Loss of Consortium: Can a Spouse or Family Member Sue?

Loss of consortium is a type of damages a spouse or family member can claim when their loved one suffers an injury caused by negligence. When your spouse suffers a serious injury or permanent disability, you can file a loss of consortium claim to recover damages for harm to your relationship.

Qualifying spouses, partners, and immediate family members can seek damages for loss of companionship, intimacy, and household services caused by the victim’s injury. For more information about loss of consortium claims, talk to a local personal injury attorney.

What Is Loss of Consortium?

Loss of consortium is a separate but related legal claim a spouse or partner can file to recover damages for harm to their relationship after a serious accident. The injury victim can recover economic and non-economic damages in a medical malpractice or personal injury claim.

Compensatory damages for the injury victim include medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. However, it is not only the injury victim who suffers after a serious accident.

Unlike economic damages, which have a clear value, loss of consortium involves intangible benefits. A loss of consortium claim is a way to compensate a spouse for:

• Loss of household services and childcare
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of affection
• Loss of physical intimacy

Loss of consortium is related to other damages spouses, children, and family members can claim, including loss of society, loss of parental consortium, and loss of support. For example, if the parent who provides childcare suffers a serious disabling injury, the family may need to seek damages for loss of caregiving.

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Who Can Sue for Loss of Consortium?

A spouse, domestic partner, or other close family member can claim damages for loss of consortium. Who can sue for loss of consortium varies by state. In many states, only a spouse in a marital relationship can file, but other states allow other individuals, including parents, to file a loss of companionship claim.

The injury victim does not file a loss of consortium claim. A loss of consortium claim belongs to parties close to the injury victim who suffer a derivative loss related to their loved one’s injury. The injury victim has other economic and non-economic damages, including pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment in life, and emotional distress.

Loss of consortium is a separate claim but still linked to the underlying personal injury claim. If your injured spouse does not succeed in their personal injury claim, you cannot recover damages in the derivative loss of consortium claim. To get compensation, your spouse must prove the defendant is liable for their injuries.

How Much Can a Spouse Recover for Loss of Consortium?

Putting a value on loss of consortium is challenging. No amount of money can return your relationship to normal after a debilitating injury, but compensatory damages provide some financial relief. The value of your loss of consortium damages can depend on several factors, including:

• Extent of the physical injuries and permanence
• Nature of your relationship with your spouse
• Whether you plan to have more children
• Life expectancy

Many personal injury claims involve the defendant’s insurance company trying to settle the claim. For example, premises liability claims involve homeowners’ insurance, car accidents involve auto insurance companies, and doctors carry medical malpractice insurance to defend them against lawsuits.

The insurance company will try to pay out as little as possible in a settlement. They may challenge any loss of consortium damages and even dispute the strength of your relationship. When establishing loss of consortium, expect to have the insurance company ask very personal and invasive questions about your relationship, including sexual relations.

How Do You Prove Loss of Companionship?

To establish loss of consortium damages, you can use witness testimony from friends and family, photos and videos of your relationship before the accident, medical records, and mental health counseling records.

Your attorney may recommend using expert testimony to explain the injuries to the jury and how the accident has impacted your relationship with your spouse.

Loss of Consortium in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

In a personal injury lawsuit, the injury victim’s spouse generally files a separate loss of consortium claim. However, when the injury victim dies in the accident, many states include the loss of services damages in the overall wrongful death claim.

The surviving spouse, children, and other dependents in a family relationship can recover loss of companionship damages in the wrongful death lawsuit.

Getting Compensation for Damage To Your Relationship

If someone’s negligence caused severe injuries to your spouse, the at-fault party should also pay for your losses. As a spouse, you can sue the negligent party for loss of consortium for severe injuries that harm your relationship, emotional support, and intimacy with your partner.

Contact a personal injury lawyer for advice on filing a loss-of-consortium claim.