If you are injured in a car accident or another type of personal injury incident caused by someone else’s actions or inaction, you have the right to collect compensation through an injury claim. If your injuries keep you out of work or cause problems for your long-term career aspects, you can file for wage loss or other job-related compensation, but what if you are a stay at home parent? In today’s blog, we explain how wage loss claims work for stay at home parents in Minnesota.
Wage Loss For Stay At Home Parents
Wage loss benefits pay a portion of your typical wages in the event that the personal injury accident keeps you out of the workforce, but if you are not employed, you’re not going to be able to collect this specific type of benefit. So while stay at home parents will not be able to collect wage loss benefits specifically, they are certainly providing a benefit to the family by raising the children, and if the accident limits their ability to do this, they can be compensated for related expenses they incur.
For example, let’s say you stay home with your three young children while your spouse works. If you are involved in an automobile accident with a drunk driver that renders you incapable of managing the children for weeks, months or longer, you can collect compensation for childcare services that you might incur as a result of you no longer being able to care for the children on your own. Whether that is daycare expenses, nanny costs or other new childcare expenses, you can collect compensation for these as a stay-at-home parent.
Loss Of Consortium Claims
To do this, you’ll file what’s known as a loss of consortium claim. Loss of consortium claims are typically brought on following a spouse’s wrongful death, but they can also be filed when an incident has significantly affected your family’s life. During a loss of consortium claim, your lawyer will take a look at the provider roles each parent plays and the different ways that the accident has affected your marriage or daily life. Aside from expenses incurred because a stay at home parent needs child care assistance, loss of consortium claims can also provide compensation for things like loss of intimacy or a significant decrease in quality of life.
As you might imagine, these types of claims are complex and not always easy to put together into a straightforward argument. Quantifying childcare expenses may be a little easier, but how do you put a price on loss of intimacy or an irrevocable breakdown in your marriage as a result of a personal injury accident?
That’s why it’s so important to have a personal injury lawyer by your side in the event you need to pursue a loss of consortium claim in Minnesota. If you incur expenses as a stay at home parent or your quality of life has suffered because you were involved in an accident, know that you have legal recourse. We can help to offset related expenses that your family has incurred or help to financially offset some other developments in your life that were caused by the accident. It may not be a perfect solution, but we’ll do everything in our power to do right by you.
For more information about injury claims involving a non-working party or loss of consortium claims in Minnesota, reach out to the team at Hey Workers today.
