the case of a child born in 2015 at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, found that compensation should take into account the full working life the child would have had if they had not been harmed.
This ruling is likely to have large cost implications for the NHS, with its clinical negligence liabilities currently standing at £60bn, two-thirds of which relate to maternity injuries, according to reports by the BBC.
Background of the Case
The child, who is not being named, sustained a brain injury at birth due to failures in her care during labour, and now has severe cerebral palsy, is unable to walk or talk, and requires continuous 24-hour care.
The Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust admitted failures in her care, and in 2023, the High Court awarded a lump sum of £6,866,615 and an additional payment of £394,940 per year.
Supreme Court Verdict
Wednesday's Supreme Court verdict, by a majority, has ruled that compensation should take into account the child's entire loss of earnings and pension for a full working life, bringing the law in cases involving children into line with adolescents and adults that have suffered life-shortening injuries.
Lawyers for the family claim the additional damages will amount to more than £800,000, which will be decided on at a later date.
Reaction to the Ruling
The girl's mother said in a statement that she felt "elated that my little girl has changed the law and that this will help lots of other children who have been injured through no fault of their own".
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a Conservative MP and chair of the Public Accounts Committee, told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that the NHS must do more to resolve cases through mediation, and "seriously learn lessons" to reduce instances of clinical negligence.
