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Family Member Rights:
Claim Rights for Consequences of Injury to Another Family Member
Last Updated: August 22 2026
Question: Can a family member sue in Ontario if a spouse or parent is injured by someone else’s fault?
Answer: In Ontario, dependent family members may be able to claim damages for their own pecuniary losses when a spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, or sister is injured or killed due to another person’s fault or neglect, based on Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, section 61, including actual expenses, funeral and travel costs, loss of income or value of services from caregiving, and compensation for loss of guidance, care and companionship. Depending on the facts, psychological harms and resulting household disruption can also support related claims by dependent family members. If you want to understand deadlines, evidence needs, and whether the claims fit Small Claims Court limits, Forseti Legal Services can help paralegal support your next steps, call (705) 806-7577.
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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 Forseti Legal Services by phone at: (705) 806-7577 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.
The Law
Are Family Members Able to Sue For Injuries to Another Family Member?
Generally, the law allows only the person who was injured to sue the person who caused the injury. In most circumstances, this makes sense whereas, if otherwise, any person inconvenienced by the injury would be able to sue - for example, a neighbour who was depending on the injured person for babysitting assistance or an employer who was needed overtime help, among others, who may be put out in some way due to the injuries caused to the injured person.
However, in some circumstances, whereas the person injured is a close family member per the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, certain family members may rightfully sue for inconveniences and sufferings. This applies especially so when the injury to the family member greatly impacts the uninjured family members.
Although this right to sue would seem obvious where severe accidents cause serious injury to a person with consequential affect upon family members, section 61 of the Family Law Act provides such rights even when somewhat mild injuries, and mild consequential inconveniences, affect family members; and accordingly, the right for family members to sue can, and does, arise within Small Claims Court cases. Specifically, section 61(1) of the Family Law Act provides such rights to immediate family members and some extended family members whereas it is stated:
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: An extensive amount of online searches featuring “lawyers near me” or “best lawyer in” typically indicate a pressing need for capable and prompt legal assistance, rather than a focus on a particular title. In Ontario, licensed paralegals operate under the same Law Society that regulates lawyers and are permitted to represent clients in specific litigation areas. Core elements of this role include advocacy, legal analysis, and procedural expertise. Forseti Legal Services offers legal representation within its licensed framework, emphasising strategic positioning, evidence preparation, and persuasive advocacy, all aimed at securing efficient and positive outcomes for clients.
