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Family Member Rights:
Claim Rights for Consequences of Injury to Another Family Member
Last Updated: August 25 2026
Question: Can Ontario family members sue when a spouse or child is injured by someone else?
Answer: Wennekers.Legal™ can help Ontario dependants understand when they may sue for pecuniary loss and related damages after a family member is injured or killed, including recovery of actual expenses, funeral costs, reasonable travel, loss of income or value of nursing or housekeeping services, and loss of guidance, care and companionship under Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3 at section 61(1)-(2) and you may have an independent right to maintain an action even for consequential household impacts in the right circumstances. For a fast, plain-language review of your situation and next steps, call (647) 701-1162 for professional legal services from Wennekers.Legal™ serving clients across Ontario, including Niagara Falls and Waterloo and nearby communities.
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Understanding the Right to Sue When a Family Member is Injured
When a family member is injured, there are often indirect consequences to other family members such as the need to pick up the slack in household chores, loss of intimacy, among other things, on behalf of the injured family member. When certain members of the family suffer adverse lifestyle affects due to the tortious injury of another family member, the family members who suffer indirect consequences and hardships due to the death or injury of the other family member may bring a lawsuit against the person who injured the family member.
Note: Please contact Wennekers.Legal™ by phone at: (647) 701-1162 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.
The Law
Are Family Members Able to Sue For Injuries to Another Family Member?
Typically, the law works in such a way as to limit the right to sue to those persons who were directly injured by a wrongdoer (whether accidental or otherwise). To some degree, this makes sense - for example, if your neighbour is injured in a car accident, you are unable to sue the person that injured your neighbour! Even if the neighbours injuries are such that you lend a hand, you are unable to sue for the stress and inconvenience caused to you because of an injury to your neighbour.
However, if the injured person is a certain family member as defined within the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, other family members may have a right to take legal action. In many respects this seems obvious, especially when the injured family member was injured in some type of severe accident that has a significant impact and affects upon others within the household or family unit.
Although this right of action seems obvious and logical where the most serious of accidents have impacted family members, section 61 of the Family Law Act also applies to smaller cases including matters proceeding within the Small Claims Court. The right of action is provided by section 61(1) and includes rights for both immediate family members as well as some extended family members whereas such states:
If a person is injured or killed by the fault or neglect of another under circumstances where the person is entitled to recover damages, or would have been entitled if not killed, the spouse, as defined in Part III (Support Obligations), children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters of the person are entitled to recover their pecuniary loss resulting from the injury or death from the person from whom the person injured or killed is entitled to recover or would have been entitled if not killed, and to maintain an action for the purpose in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Damages As May Be Claimed
The damages (reward for losses) that a dependent person may claim are very broad ranging from actual damages (specifically measurable expenses) to general damages (immeasurable losses such as inconvenience, stress, loss of or lesser marital consortium, etc.). The breadth of the claimable damages is prescribed by section 61(2) of the Family Law Act as including:
The damages recoverable in a claim under subsection (1) may include:
(a) actual expenses reasonably incurred for the benefit of the person injured or killed;
(b) actual funeral expenses reasonably incurred;
(c) a reasonable allowance for travel expenses actually incurred in visiting the person during his or her treatment or recovery;
(d) where, as a result of the injury, the claimant provides nursing, housekeeping or other services for the person, a reasonable allowance for loss of income or the value of the services; and
(e) an amount to compensate for the loss of guidance, care and companionship that the claimant might reasonably have expected to receive from the person if the injury or death had not occurred.
Defined Injuries
Of interest, the term "injuries" is undefined within the Family Act Law; and accordingly, the scope and breadth of the types of injuries suffered appear as unlimited well beyond the first thoughts that injuries must involve some bodily harm. Even if the injured person has suffered an acute depression without any actual physical bodily harm, a right of action to the dependent family members may exist where the dependent family members are consequently affected. This could be the case where a wrongdoer engaged in a psychological infliction upon the injured person and the resulting stress cascades through the household.
Small Claims Court, monetary jurisdiction
In some circumstances, the combination of the sum of claims brought by the injured person as well as the sum of the claims brought by the dependent family members may appear to exceed the Small Claims Court monetary jurisdiction, which is $50,000 as of January 2020; however, as each Plaintiff is a separate claimant, each has an independent right of action to bring claims for compensation up to the limit of the court. Accordingly, where the injured person as well dependent family members each claim $50,000 or less, the collective total may exceed $50,000 so long as the individual claims are $50,000 or less.
Conclusion
When a fellow member of the family is injured, and others within the family unit need to pick up the slack for various chores, among other things, the family members who suffer harm via consequent inconvenience and disruption to regular life, while without any direct injuries, may bring litigation against the person who harmed the injured family member.
NOTE: A significant number of online searches for “lawyers near me” or “best lawyer in” typically indicate a demand for prompt, skilled legal support rather than a specific occupation title. In Ontario, certified paralegals are governed by the same Law Society that regulates lawyers, granting them the authority to represent clients in specific legal matters. Core activities in that capacity include advocacy, legal evaluation, and procedural expertise. Wennekers.Legal™ provides legal representation within its licensed framework, focusing on strategic planning, evidence preparation, and effective advocacy aimed at securing timely and favourable outcomes for clients.
