Loss of Consortium
Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium claims gives compensation to the disturbance of a married couple’s overall quality of life because of a partner’s injury.
These claims are based on the claimant’s life partner’s right to companionship, love, affection, and intimacy coming about because of the marriage and an accident or personal injury has caused a strain on those rights.
Loss of consortium claims also incorporates compensation for the inability of the injured to play out their usual family obligations. These might include:
- Preparing family meals,
- Cleaning around the home,
- Driving the children around,
- Yard work, and
- Simple errands like going grocery shopping
Loss of consortium claims also allows the spouse to receive compensation for emotional trouble they endure as well. While their spouse was involved in a life-altering incident, it affects them as well. The claimant for loss of consortium experiences emotional stresses by having to deal with the changes in personality, the struggling and complaining about the injury, and other emotional issues.
If your companion has been harmed and it has disturbed your marital relationship, you should talk to an attorney, like a personal injury attorney in Atlanta, GA from a law firm like The Lynch Law Group, about a loss of consortium claim.
Getting a Loss of Consortium Claim
Laws vary from state to state but generally only martial partners can bring loss of consortium claims. Much like a personal injury claim, loss of consortium claims have statutes of limitations and must be filed within 4 years of the injury date.
Derivative in Nature
Loss of consortium claims are derivative. This means that the deficiency of consortium claim exists provided that the harmed companion’s claim for damage is open. Therefore, once the harmed spouse’s claim is closed, the other spouse cannot file a claim.
The Success of a Loss of Consortium Claim
To decide if you have a fruitful loss of consortium claim, it is best to hire an attorney that will be able to review the facts and determine whether the injury upset the marriage.
Assuming the marriage was not stable preceding the injury, the claiming spouse probably won’t have a fruitful loss of consortium claim. Nonetheless, if the marriage was healthy preceding the injury and it disturbed the marriage, the claiming companion is bound to have a successful consortium claim.
Loss of consortium settlements can be hard to calculate because they address the intangible impacts of a companion’s injury. They do exclude compensation for things like lost wages, medical costs, and decreased earning capacity that may be covered in a personal injury claim.
Loss of consortium settlements are calculated by these factors:
- The relationship between you and your companion;
- The stability of your marriage before the injury;
- The distinctions in your relationship after the injury;
- The age and future of both you and your companion;
- How many children you have; and
- The seriousness of the injury’s disturbance to the marital relationship.
Talking to an injury lawyer is the best way to get a better understanding of the potential outcomes of a loss of consortium settlement. Speak to one today.
