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Loss of consortium is a claim for the harm a serious injury causes to a marriage.
In Illinois, a spouse may seek compensation when another person’s negligence deprives them of companionship, affection, intimacy, support, services, and other benefits of the marital relationship.
The claim belongs to the uninjured spouse, not the person who was physically hurt. It is usually pursued alongside the injured spouse’s personal injury case.
If a serious injury has affected your marriage after an accident in Chicago, Conboy Law can evaluate whether a loss of consortium claim may be available. Call 312-726-9000 for a free consultation.
Justice feels closer when the right lawyers are on your side.
What Does Loss of Consortium Mean?
Loss of consortium refers to harm to the relationship between spouses caused by one spouse’s serious injury.
Illinois courts have recognized loss of consortium as including losses involving:
- Companionship
- Society
- Affection
- Comfort
- Sexual relations
- Support
- Services performed within the marriage
Illinois Supreme Court decisions describe consortium as including the companionship and benefits of marriage as well as material services a spouse may lose because of the other spouse’s injury.
The claim is meant to recognize that a serious injury can affect more than the injured person. It can also fundamentally change daily life for their spouse.
Who Can File a Loss of Consortium Claim in Illinois?
In a typical non-fatal personal injury case, the spouse of the injured person may bring a loss of consortium claim. Both husbands and wives can recover for loss of consortium under Illinois law. Illinois pattern jury instructions specifically recognize claims by either spouse.
It is important not to overstate who may bring this particular claim.
Illinois courts have held that, in ordinary negligence cases involving a non-fatal injury:
- Parents generally do not have a loss-of-society claim for injuries to a child.
- Children generally do not have a loss-of-society claim for injuries to a parent.
Other legal claims involving family relationships may exist in different circumstances, especially after a death, but they should not automatically be labeled loss of consortium.
Is Loss of Consortium a Separate Claim?
Yes. A loss of consortium claim belongs to the spouse who experienced the loss. Illinois courts describe it as an independent action for injuries suffered by that spouse, such as loss of support and society.
However, the claim is closely tied to the injured spouse’s underlying personal injury case. Illinois jury instructions also state that the loss of consortium action must be joined with the principal personal injury action. So while the damages belong to the uninjured spouse, the claim normally proceeds alongside the claim arising from the physical injury.
What Does a Loss of Consortium Claim Cover?
The damages focus on how the injury changed the marriage.
Loss of Companionship
A serious injury may prevent spouses from enjoying activities they previously shared.
For example, the injured spouse may no longer be able to travel, exercise, attend social events, or participate in hobbies together.
Loss of Affection and Emotional Support
An injury can affect a spouse’s ability to provide the same emotional support, comfort, affection, and companionship that existed before the accident.
Loss of Sexual Intimacy
Physical injuries, chronic pain, disability, medication, or psychological trauma may affect the couple’s sexual relationship.
Loss of intimacy is one part of consortium, but it is not the entire claim.
Loss of Household Services
The injured spouse may no longer be able to:
- Cook
- Clean
- Drive
- Maintain the home
- Care for children
- Perform household repairs
- Run errands
The uninjured spouse may have to take over many of those responsibilities.
Loss of Support
A severe injury can also alter the practical support spouses provide each other in daily life. The focus is on how the marital relationship actually changed because of the injury.
What Types of Injuries Can Lead to a Loss of Consortium Claim?
There is no single injury that automatically creates a loss of consortium claim. The issue is how seriously the injury affects the marriage.
Claims may arise after injuries such as:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Paralysis
- Serious fractures
- Amputations
- Burns
- Organ damage
- Severe chronic pain
- Permanent disability
- Serious medical malpractice injuries
A relatively minor injury that causes temporary inconvenience may provide little basis for a substantial consortium claim.
A catastrophic injury that permanently changes communication, mobility, intimacy, or family responsibilities can have a much greater effect.
How Do You Prove Loss of Consortium?
Unlike an X-ray or medical bill, loss of consortium does not have a simple dollar figure attached to it. The claim is usually proven through evidence showing what the marriage was like before the injury and how it changed afterward.
Useful evidence may include:
- Testimony from both spouses
- Medical records
- Evidence of permanent restrictions
- Testimony from family members or friends
- Documentation showing changes in household responsibilities
- Evidence of activities the couple can no longer enjoy
- Photographs or other records of their pre-injury lifestyle
- Evidence concerning future disability or care needs
The more specific the evidence, the more useful it can be.
Simply saying “our relationship changed” may be less persuasive than explaining how the injury affected particular routines, responsibilities, plans, or forms of companionship.
How Is Loss of Consortium Valued?
There is no fixed formula. You cannot calculate loss of consortium by multiplying medical bills or lost wages.
Factors may include:
- Severity of the injured spouse’s condition
- Whether the injury is temporary or permanent
- Length of the marriage
- Nature of the relationship before the injury
- Changes in household responsibilities
- Loss of companionship
- Effect on intimacy
- Changes in emotional support
- Long-term disability
- Credibility of the evidence
A jury may ultimately be asked to determine a reasonable value based on the evidence.
That is why online “average loss of consortium settlements” are usually not very helpful. Two families can experience very different relationship losses even when the physical injuries appear similar.
Can Comparative Fault Reduce Loss of Consortium Damages?
