What if an injury harms my married life?
Reviewed by Andrew (Andy) R. Gillin
California State Bar #45226 ↗ · Approval recorded November 4, 2026
How we record review approvalIf a third party injures your spouse, your married life may change. You may have a claim for that loss. It is called loss of consortium. It is separate from the injured person’s own claim.
In this guide
Here’s an example
After a serious injury, a married couple can no longer share parts of daily life as before. They ask which losses belong in the injury claim and which may support a separate spouse’s claim.
A made-up example to explain the idea. Your facts may lead to a different answer.How the rule works
The claim can concern lost care, affection, or intimacy. You still need proof of the right legal bond, a wrongful injury, and how it harmed your shared life.
Legal references: [1] CACI No. 3920 — Loss of consortium (2026 edition) · [2] Civil Code § 1431.2 — Noneconomic damages and fault
The loss is about the relationship
A shared life includes more than income. The injury may change the help, care, comfort, and closeness you had. The injury’s name alone does not prove those changes.
The Rodriguez decision let a spouse’s claim go forward. It kept that loss apart from costs in the injured person’s own claim. The same loss cannot simply be paid twice.
Keep relationship loss separate from the injured person’s own damages.
What about nursing and lost pay?
A spouse may give up work to provide care. The value of that care and those lost wages cannot simply be added to this claim. The jury instruction lists excluded items. Other possible claims need their own review.
If the injured person later dies, other claims can arise. Each has its own rules. Do not assume that the same loss or period of time can be counted twice.
If a death is involved, compare wrongful death and survival claims.
For work-loss proof, read lost earnings after injury.
What can change the answer?
A close bond alone does not give everyone this claim. Legal status and timing matter. Ask how the rules apply to your relationship. A claim after a death has different rules.
Questions people ask
Is this the same as my own pain-and-suffering claim?
No. It concerns the spouse’s loss of parts of the relationship. The injured person’s own harm is a different issue. The claims may depend on some of the same facts.
Court decisions behind this answer
A case can help explain a rule. Its facts and limits matter too.
Rodriguez v. Bethlehem Steel Corp.
Supreme Court of California · 1974
12 Cal.3d 382, pp. 408–409
The court recognized a spouse’s claim for loss of companionship and other parts of married life after injury.
It did not give every relative a claim. It also rejected paying twice for the same nursing loss.
Case applicability reviewed as recorded above.
A useful next step
Describe what changed without guessing at a dollar value. Ask a lawyer to review eligibility, proof, and the filing dates.
If you are unsure which rule applies, a lawyer can review your facts and any deadlines. Learn about GJEL’s injury representation.
The law behind this guide
The references below support the legal discussion. Their application depends on the facts.
- CACI No. 3920 — Loss of consortium (2026 edition) ↗Jury instructions · Review recorded above
- Civil Code § 1431.2 — Noneconomic damages and fault ↗Statute · Review recorded above
- Rodriguez v. Bethlehem Steel Corp. (1974) 12 Cal.3d 382 ↗Case law · Review recorded above
- CACI No. 3905A — Noneconomic harm (2026 edition) ↗Jury instructions · Review recorded above
- Code of Civil Procedure § 377.30 — Survival of a claim ↗Statute · Review recorded above
- Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60 — Wrongful death claims ↗Statute · Review recorded above
Updated 2026-11-04. Read our editorial standards.