When your partner suffers a severe injury as a result of someone else's negligence, the impact extends far beyond their physical condition. Your relationship, daily life, and the support you once shared could be completely changed on a fundamental level.
In Queensland, the law recognises this through "loss of consortium" claims, which allow uninjured spouses and partners to seek compensation for how these issues affect their relationships.
Unlike most other Australian states, which have abolished these claims, Queensland continues to make provisions for loss of consortium under specific circumstances. However, strict eligibility criteria and compensation thresholds make these claims complex and difficult.
This guide explains Queensland's loss of consortium framework, covering:
- What losses are compensable and who can claim
- Eligibility requirements, including the $54,850 threshold for general damages
- How these claims differ from other types of compensation
- The relationship requirements for spouses, de facto partners, and civil partners
- What evidence you need to support your claim
- Time limits and when to seek legal advice
- How consortium claims work alongside your partner's injury claim
Regardless of whether your partner has suffered a traumatic brain injury, spinal damage, or any other catastrophic injury, understanding these provisions can help you get compensation for the significant changes to your life and relationship.
Understanding Loss of Consortium in Queensland
Loss of consortium is a legal claim which compensates an uninjured spouse or partner for losses they suffer due to their partner's serious injury or death. The term "consortium" encompasses the benefits of a marital or de facto relationship, including companionship, affection, assistance, and services.
In practical terms, this means that if your partner suffers a severe injury and is no longer able to participate in family activities, provide emotional support, or contribute to household tasks, you may be entitled to compensation.
These types of claims recognise that serious injuries don't just affect the injured person, they fundamentally alter the lives of their closest family members as well.
Queensland is unique in Australia as most other states have either abolished or severely restricted loss of consortium claims.
For example, if a construction worker suffered an injury that leaves them paralysed, their spouse could claim compensation for the loss of their partner's ability to participate in childcare, household maintenance, social activities, and intimate aspects of their relationship that formed part of their normal married life.
Your Rights and Obligations
If you're eligible to make a claim for loss of consortium, you have several rights and responsibilities under Queensland law.
Your Rights Include:
- Compensation for loss of companionship and emotional support
- Damages for household services no longer performed (cooking, cleaning, childcare, maintenance, etc.)
- Reimbursement for assistance and guidance lost due to your partner's condition
- Recognition of the impact the injury has on your sexual and intimate relationship
Your Obligations Include:
- Proving your legal relationship status through marriage certificates or evidence of de facto partnership
- Demonstrating the actual losses you've suffered as a result of the injury
- Providing evidence of how your relationship has changed post-injury
- Filing your claim within the statutory limitation periods (typically three years)
Common Scenarios Where Rights Apply:
- Partner suffers a traumatic brain injury in a motor vehicle accident which results in personality changes and inability to participate in family life
- Workplace accident causes spinal injury leaving partner requiring full-time care
- Medical negligence results in partner's death
- Public liability incident causes severe burns requiring ongoing treatment
Practical Example: Sarah's husband David suffered severe brain trauma in a workplace fall. He was an active father and husband who coached their children's sports teams and handled household finances before the incident, but David now requires constant supervision and cannot participate in family activities. In this case, Sarah can claim for the loss of David's companionship, his inability to share parenting duties, the loss of his financial guidance, and the impact on their marriage relationship.
It's important to understand that your claim is separate from your partner's injury claim. You're seeking compensation for your own losses, not acting on behalf of the injured person.
Recent Changes and Developments
Queensland's loss of consortium laws have been stable in recent years, with courts and legislature maintaining the existing framework while refining its application through case law.
Significant Cases 2020-2024: the most notable trend has been courts' continued emphasis on proving actual, temporal losses rather than emotional responses. Recent Queensland decisions have reinforced that claimants must demonstrate concrete changes to their daily lives and relationship dynamics in order to receive compensation.
Legislative Updates: The 2024-25 Civil Liability Indexation Notice updated the monetary threshold to $54,850, representing a standard inflation adjustment. Similarly, the workers' compensation threshold increased to $53,090.47. These annual adjustments ensure the thresholds maintain their intended effect of limiting claims to genuinely severe injuries.
Emerging Trends: courts are scrutinising evidence requirements much more closely, particularly around proving the extent of relationship changes as a result of a serious injury. There is now greater emphasis on medical expert testimony, relationship counselling records, and detailed witness statements from family members.
Practical Guidance
Successfully pursuing a loss of consortium claim requires excellent preparation and intimate understanding of what evidence courts require.
Step-by-Step Process:
- Immediate Documentation: begin recording any changes to your relationship and daily life stemming from the injury as soon as possible. It’s a good idea to keep a diary of specific instances where your partner's condition affects your normal activities.
- Gather Relationship Evidence: collect things like marriage certificates, joint bank account statements, insurance policies, mortgage documents and any other proof of your relationship status.
- Medical Evidence: comprehensive medical reports detailing your partner's injuries, prognosis, and ongoing limitations are very important. Make sure these reports specifically address how injuries affect your partner's capacity for normal relationship activities.
- Impact Assessment: document how the injury has changed your household dynamics, including loss of services, companionship, and support. Consider professional counselling to help process changes and create formal records of the impact on your relationship.
- Legal Assessment: hiring experienced personal injury lawyers to evaluate whether your situation meets the statutory thresholds and assess the strength of your potential claim is highly recommended.
