When someone suffers a serious injury in an accident, including accidents on construction sites such as those caused by exposure to toxic substances, the physical and emotional toll doesn’t stop with them. Their spouse experiences profound losses, too. The partner who’s always been there suddenly can’t participate in the life you built together. You’re watching someone you love struggle through recovery, and your own world has been turned upside down. Ohio law actually recognizes this through loss of consortium claims. These allow spouses to seek their own damages when an injury fundamentally changes their marriage.
What Loss Of Consortium Is
Loss of consortium refers to the damage an injury causes to a marital relationship. This isn’t about the injured spouse’s pain and suffering. It’s about what you’ve lost as their partner. Think about it. When your spouse can no longer do the activities you once shared, when physical intimacy becomes impossible, or when you’ve basically become a full-time caregiver instead of an equal partner, your life has changed dramatically. You didn’t cause the accident. But you’re living with the consequences every single day.
Types Of Damages In Consortium Claims
Ohio courts recognize several categories of loss that spouses can claim:
- Loss of companionship and society: The everyday interactions, shared experiences, and emotional connection that make up a marriage
- Loss of sexual relations: Physical intimacy that becomes impossible or severely limited due to injury
- Loss of services: Household tasks, childcare, home maintenance, and other contributions your spouse can no longer provide
- Loss of affection and moral support: The emotional sustenance and comfort that partners provide each other
The Cleveland Toxic Exposure Lawyer handling your case will evaluate how the injury has affected your specific relationship. Every marriage is different. Courts understand that consortium losses vary widely based on what your particular relationship looked like before the accident.
Who Can File These Claims In Ohio
Unmarried partners don’t have standing to file these claims. Neither do fiancés or domestic partners, regardless of how long you’ve been together or how committed your relationship is. The law draws a hard line here. The timing of your marriage matters too. You must have been married when the injury happened. Getting married after the accident doesn’t create a right to consortium damages for losses that occurred before you said your vows.
How These Claims Work With Injury Cases
Loss of consortium is what lawyers call a derivative claim. It exists only because the primary injury claim exists. You can’t file a consortium claim separately from your spouse’s personal injury case. Instead, it’s typically added as an additional claim within the same lawsuit. At Joseph Law Group, LLC, we handle both claims together. We present a complete picture of how the accident has affected your family. This approach often leads to better overall results because it shows the full scope of damages the defendant’s negligence has caused.
Proving Your Consortium Claim
Your own testimony about daily life before and after the injury carries weight. Medical records showing your spouse’s limitations and prognosis help establish the permanence of changes you’re describing. Friends and family who’ve observed changes in your relationship can testify about what they’ve seen. Documentation of additional responsibilities you’ve had to assume tells part of the story, too. The strength of your consortium claim often depends on the severity of the underlying injury. Catastrophic injuries that cause permanent disability typically support stronger consortium claims than injuries where full recovery is expected. That’s just reality.
Common Challenges With These Claims
Defense attorneys sometimes try to minimize consortium claims by arguing that marital problems existed before the accident. They’ll scrutinize your relationship history, looking for evidence of prior difficulties. Any past separation or couples counseling. Anything they can find to reduce your compensation. This is why honest, upfront communication with your attorney about your marriage is so important. We need to know what we’re dealing with.
Loss of consortium claims add another layer to already complex personal injury cases. You need a Cleveland Toxic Exposure Lawyer who understands how to present these intimate losses to insurance adjusters and juries in a way that’s both dignified and compelling. It’s a delicate balance. We’ve seen how serious injuries transform families. Beyond medical bills and lost wages, these accidents steal the life couples have built together. The defendant’s negligence didn’t just hurt your spouse, it hurt you, too. If your spouse has suffered a serious injury due to someone else’s carelessness, you deserve compensation for what you’ve lost. Contact our team to discuss both your spouse’s injury claim and your potential consortium claim during the same case.
