A work injury can have wide-ranging effects on you and your family’s lives, many of which deserve financial compensation. Although Workers’ Comp is available to cover many injured workers, it does not cover all areas of compensation, and lawsuits are sometimes necessary to recover additional damages.
Loss of consortium can be part of a work injury lawsuit, but not a Workers’ Comp claim. Loss of consortium claims allow a spouse of an injury victim to get compensation for the effects they face after their spouse’s injury: lost companionship, lost help around the house, etc.
Call Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with our Pennsylvania work injury lawyers today.
Can You Get Loss of Consortium Damages Through Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ Compensation is a no-fault system that reimburses injured workers for three areas of damages:
- Medical bills
- Lost earnings
- Specific loss (paid for certain amputations and other permanent injuries).
This does not compensate for additional damages like property damage, pain and suffering, or loss of consortium. That means that if your spouse was injured, you will not be able to receive any loss of consortium money through their Workers’ Comp claim.
It may still be worth pursuing a Work Comp claim, and you can file both a Work Comp claim and a lawsuit in many cases. You should certainly talk to our Pennsylvania work injury lawyers about filing, but understand that this will not cover loss of consortium.
Can You Get Loss of Consortium Damages Through a Work Injury Lawsuit?
If you file a lawsuit, it may be able to include any reasonable loss of consortium damages you need. However, the right to file a lawsuit is limited in the work injury context:
Right to File an Injury Lawsuit
Workers’ Compensation rules prevent employees from filing lawsuits against their employers for work-related injuries. That means that if the accident was caused by work conditions or work tasks, you cannot sue your employer.
However, you can sue third-party entities, such as
- Customers
- Vendors
- Suppliers
- Equipment manufacturers
- Drivers
- Outside contractors
You can also sue if you were working as an independent contractor, since that “employer” is legally a “client” instead of an “employer.”
Including Claims for Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium in Pennsylvania can cover damages the victim’s spouse suffers. So while the victim sues for their own medical bills, pain and suffering, etc., their spouse can include a claim alongside that for their own harms.
The claims are filed together even though they are technically separate lawsuits.
Proof Needed
To win an injury lawsuit, you have to prove that the defendant breached a legal duty they owed the victim, and that that resulted in damages (including their family’s loss of consortium).
This means:
- Collecting evidence of the defendant’s fault, including witness statements, security footage, etc.
- Getting medical care and treatment to build a record of the injuries and their effect on your activities of daily living, household services, and other spousal abilities
- Working with a lawyer to build a strong case.
What Constitutes Loss of Consortium in Pennsylvania?
Loss of consortium is supposed to cover damages the victim’s spouse faces because of the victim’s injuries. This often includes
- Lost intimacy
- Lost household services
- Lost comfort
- Other lost spousal duties and practices.
Household services – such as mowing the lawn, cooking, cleaning, and making repairs around the house – can be measured by the value of the replacement services. That means the cost of hiring someone else to do it can tell you how much these damages are worth.
Other damages have no clear monetary value, and our lawyers would need to help you put a value on those claims.
What is Required for a Loss of Consortium Claim for a Work Injury?
Putting all of this together, there are four major requirements to make a loss of consortium claim for a work injury:
- A Married Spouse – Engaged or unmarried partners cannot claim loss of consortium.
- A Valid Defendant – If the worker was an employee, work injury lawsuits can only be filed against third parties.
- Proof of Fault – You can only win an injury claim and the loss of consortium claim if you can prove the defendant was at fault.
- Proof of Damages – You can only claim loss of consortium damages you can prove; these damages do not arise in every injury case.
FAQs for Loss of Consortium Claims for Work Injuries in Pennsylvania
Who Files the Loss of Consortium Claim?
Technically, a loss of consortium claim is filed by the spouse against the defendant. This is mostly just a technicality; the claim is a “derivative claim” derived from the victim’s original personal injury lawsuit. We can include a spouse’s loss of consortium claim as part of the same overall case, filings, etc.
How Do I Get Paid for Loss of Consortium After a Work Injury?
Since you cannot get loss of consortium through a Workers’ Comp claim, you would have to file a separate personal injury lawsuit. This typically means suing a third-party defendant – someone other than your employer.
Can Children File Loss of Consortium Claims?
While loss of consortium is traditionally a claim for the spouse only, some states have expanded their laws to allow children to claim loss of consortium damages for parental affection, etc. Pennsylvania does not allow this; only spouses can make loss of consortium claims.
Can I File a Lawsuit if I Also File a Workers’ Comp Claim?
While your Workers’ Comp claim cannot pay for pain and suffering, it can pay for your injuries, a portion of your lost earnings, and other damages, and often does so faster than a lawsuit would. It is often worth filing for Workers’ Comp, even if you also plan on suing.
Can Employers/Insurance Carriers Subrogate Loss of Consortium Damages?
If you file and win both a Work Comp claim and a personal injury lawsuit, you might get paid twice for some damages (e.g., medical bills). Your employer/their insurance carrier can demand you pay them back for anything they spent, but they cannot touch damages beyond the amounts they paid you.
Because the loss of consortium claim is technically filed by the spouse and not the injured worker, the insurance carrier cannot touch that money in a subrogation claim. This protects this money for your family, but courts cannot unfairly push all of the damages into loss of consortium just to protect them from subrogation.
Call Our Pennsylvania Work Injury Attorneys Today
For a free review of your case, call (267) 651-7945 to speak with the Philadelphia work injury lawyers at Cardamone Law.
