Suffering an injury from another’s wrongful acts can be devastating not only for the injured party but also for their spouse. While your priority is the recovery and comfort of your spouse after an accident, do not ignore the effects your spouse’s injury has on you directly.
If your spouse was injured or lost their life in an accident, Mississippi law allows you to recover damages for the effect the accident has had on your marital relationship. The law refers to this kind of loss as damages for loss of consortium.
What Is Loss of Consortium?
Damages for loss of consortium are meant to cover the loss of affection and interactions with your spouse after an injurious event. You can also receive loss of consortium damages for the loss of services your spouse used to perform for you. Both husbands and wives can recover damages for loss of consortium in personal injury cases.
There are many ways to define loss of consortium. Mississippi case law recognizes a spouse’s right to recover for loss of consortium under many circumstances. These circumstances include when the uninjured spouse suffers from loss of:
- Society;
- Companionship;
- Love;
- Affection,
- Support;
- Intimate relations;
- Spousal comfort;
- Ability to live together;
- Ability to eat the same table;
- Capacity to participate together in the same activities;
- Ability to participate together in household responsibilities and duties; and
- Loss of services that the injured spouse performed for the uninjured spouse.
Your damages for loss of consortium are non-economic damages akin to damages that injury victims receive in personal injury lawsuits. While you cannot sue to personally receive damages for your spouse’s pain and suffering, you can sue to receive damages for the effect your spouse’s pain and suffering has on you.
How to Prove Loss of Consortium
You can prove loss of consortium through testimony, financial statements, and medical records. Any documents or accounts that prove the change in your marriage can be helpful to your claim.
After your spouse suffers an injury, or after you suffer the loss of a spouse, you should take note of all the ways your life has changed due to your spouse’s impairments or absence.
This activity can be painful, but it is necessary for asserting your rights. You might notice that you can no longer sleep in the same bed with your spouse or your spouse may be more irritable and less comforting than before, due to their pain.
You may notice that your spouse can no longer participate in conversations about household budgeting or perform household chores. These are all valid reasons to seek compensation for loss of consortium.
If you need medical treatment for your own stress and anxiety due to your spouse’s suffering, you can receive compensation for your needs as well.
When Can You File a Mississippi Loss of Consortium Claim?
The Mississippi loss of consortium statute states that there is a separate cause of action for loss of consortium after negligent injury of a spouse. Mississippi law does not limit loss of consortium damages to negligence cases.
You can sue for loss of consortium due to wrongful acts of others in many kinds of cases including:
- Negligence,
- Wrongful death,
- Wrongful intentional acts,
- Defective products,
- Dangerous premises,
- Neglect, and
- Abuse.
There are different statutes of limitations to file a loss of consortium claim depending on which theory of recovery applies to your case. You should contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible after an injurious event so that the attorney can meet the applicable deadlines and win the compensation you deserve for your losses.
Damage Limits for Loss of Consortium in Medical Malpractice Claims
You may seek loss of consortium damages due to medical malpractice committed against your spouse. If you sue for loss of consortium in a medical malpractice case, Mississippi law limits your recovery.
For medical malpractice suits against healthcare providers and institutions due to a breach of the standard of care, non-economic damages, including loss of consortium, cannot exceed $500,000.
For any other medical malpractice suits, non-economic damages like loss of consortium cannot exceed $1 million.
Contact an Attorney Immediately to Protect Your Rights and Receive Just Compensation
Handling the suffering and loss of a spouse is painful, draining, and time-consuming. You and your spouse are a unit. Not only should your spouse receive compensation for their injuries, but you should receive compensation for your pain.
The law can compensate you for your pain through a loss of consortium claim. This compensation cannot replace what you have lost, but a wrongful actor should be held legally accountable for their actions.
For 40 years, Harris Law Firm, PLLC, has sought justice for victims of injury and their loved ones. We serve our clients with compassion, top-quality service, and attention to each client’s personal needs.
We are aggressive and experienced and we want to support you in your time of need. Contact us today or call us at 662-276-9504 for a free case review.
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