When a serious personal injury affects not only the injured victim but their spouse — disrupting the marital relationship, companionship, affection, and intimacy that are central to marriage — Nevada law provides a separate claim called “loss of consortium.” This claim belongs to the spouse of the injured person, not to the injured person themselves, and can add significant value to a personal injury case when a serious injury has materially changed the nature of the marriage. Marathon Law Group presents loss of consortium claims alongside personal injury cases throughout Las Vegas and Clark County.
Injured in Las Vegas? Call Marathon Law Group at (702) 522-1808 for a free consultation. Our personal injury attorneys work on contingency — you pay nothing unless we win your case.
What Loss of Consortium Covers in Nevada
Nevada recognizes loss of consortium as a component of non-economic damages in personal injury cases. The consortium claim compensates the injured person’s spouse for the loss of: companionship and society (the ability to enjoy each other’s company, do activities together, share daily life in the way the couple did before the injury); affection and emotional support; sexual intimacy (which serious injuries frequently disrupt — either through physical limitation, pain, medication effects, or psychological impact); assistance and services (tasks the injured spouse could no longer perform — household maintenance, childcare, financial management); and, in wrongful death cases, the entire marital relationship permanently. Loss of consortium is a derivative claim — it flows from the underlying personal injury claim and can only succeed if the injured spouse’s claim succeeds. However, it is technically a separate claim, and the spouse must be a party to the lawsuit to assert it.
Who Can Bring a Loss of Consortium Claim in Nevada?
Nevada’s loss of consortium claim is traditionally limited to legally married spouses. Nevada courts have not consistently extended the claim to registered domestic partners or long-term unmarried cohabitants, though this remains an evolving area of law. Children’s loss of parental consortium claims have been recognized in some Nevada cases for catastrophically injured parents, though the law is less settled than spousal consortium. Proof of the marital relationship (marriage certificate) and specific evidence of how the marriage was affected by the injury (direct testimony from both spouses, and potentially from family and friends who observed the relationship before and after) are necessary to establish the claim.
Proving Loss of Consortium in a Nevada Case
Loss of consortium is proved primarily through testimony — from the injured person’s spouse describing the specific ways the marriage changed after the accident. Concrete examples are more persuasive than abstract descriptions: “we used to hike together every weekend and now we can’t” is stronger than “our quality of life decreased.” Medical records documenting the nature and severity of the injury (which establishes why consortium was affected) and expert testimony about the expected duration of the injuries (to establish future loss) support the claim. Pre-accident marriage quality — evidence that this was a healthy, active, loving relationship before the accident — is part of the factual foundation.
Impact on Settlement Value
A properly presented loss of consortium claim can meaningfully increase the total settlement value of a serious injury case. Insurance companies are aware that a jury may award significant consortium damages when shown a vivid before-and-after picture of a marriage disrupted by serious injury. This awareness can improve settlement negotiations — an insurer who faces a credible consortium claim alongside the primary injury claim may offer more in pre-trial settlement to avoid the risk of a jury’s consortium award.
Contact Marathon Law Group About Your Consortium Claim
If your spouse was seriously injured in a Las Vegas accident, you may have a separate loss of consortium claim. Marathon Law Group presents consortium claims alongside personal injury cases. Call (702) 522-1808 for a free consultation.
If you or a loved one has been injured, contact our experienced Las Vegas car accident attorney at Marathon Law Group. We offer free consultations and only get paid when you win.