Imagine you’re a two-income household struggling to make ends meet, put food on the table and take care of the needs of your children. Since both you and your spouse have full-time jobs, it’s difficult to get everything that needs to be done to run your home in an easy, healthy and efficient manner.
Now, imagine your spouse unexpectedly gets hurt in a car accident. He or she is so gravely injured, that all the responsibility of working, keeping your house clean, putting food on the table and taking the kids to school falls entirely on you. Life hasn’t been easy after your spouse got injured, but you’re doing your best to get through this difficult time.
Can a loss of consortium claim help you and your family?
If your spouse suffered car accident injuries — due to no fault of his or her own and as result of another party’s negligence — it may be possible to pursue a personal injury claim. If successfully navigated, that claim will bring your spouse much-needed financial assistance to pay for medical care, in-home assistance, lost income and other financial damages.
In addition to the above damages, you may also be able to file a claim — as a part of your spouse’s lawsuit — for loss of consortium damages. Loss of consortium is a term used to describe the financial and emotional damages you have suffered as a result of your spouse’s injuries. Some loss of consortium damages will be concrete and calculable, and others will be abstract and difficult to calculate.
Let’s say your spouse did a lot of work around your house to keep it clean, do the laundry and cook meals for your family. This work has a real and calculable financial value. How much, for example, would it cost to hire a domestic assistant to cook, clean and take care of your children? You might be able to seek these exact damages as a part of your loss of consortium claim. In addition, you can make more abstract damage claims relating to lost quality of life, lost enjoyment, lost marital benefits, lost companionship and more.
Could your family benefit from receiving loss of consortium damages?
Losing the help and companionship of your spouse while he or she is recovering from vehicle crash-related injuries can make life difficult — if not impossible — from an emotional and financial perspective. If you’re suffering like this, you may want to consider filing a loss of consortium claim as a way to make yourself and your family more completely whole.