Essential Documents to Maintain:
- All medical records and specialist reports
- Evidence of relationship status and how long you’ve been together
- Financial records showing changes to household contributions
- Photographs or videos showing your partner's condition
- Witness statements from family members and friends
- Counselling or therapy records addressing any relationship changes
Red Flags Requiring Immediate Action:
- Insurance companies pushing for fast settlements without considering consortium claims
- Medical assessments that don't document functional limitations in enough detail
- Limitation deadlines approaching
- Relationship counselling identifying significant intimacy or companionship changes
Available Resources: Queensland courts provide self-represented litigant resources, though consortium claims typically require professional legal representation because they’re so complicated. Smith's Lawyers offers specialised expertise in these claims across Queensland and have offices in all major centres.
When to Seek Professional Help
Loss of consortium claims have complex legal and evidentiary requirements which make professional legal advice essential in almost all cases.
Warning Signs Requiring Legal Advice:
- Your partner's injuries meet or potentially exceed the ISV 22 threshold
- You're experiencing significant changes to your relationship or household arrangements
- The injury resulted from a workplace incident, motor vehicle accident, or public liability situation
- Your partner has died or has a poor long-term prognosis
Complex Situations Needing Expert Guidance:
- Multiple potential defendants or insurance companies involved
- Disputes over injury severity or ISV assessments
- Questions about relationship status recognition under Queensland law
- Coordination between consortium claims and other family member claims
- Workplace injury cases involving both WorkCover and common law claims
Benefits of Early Legal Advice: professional lawyers can identify consortium claim opportunities that families will likely miss while focusing on the injured person's immediate needs. Contacting a specialist as early as possible ensures evidence is properly preserved and claim strategies are coordinated effectively.
Smith's Lawyers' "No Win, No Fee, No Catch®" approach means you can access expert legal advice without upfront costs, with fees only payable from successful settlements.
Common Situations and Questions
Can I claim if we're not married but have lived together for several years?
Yes, Queensland law recognises de facto relationships when it comes to loss of consortium claims. You'll need to prove you lived together as a couple on a genuine domestic basis, which typically requires evidence of shared finances, joint commitments or community recognition of your relationship.
What if my partner died immediately in the accident?
Fatal injury claims are dealt with differently. In this case, you can claim for loss of consortium between the injury and death, but the scope is more limited. These claims often focus on the immediate impact and any brief period of suffering before death.
Does emotional distress or grief qualify for compensation?
No, unfortunately Queensland courts specifically exclude emotional distress, grief, or general unhappiness from loss of consortium claims. The focus is on material, temporal losses. This means actual services and benefits you've lost and not emotional responses to the situation.
Can I claim if my partner's injuries were from a pre-existing condition that worsened?
This would depend on whether negligence caused or materially contributed to the worsening condition. If another party's actions significantly accelerated or aggravated a pre-existing condition, you could be able to make a claim.
What's the time limit for making a claim?
You have three years from the date of injury or death to make a claim. However, in certain cases involving gradual awareness of the injury's full impact, the limitation period may start from when you understood the full extent.
How is this different from a dependency claim?
Dependency claims focus on financial support the deceased would have provided, while loss of consortium is about the broader relationship benefits that aren’t purely financial, like companionship, emotional support, household services, and intimacy.
Can children claim for loss of consortium?
No, Queensland law limits these claims to spouses, de facto partners, and civil partners. Children have other avenues for compensation, such as dependency claims in fatal cases, but cannot claim loss of consortium.
What if we separated after the injury but before claiming?
A relationship breaking down following an injury can complicate claims but doesn't automatically invalidate them. In cases such as these, courts will examine whether the separation resulted from the injury's impact
Key Legal Framework
Queensland's loss of consortium provisions are governed by several key pieces of legislation that work together to define eligibility, scope, and limitations.
The Law Reform Act 1995 (Qld) Section 13 establishes the fundamental right to claim loss of consortium, extending eligibility beyond traditional marriages to include de facto partners and civil partners. This inclusive approach reflects modern relationship recognition in Australian law.
The Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) Section 58 imposes crucial restrictions on when these claims can be made. Claims are only available when the injured person dies or when their general damages exceed the prescribed threshold. For 2024-25, this threshold is $54,850, which corresponds to an Injury Scale Value (ISV) of 22.
Key Takeaways
- Loss of consortium provides important protection for families: Queensland law recognises that serious injuries affect entire families, not just the injured person, and provides compensation pathways for uninjured spouses and partners to provide vital support.
- Strict eligibility criteria apply: claims can only be made when injuries cause death or exceed significant severity thresholds ($54,850 in general damages or ISV 22), ensuring the system focuses on genuinely serious situations.
- Focus on material losses, not emotional distress: successful claims must demonstrate actual losses of services, companionship, and support, and not just emotional responses to the injury.
- Evidence gathering is crucial: courts require comprehensive proof of relationship status, injury severity, and impact on daily life and relationship dynamics.
- Time limits are strict: three-year limitation periods mean seeking legal advice as early as possible is essential for preserving claim rights and gathering the necessary evidence.
- Professional legal representation is typically essential: the complexity of consortium claims, coordination with other legal proceedings, and detailed evidence requirements make expert legal guidance crucial for success.
For specific advice about your circumstances, consider seeking professional legal guidance. Smith's Lawyers offers free initial consultations with a No Win, No Fee, No Catch® promise to help you understand your options. Call 1800 960 482 for more information.
