What is Loss of Consortium?

If you know someone who has been hurt in an accident, you may have heard them talk about recovering damages for "loss of consortium," but you may not know what that is. If you have been injured because of someone else's carelessness or negligence, you may wonder whether you have a claim for loss of consortium.

Understanding Loss of Consortium

The first thing to understand about loss of consortium is that the damages are not sought by the person suffering the injury, but his/her spouse. Loss of consortium does not refer to any injury suffered by the accident victim. Instead, the concept acknowledges that, when you suffer an injury, there may be another person who suffer loss because of that injury. Though loss of consortium is often thought of as loss of sexual intimacy with an injury victim, the concept is much broader in most jurisdictions. It can refer to any loss of affection, love, emotional support, companionship and or any other function the injured person provided as a spouse. For example, a person may be hurt in a motor vehicle accident and suffer brain injury, such that they are in a vegetative state or a coma or have short or long-term memory loss. As a result, the spouse of the injured person may be without their love, attention, care, emotional support or nurturing for a significant period of time.

Contact the Attorneys at Metzger & Kleiner

At Metzger & Kleiner, we provide a free initial consultation to every client. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney, contact us by e-mail or call our office at 215-622-2210 in Philadelphia, 610-563-2186 in the Lehigh Valley, or toll free at 800-228-1760. We take all personal injury accident claims on a contingency basis. We won't charge attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your losses.