The Supreme Court has transformed the law for child personal injury claimants: Jodi Newton sets out the implications for practitioners
- The Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ruling that children with reduced life expectancy can now claim ‘lost years’ damages for earnings they would have received but for their injuries.
- The decision is expected to significantly increase the value of child clinical negligence claims and require earlier, more detailed expert evidence on likely career paths, life expectancy and quantum, potentially affecting litigation strategy and settlement timelines.
A Supreme Court judgment recently handed down in the case of CCC (by her mother and litigation friend MMM) v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 ruled that child claimants in personal injury and medical negligence cases will now be able to seek damages for earnings that they would have earned but for the injuries that have reduced their life expectancy. This is known as a ‘lost years’ claim.
In a majority decision, the court overturned
