Nicholson v. Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, Inc.

CARLTON, Justice.

Plaintiff presents the sole question whether under the law of North Carolina a wife has a cause of action for loss of consortium resulting from a negligent injury to her husband. The Court of Appeals correctly recognized the historical and common law rule in North Carolina and answered no. For reasons stated below, we reverse.

I

At common law, consortium embraced those marital rights a husband had in respect to his wife. 2 R. Lee, North Carolina Family Law § 205 (3d ed. 1963); Prosser, Law of Torts § 125 (4th ed. 1971); Note: Torts — Recognition of Wife’s Right to Husband’s…