Loss of Consortium Claims

Many of the clients we represent are married individuals. When they are seriously injured, obviously, their spouses are adversely affected. The emotional toll of caring for an injured spouse, worrying about their health and financial issues and being overwhelmed by dealing with the totality of a serious injury case can be debilitating. The spouse of the actual client may be emotionally taxed and physically burdened by increased demands and therefore entitled to compensation for their damages. The question is whether a loss of consortium claim should be asserted.
Our experience indicates that Georgia juries do not typically award very much money on loss of consortium claims unless the claim is based on a serious injury which resulted in real and palpable damage to the innocent spouse. While every spouse suffers inconvenience and hardship caused by an injury to their significant other, most Georgia juries tend to believe that this is a part of a marriage. . . “the for better or worse” part. Compensation is typically not awarded for performing what is expected of someone but when the demands are truly extraordinary and the burdens heavy and the injuries and damages significant, Georgia juries will award consortium damages.
There is a common myth that loss of consortium claims only involve loss of sexual services. This is not the case at all. While we have had cases where a spouse’s sexual organs have been damaged in an accident such that they could no longer have conjugal relations, and while juries are obviously sympathetic to such a loss of consortium claim, the typical loss of consortium claim not only involves a loss of conjugal relations but a loss of society, affection and comfort as a whole as well as an increase in the demands and burdens caused by the entire ordeal upon the innocent spouse.
It is not unusual that an injury victim is unable to offer the affection and companionship that he or she was able to provide before an accident. Obviously, they may not be able to help with household chores nor may they be able to take care of themselves thus requiring their spouse to not only run the household but also be responsible for their mental and medical condition. When the burdens are great and the equities require it, Georgia juries will respond. In the typical average case, however, Georgia juries expect spouses to do what is required of them and do not expect them to be rewarded financial compensation for performing their expected spousal duties. Thus, our experience indicates that loss of consortium claims should typically be reserved for the more significant case where the losses are fairly dramatic and easy to demonstrate.