Impact of Injured Person’s Unrelated Death on the Spouse’s Loss of Consortium Claim

Published: March 24, 2023

By: Richard Ogrodowski

In my last post, I discussed the impact on future damages when an injured person dies from a cause unrelated to the negligence or strict products liability giving rise to the lawsuit. I left for a future post the effect of an injured person’s unrelated death on their spouse’s loss of consortium claim. So, what is a loss of consortium claim? A loss of consortium “claim is intended to compensate one for the loss of services, society, and conjugal affection of one’s spouse occasioned by an injury to that spouse.” Amato v. Bell & Gossett, 116 A.3d 607, 625-26 (Pa. Super. 2015) https://casetext.com/case/amato-v-bell-gossett

What happens to the loss of consortium claim when the injured spouse’s death is unrelated to the underlying negligence or product liability claim? The law in Pennsylvania is clear that the loss of consortium claim is not eliminated by the injured spouse’s death. Rather, the surviving spouse still has an independent of loss of consortium claim and may seek damages for the period of time from the date of the deceased spouse’s original injury to the date of the deceased spouse’s death. Amato, 116 A.3d at 626.

Rich Ogrodowski

Goldsmith & Ogrodowski, LLC

Rich’s bio can be viewed here: https://golawllc.com/e-richard-ogrodowski/