Washington law allows compensation in personal injury, wrongful death claims if your spouse, child, or parent became seriously injured or even killed in an accident that someone else caused, they may have standing to sue for those damages. You may also file a lawsuit seeking compensation for the lost wages, medical bills, and/or pain and suffering.
But what about your suffering? What about the sexual relationship you had with your spouse that, since the accident, is gone? What about the trips you used to take together that now you’ll have to take without your spouse, or the invaluable advice your dad provided that he can no longer give to you?
How much are these untangible losses worth? In some states, nothing at all. But residents of Washington state may be eligible to sue for “loss of consortium,” or the loss of companionship or intimacy experienced from a family member’s death or injury.