Yes. This is an important Illinois rule. If the injured spouse was partly responsible for the accident, that percentage of fault can also reduce the other spouse’s loss of consortium recovery.
The Illinois Supreme Court held in Blagg v. Illinois F.W.D. Truck & Equipment Co. that a consortium recovery is limited by the injured spouse’s comparative negligence.
For example, suppose:
- Loss of consortium damages are valued at $100,000.
- The injured spouse is found 20% at fault.
The consortium recovery may also be reduced by 20%. This is one reason fault disputes in the underlying accident can affect both spouses’ claims.
Can You Recover Loss of Consortium After a Car Accident?
Potentially, yes. A serious car accident can produce injuries that dramatically alter a marriage.
For example, one spouse may:
- Lose mobility
- Require assistance with daily activities
- Be unable to work
- Experience permanent pain
- Lose the ability to participate in family activities
- Require long-term medical care
If another driver’s negligence caused those injuries, the injured spouse may pursue a personal injury claim while the other spouse may have a separate loss of consortium claim.
Can Loss of Consortium Apply to Medical Malpractice?
Yes. A medical malpractice injury can also affect the marital relationship.
Examples may include:
- Surgical injuries
- Permanent nerve damage
- Paralysis
- Delayed diagnosis causing severe disability
- Birth-related injuries affecting the mother
- Loss of reproductive function
- Serious medication errors
The spouse’s consortium claim is usually tied to the success of the underlying malpractice case.
Illinois medical malpractice claims also involve separate procedural rules, including the Section 2-622 health-professional review requirement.
Is Loss of Consortium the Same as Pain and Suffering?
No. They compensate different people for different losses.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering damages belong to the injured person. They compensate for the physical and emotional effects of the injury.
Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium damages belong to the injured person’s spouse. They compensate for harm to the marital relationship. Both types of damages may arise from the same accident, but they address different injuries.
Is Loss of Consortium the Same as Wrongful Death Damages?
No. This distinction is important.
A traditional loss of consortium claim generally involves a spouse who survives but is seriously injured.
When an injury causes death, the claim is usually handled under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act instead.
Illinois wrongful death recoveries are brought by the personal representative for the benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin. Wrongful death damages can include losses involving society and companionship, but the legal framework is different from an ordinary non-fatal loss of consortium claim.
Can Punitive Damages Be Awarded for Loss of Consortium?
Not as part of the loss of consortium claim itself.
Illinois jury instructions state that punitive damages are not available in an action for loss of consortium. Punitive damages may potentially arise under other claims when Illinois law allows them, but they should not be treated as consortium damages.
How Long Do You Have to File a Loss of Consortium Claim in Illinois?
Illinois specifically addresses this issue in 735 ILCS 5/13-203.
A loss of consortium action generally must be filed within the same time period that applies to the injured person’s underlying personal injury claim. If the injured person’s filing period is legally extended or tolled under certain statutes, the consortium deadline generally follows that extension as well.
For many ordinary Illinois personal injury cases, that means a two-year filing period may apply.
However, medical malpractice, government claims, minors, and other situations can involve different deadlines. Do not calculate the filing date from a general rule without checking the specific underlying claim.
Does Divorce Affect a Loss of Consortium Claim?
Potentially. Loss of consortium is based on harm to the marital relationship, so the existence and condition of that relationship can matter.
A defendant may examine:
- Whether the spouses were married when the injury occurred
- Whether they were living together
- Whether the marriage was already seriously strained
- Whether separation or divorce occurred afterward
- Whether the injury actually caused the claimed relationship losses
That does not mean a marriage has to be perfect to support a claim. It means the claimant must prove actual loss caused by the injury.
Can an Insurance Company Challenge a Loss of Consortium Claim?
Yes. An insurer may argue that:
- The injury was not severe enough to substantially affect the marriage
- The claimed relationship problems existed before the accident
- The effects were temporary
- The evidence does not support the amount demanded
- The injured spouse shares fault for the accident
- The limitations resulted from an unrelated condition
Because consortium damages are intangible, documentation and credible testimony can be especially important.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
One example is a spouse who can no longer participate in household activities, intimacy, travel, and shared hobbies because a serious spinal injury left them permanently disabled.
No. Sexual intimacy is only one part of the claim. Consortium can also include companionship, affection, support, society, and household services.
Generally not in an ordinary negligence case involving a non-fatal injury. Illinois courts have rejected claims by children for loss of a parent’s society in that context.
No reliable average can predict the value of a specific claim. The amount depends on how seriously the injury changed the marriage and the strength of the supporting evidence.
The claim belongs to the spouse who suffered the relationship loss, not the spouse who suffered the physical injury.
Get clarity, confidence, and powerful representation.
Talk to Conboy Law About a Loss of Consortium Claim
A serious injury can change far more than one person’s health. It can also affect companionship, intimacy, household responsibilities, and the day-to-day relationship between spouses.
Conboy Law can evaluate both the underlying personal injury case and whether the injured person’s spouse has a valid loss of consortium claim under Illinois law.
Call Conboy Law at 312-726-9000 for a free consultation.
Joseph M. Conboy is the founding attorney of Conboy Law and represents victims and families in serious personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases throughout Illinois. He has obtained numerous multi-million-dollar results and has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star. As the firm’s primary litigator, he works closely with clients to build strategies tailored to the facts of each case.
