On 18 February 2026, the Supreme Court handed down judgement in CCC (by her Mother and Litigation Friend MMM) v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust a judgement that held that a young child claimant can now recover damages in respect of ‘lost years’, a landmark ruling in Birth Injury Negligence cases. In this blog I explain in simple terms what this means for cases like ours.
‘Lost Years’ and Birth Injured Children
What is a ‘Lost Years’ claim?
Everyone born is expected to live a relatively long life unless death intervenes. Someone seriously injured through no fault of their own, often has their life span shortened due to their injuries. The case of Pickett v British Rail Engineering Ltd (1980) held that the Claimant should be compensated financially (earnings and pension) for what he would have received had his life span not been reduced.
‘Lost Years’ claims have been awarded for adults and adolescents. They have not been awarded to young children on the basis that they would not have dependents and the issue was too speculative. This followed a judgement in the case of Croke v Wiseman (1982) where the Appeal judge ruled the child could not be compensated for the years after his life expectancy was reached.
The case of CCC (by her Mother and Litigation Friend MMM) v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was heard by the Supreme Court. This was the case of a young girl who suffered a hypoxic brain injury at birth and had a subsequent reduced life expectancy of 29. It was accepted she would have obtained a good education and job based on her parent’s job experience, worked until retirement and received a pension.
The judges ruled she should be compensated in line with other injured claimants, and treating young children differently was arbitrarily discriminatory. Methods to predict earning ability had improved and difficulty in quantifying the amount did not justify denying compensation. The lack of dependants was no longer a justifiable reason to deny claims.
I don’t know yet if any actual sums have been awarded as the ruling is relatively new. However, working with previous ‘lost years’ awards a calculation is made regarding the income likely minus the living expenses. How this is calculated varies with each case so I can only comment generally. The amount is likely to be at 6-7 figure sum.
- Calculate net earnings factoring in promotions, pension contributions, risk factors and inflation.
- Actuarial evidence such as the Ogden Tables are used to factor in life expectancy, employment and the current discount rate* to calculate losses.
- Deduction of the Claimant’s Living Expenses. This calculates what the claimant would have spent on themselves to live, as those costs are not relevant if they are no longer here.
- The balance is what would have accumulated as savings or been available to dependants.
There is no specific percentage deduction. The deduction is fact specific. Currently it varies between 15% – 40% depending on whether someone is single or married.
How this works for birth injured children is not yet clear, but personally I think it is a fair ruling. If a child exceeds their life expectancy, the funds provided in certain areas will possibly run out, especially with a percentage settlement. In reality with careful management and ongoing care funded for life, there should currently be sufficient funds. Social services and NHS funding will also alleviate some of the financial burden. With this additional ‘pot’ carefully invested it will provide peace of mind for some families.
Unfortunately, this ruling only stands from February 2026. It cannot be applied retrospectively so families who have settled can’t apply. As the ruling is from the Supreme Court it cannot be appealed or overturned.
*Read about the Discount Rate here:
Source: Supreme Court Website
