Legal Question in Insurance Law in West Virginia

Re: consortium

In West Virginia, loss of consortium is a derivative claim. It does not stand as a separate claim and does not create a new or different injured person for liability or for insurance coverage purposes. The short answer is no, you wife cannot sue independently for her loss of consortium and invoke a new liability limit under the tortfeasor's coverage. You should contact a local lawyer to determine if there are other sources of recovery such as other policies which may be issued to adult members of your household, the employer or other principal of the tortfeasor, or others. Subrogation, in West Virginia, attaches to settlement or judgment collections only after the victim is "made whole" Most insurance coverage and automobile medical payments do contain a subrogation clause and is subject to the "made whole" limitations.