Also known as: loss-of-consortium · consortium claim · loss of society
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A derivative tort claim allowing one spouse to recover damages for the loss of society, services, companionship, affection, and sexual relations caused by a third party's tortious injury to the other spouse. The claim also covers reasonable expenses the uninjured spouse incurs for the injured spouse's medical care.
Luis Lopez suffered severe burns when a deep fryer exploded at his workplace. His wife Laura Lewis paid for childcare and lost his household help and intimacy during his recovery. Laura filed a separate action for loss of consortium after Luis settled his own injury suit. The court dismissed her claim because she had not joined it with Luis's action when joinder was possible.
Luke Latham, a crew member on a cargo ship, drowned after falling overboard during a storm. His wife Layla Lane sued the shipowner seeking loss-of-society damages in addition to pecuniary losses. The court applied the federal maritime wrongful-death statute to determine whether her relational losses were recoverable.
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Lamar Lewis was exposed to asbestos at work and later developed a compensable disease. His wife Lucas Lee sought to include a loss-of-consortium claim in a nationwide class settlement. The settlement terms expressly excluded such derivative claims by family members, leaving her to pursue an individual action outside the class.
After one partner in a legally married same-sex couple suffered permanent mobility loss from a car accident, the uninjured spouse sought damages for loss of consortium. The court recognized the claim because state law treated the marriage the same as any other for purposes of derivative tort recovery.
An employee at Lattice Systems suffered a disabling back injury on the job. His spouse filed a loss-of-consortium action against the employer, alleging the injury eliminated household services and sexual relations. The court treated the claim as derivative of the employee's underlying tort recovery.
A defective medical device caused permanent injury to one spouse. The uninjured spouse sued the manufacturer for loss of consortium, citing the resulting loss of companionship and added medical expenses. The court permitted the claim once the manufacturer's liability to the injured spouse was established.
Yes. The Restatement requires joinder of the loss-of-society-and-services claim with the action for bodily harm unless joinder is impossible. Recovery is allowed only when the claims proceed together.
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The plaintiff must show tortious conduct by the defendant that caused bodily harm to the injured spouse, plus resulting loss of society, services, sexual capacity, or reasonable medical expenses incurred by the claiming spouse.
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The claim remains independent, but failure to join it with the original injury suit when joinder was possible bars separate recovery. Wrongful-death statutes may allow additional relational damages depending on their wording.
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Intentional conduct that compels spouses to live apart can give rise to liability for harm to marital interests, including loss of consortium, even without physical injury to the confined spouse.
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…reduced inheritance taxes upon the death of a spouse, compensation if a spouse dies as a result of a work-related injury, or loss of consortium damages in tort suits. But receiving governmental recognition and benefits has nothing to do with any understanding of “liberty” that the Framers would have recognized. To the extent that…