When someone is seriously hurt, the injury doesn’t only affect them. A spouse may lose the companionship, affection, and shared life the couple had before, and Illinois law recognizes that harm through a claim called loss of consortium. In a nonfatal injury case, loss of consortium is a separate claim belonging to the injured person’s spouse.
At Duncan Law Group, we help families throughout Chicago and across Illinois understand the full impact of a serious injury and pursue compensation for all of it, including the harm to their relationships. Contact Duncan Law Group at (312) 202-3283 for a free consultation.
What Does Loss of Consortium Mean?
Loss of consortium is the loss a spouse suffers when an injury caused by someone else’s negligence damages the marital relationship. It covers the personal and practical parts of a shared life that the injured spouse can no longer provide the way they did before.
Loss of Companionship, Affection, and Intimacy
The heart of the claim is the relationship itself. A spouse may lose the companionship of shared activities, conversation, and emotional support. A brain injury may change a partner’s personality, and chronic pain or paralysis can limit physical affection and intimacy. These losses are real even though they don’t come with a bill.
Changes to Household Support and Shared Responsibilities
Consortium also includes the services spouses provide each other. If an injured spouse can no longer cook, maintain the home, help raise the children, or handle family finances, the other spouse often absorbs that work. The value of those lost contributions can be part of the claim.
Who Can Bring a Loss of Consortium Claim in Illinois?
Eligibility depends on the person’s legally recognized relationship to the injured individual and whether the injury was fatal.
Spouses and Legally Recognized Civil Union Partners
A legally married spouse can bring a loss of consortium claim. Illinois also extends the same right to civil union partners. Under the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, a party to a civil union is entitled to the same legal protections and benefits Illinois law gives to spouses, including those that come from common law.
Engagement or cohabitation alone generally does not establish eligibility. If the couple’s marriage, civil union, or other legally recognized relationship was established outside Illinois, an attorney can review whether Illinois recognizes that status for the claim.
How Eligibility Differs for Children, Parents, and Other Family Members
When an injury is not fatal, Illinois generally does not allow children to recover for the loss of a parent’s companionship, or parents to recover for the loss of an injured child’s companionship. The rules change significantly when an injury results in death, as explained below.
How Is Loss of Consortium Different From a Personal Injury Claim?
A loss of consortium claim depends on the underlying injury claim. The injured person must have a valid claim against the at-fault party for the spouse’s claim to succeed.
The Injured Person’s Losses vs. the Spouse’s Losses
The injured person can recover damages for their own losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of a normal life. The spouse can recover damages surrounding what that injury took from the marriage. Illinois generally requires the consortium claim to be joined with the injured spouse’s lawsuit whenever possible. The injured spouse’s share of fault can also reduce or bar the consortium recovery.
Has a serious injury changed your marriage and daily life? Contact Duncan Law Group at (312) 202-3283 for a free consultation about whether a loss of consortium claim may be available.
How Is Loss of Consortium Valued in Illinois?
There is no formula or fixed schedule. A jury, or the parties in settlement, must assign a reasonable dollar value to a loss that is deeply personal. Illinois does not cap these damages in ordinary injury cases, so the evidence matters a great deal.
The Severity and Duration of the Injury
The duration of the injury matters because consortium damages address both losses already experienced and those reasonably certain to occur in the future. Permanent injuries may support greater damages when the evidence shows lasting harm to companionship, intimacy, or support.
How the Injury Has Changed the Relationship
Valuation focuses on the difference between the relationship before and after the injury. A couple who traveled, worked side by side, or shared caregiving duties may experience a dramatic shift when one partner can no longer take part. The length of the marriage and the couple’s life expectancy also matter.
Evidence That Can Support the Claim
Strong claims rest on concrete details, and the most useful evidence often includes:
- Testimony from the spouse: The uninjured spouse can describe the relationship before the injury and the specific ways daily life, companionship, and intimacy have changed since.
- Statements from family and friends: People who knew the couple well can confirm what the marriage looked like before the injury and what they’ve observed since, which adds outside credibility to the spouse’s account.
- Photos, videos, and records of shared activities: Vacations, hobbies, family events, and routines captured before the injury help show the jury the life the couple shared and what has been lost.
- Medical and mental health records: These records document the injury’s physical and emotional effects, such as chronic pain, mobility limits, or personality changes, that affect the relationship.
- Testimony from treating providers: Doctors, therapists, and counselors can explain how the injury limits the person’s ability to participate in family life and whether those limits are likely to be permanent.
How Does Loss of Consortium Apply in a Wrongful Death Case?
When negligence causes a death, the claim works differently. Under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, the lawsuit is filed by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate, not by each family member individually. Any recovery is for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin, and the court decides how it is distributed.
A Surviving Spouse’s Loss of Companionship
A surviving spouse is a primary beneficiary of a wrongful death claim. Damages can account for the loss of the deceased spouse’s companionship, guidance, love, and support, along with financial contributions the family would have received. The Wrongful Death Act also allows damages for grief, sorrow, and mental suffering.
Loss of Society for Other Eligible Family Members
Unlike nonfatal injury cases, a wrongful death claim can account for the losses of other next of kin, such as children or parents. In Illinois, this is generally called loss of society. These family members don’t file separate consortium lawsuits. Their losses are included in the single wrongful death action brought by the personal representative.
What Deadlines Apply to an Illinois Loss of Consortium Claim?
Many Illinois personal injury lawsuits are subject to a two-year filing period under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-203, a loss of consortium claim generally follows the same limitations period as the underlying injury claim. Accrual rules and exceptions can affect the deadline. Medical malpractice claims and claims against local government entities may follow different deadlines or additional timing rules.
Talk to Duncan Law Group About Your Family’s Losses
At Duncan Law Group, our Chicago trial lawyers bring more than 100 years of combined experience to cases where a serious injury or death has changed a family’s life. We take the time to understand what your relationship looked like before the injury, then gather the testimony, records, and other evidence needed to show what was lost. We handle the negotiations with insurance companies, and if a fair settlement isn’t offered, we are ready to take your case to court.
We come to you, and you pay no attorney fees unless we win. With offices in Chicago, Oak Brook, and Moline, we serve families throughout Illinois. Contact Duncan Law Group at (312) 202-3283 to talk about your family’s losses.
