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Torts • Family Rights
TORT#125
Legal Definition
Husbands and wives can bring actions for interference with consortium and services caused by a defendant's intentional or negligent tortious conduct.
Parents can bring actions for loss of a child's services, but children have no similar right.
Parents can bring actions for loss of a child's services, but children have no similar right.
Plain English Explanation
There are many benefits to being married. Companionship, love, sex, the ability to divide up chores, or even having someone to watch trashy reality TV shows with. These things all have value, even if they weren't necessarily the reason two people decided to get married in the first place. So when someone causes harm to a spouse, which results in the loss of one or more of these benefits, either spouse may be able to sue for such a loss.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Sam and Amy get married. Amy works while Sam maintains the house and prepares meals. One day, Bob is driving drunk and crashes into Sam's car. Sam is paralyzed. Result: In addition to all the things Sam may sue Bob for, Amy may be able to sue for the "lost value" of her now-paralyzed husband. The value of maintaining the house, preparing meals, having sex, walks in the park, vacations at the beach, and other things that are no longer possible due to Bob's actions.
