When a serious accident injures someone, the physical wounds are often the most visible part of the story. What can be just as real, but far less visible, is the toll it takes on a marriage. A husband or wife may watch their spouse’s personality, health, and daily habits change overnight, even though they were never physically hurt themselves. This kind of loss touches nearly every part of married life, and Colorado law gives it its own name and its own path to compensation.

Our attorneys at Mintz Law Firm see this side of an injury case often, especially in claims tied to a catastrophic injury or a wrongful death. Spouses frequently do not realize that Colorado law lets them seek their own compensation for what they lost, separate from what their partner is owed. Before filing this type of claim, it helps to know exactly what the law covers and who qualifies.

What Is Loss of Consortium?

Loss of consortium is a legal claim that allows a spouse to recover for the loss of the intangible parts of a marriage after their partner is seriously hurt or killed by someone else’s carelessness. These losses include companionship, comfort, affection, and the everyday partnership that makes up married life. The claim is separate from the injured spouse’s own case for medical bills or lost income. Instead, it recognizes that a spouse can be harmed even when they were nowhere near the accident.

Courts across the country describe this harm in similar language. Model jury instructions on loss of consortium ask jurors to weigh the loss of company, comfort, moral support, and shared activities between spouses, along with any loss of physical intimacy caused by the injury. While every state writes its own version of this claim, the core idea stays the same. A serious injury can quietly damage a marriage in ways a jury is asked to measure in dollars.

Can You Claim Loss of Consortium in Colorado?

Colorado allows a claim for loss of consortium, though the right to bring one is limited. Under C.R.S. § 14-2-209, both spouses share an equal right to recover for loss of consortium once one of them is hurt by another person’s negligence. In practice, this means either a husband or a wife can bring the claim, but only if they were legally married to the injured spouse at the time of the accident. Unmarried partners, parents, and adult children typically cannot bring a consortium claim of their own under Colorado law.

A consortium claim is also derivative, meaning it depends on the injured spouse having a valid claim against the at-fault party. Because these damages fall under non-economic compensation, they are also subject to Colorado’s statutory caps on this type of award. A jury will typically weigh the length of the marriage, the couple’s shared responsibilities, and how much the relationship changed because of the injury. Clear, specific examples of what daily life looked like before and after the accident carry far more weight than general statements about feeling different.

What Damages Can Be Recovered for Loss of Consortium?

Every marriage looks different, so the damages available in a consortium claim vary from case to case. A jury may consider losses such as:

• Loss of companionship and shared daily routines
• Loss of comfort, affection, and moral support
• Loss of physical intimacy between spouses
• New caregiving duties one spouse now carries
• Loss of shared hobbies and family activities

These losses tend to be most visible in cases tied to a catastrophic injury, such as a spinal cord injury or a traumatic brain injury, where one spouse takes on new caregiving responsibilities for the rest of their life. Documenting these changes early, through journals, medical records, and statements from family and friends, can make a real difference in how a consortium claim is valued.

Mintz Law Firm Is Ready to Help With Your Consortium Claim

For more than 35 years, our founder, David J. Mintz, has helped injured people throughout Colorado build strong personal injury and wrongful death claims. Managing attorney Eric C. Staton brings over 15 years of experience to cases involving catastrophic injury, and our attorneys work to document every part of a case, including the toll an injury takes on a marriage. We build consortium claims the same way we build every other part of a case, with careful attention to detail and to the people affected.

If your spouse was seriously hurt or killed because of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for loss of consortium in addition to your spouse’s own claim. Reach out through our contact form to talk with our team about your situation and your options.