Learn why loss of consortium claims require the aid of a skillful and sensitive personal injury attorney.
If you have been reading up on the types of damages that may be available in a personal injury claim, you have probably encountered the term “loss of consortium.” Unlike most types of damages, loss of consortium is not something suffered by the person injured or killed in the accident. Rather, it describes the loss of companionship suffered by that person’s spouse or children.
Relationships Have Value
By allowing for loss of consortium claims, the law clearly supports the idea that relationships have value. The challenge for the personal injury attorney is to quantify that value and convince the court that the victim’s family deserves monetary compensation.
Proving Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium can encompass many different aspects of the parent-child or spousal relationship, but the most common type of loss of consortium claim is made for decreased or limited sexual activity between married couples. This type of claim is typically reserved for cases where the injury or loss was severe, such as a case of paralysis or wrongful death.
While the process of filing any kind of personal injury or wrongful death claim is never easy on the victim or their family, unfortunately loss of consortium claims can be particularly invasive and emotionally taxing.
In order to prove loss of consortium for loss of sexual activity, an attorney must establish:
- What the couple’s sex life was like before the accident
- What their sex life is like now
While the family’s own personal injury attorney will handle this information in as sensitive manner as possible, the defense attorney will not. The defense will likely ask all kinds of personal questions about sexual performance such as which preferred sexual positions the injured party can no longer perform, how often they used to use these positions, whether the sex is still satisfying, etc.
All of this information about the injured person and their spouse’s private affairs will go into the depositions and become public record.
Is It Worth It?
Due to the highly emotional and personal nature of loss of consortium claims based on sex, victims naturally want to know that they have a very strong chance of recovering ample compensation before proceeding with litigation. If you want to know if you have a good case for a loss of consortium claim, just ask Fernando D. Vargas. He will be happy to provide a free initial case evaluation. If your case has merit and you decide to hire him, he will represent you at no charge until you win a settlement.
