## Facts

- Thomas Hibpshman was severely injured while working on Alaska’s North Slope.
- Thomas sued Prudhoe Bay Supply, Inc. and Alaska Explosives, Ltd., alleging negligence based on unsafe premises.
- Thomas’s wife, Rebecca, asserted a loss of spousal consortium claim.
- The Hibpshmans’ four minor children asserted an independent claim for loss of parental consortium based on Thomas’s injuries.
- The children also alleged loss of pecuniary benefits, but that claim was dismissed without opposition and was not appealed.
- Defendants moved to dismiss the children’s consortium claim under Alaska R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) or, alternatively, to consolidate it with the parents’ claims.
- The superior court dismissed the children’s loss of parental consortium claim in a final order.

## Issues

1. Whether Alaska law recognizes a minor child’s independent cause of action for loss of parental consortium when a parent is negligently injured by a third party.

## Decision

- The Alaska Supreme Court reversed the dismissal and remanded.
- The court held that minor children have an independent cause of action for loss of parental consortium arising from tortious injury to a parent.
- The court rejected categorical reliance on the majority rule in other jurisdictions and found policy objections insufficient to bar the claim.
- The court indicated that risks of multiple suits and overlapping damages can be managed through joinder/consolidation and careful damage instructions.

## Legal Principles

- Alaska common law permits minor children to recover for loss of parental consortium when a parent is negligently injured by a third party.
- Compensable consortium interests include a child’s loss of parental care, comfort, companionship, and guidance.
- Difficulty in quantifying consortium damages does not justify denying recovery when the existence of injury is established.
- Concerns about duplicative recovery and procedural complexity are addressed through case-management tools and proper allocation of damages, not by denying the cause of action.

## Conclusion

The court recognized a minor child’s independent loss-of-parental-consortium claim for negligent, nonfatal injury to a parent and reinstated the children’s claim for further proceedings.


Hibpshman v. Prudhoe Bay Supply, Inc., 734 P.2d 991 (Alaska 1987)