Household-work loss after injury: compensation and proof

An injury may prevent you from running your household as before. In addition to medical costs and compensation for pain and suffering, the lost value of household work can therefore be a separate head of loss. It may include cooking, shopping, cleaning, laundry, childcare and organising everyday life.

You do not necessarily need to hire a paid housekeeper. Family members may step in, or tasks may remain undone. What matters is a clear account of the work you normally performed, the injury-related limitations and the assistance required.

This article explains the Austrian framework under section 1325 ABGB, the distinction from loss of earnings and the evidence needed to assess the value of the lost household work.

Section 1325 ABGB provides for medical costs, loss of earnings and compensation for pain and suffering after bodily injury. The economic value of the injured person’s own work can also be relevant beyond paid employment. If an injury reduces the ability to run the household, that loss must be assessed separately.

Household work includes more than isolated chores. Depending on the household, it may include shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, childcare, gardening, pet care, transport and organisation. The relevant question is what the injured person actually did before the accident and which services became unavailable because of the injury.

This loss must be distinguished from loss of earnings. Loss of earnings concerns professional work and income. Household-work loss concerns the injured person’s unpaid work in private life. Both may arise from one injury, but each requires its own factual account.

The diagnosis alone is not enough. Its effect on particular tasks matters. A shoulder injury may affect lifting, vacuuming or hanging laundry. A leg injury may affect shopping, stairs, cooking while standing or caring for young children. The account must fit the medical course.

Medical records help describe pain, mobility, load-bearing and periods of rest. They do not replace a description of the household itself. Instead of writing “housework impossible”, list the tasks, frequency and duration that changed.

A partial limitation can be relevant. You may have been able to cook but not shop or clean floors. You may have completed a task with substantially more time and breaks. These distinctions are more useful than an unsupported percentage.

Describe a normal week before the accident. Group tasks into meals, shopping, cleaning, laundry, childcare, gardening, pets, transport and organisation. Record who normally performed them and how often they arose.

Then mark, for each period, what stopped completely, what required help and what you still did with pain or longer breaks. This comparison shows the missing work and avoids focusing only on the first dramatic days.

The damage documents checklist helps organise the timeline and records. The accident documentation checklist can be used for the wider accident file.

Paid replacement help is tangible evidence, but it is not the only basis for a claim. Austrian Supreme Court case law recognises that an injured person may claim necessary expenditure for household help caused by the injury. The key points are necessity, causal connection and the period of assistance.

If family members, friends or other people help without payment, the loss does not automatically disappear. The Supreme Court has held that services provided to meet injury-related needs are not supplied to relieve the person responsible. The assessment still concerns the injury-related need and the lost household service.

Record who helped, which tasks were taken over and for how long. For paid help, keep invoices and payment records. For unpaid help, use concrete task lists, witness statements and a plausible description of the work.

The value of the unavailable household work is the starting point. The cost of a suitable replacement worker can provide an important reference point. Supreme Court case law uses the cost of an appropriate replacement worker as a relevant basis where an accident affects the availability of the injured person’s work.

There is no universal monthly figure or automatic hourly rate. The assessment depends on scope, duration, type and difficulty of the tasks, the qualifications needed and the work that other household members would have performed anyway.

Separate the abstract value of the lost work from actual expenditure. A cleaner may have been paid while relatives handled shopping or childcare. Both forms of assistance belong in one coherent but transparent calculation.

Collect medical findings, incapacity certificates, surgery and therapy records and a personal timeline. They should show which movements and loads were restricted. Add a weekly task overview with the relevant time periods.

For paid help, keep the agreement, invoice, payment proof, dates and description of services. For family or friends, record names, tasks and a short confirmation. Messages, calendar notes and shopping or childcare plans can support the chronology.

The damage documentation check can sort missing records. For related injury losses, see the guidance on personal injury and medical costs.

Household-work loss and loss of earnings may arise from the same injury but concern different areas. If the injury reduces paid work or professional capacity, assess that income loss separately. The guidance on loss of earnings and professional damage addresses that issue.

Care costs concern assistance with personal care, mobility or medically required support. Cooking, cleaning and shopping are household services, even where the same person provides both. Keep the services separate in the schedule.

Clear separation prevents double counting and shows which record supports each head of loss. Assign each task to household work, professional loss, care or another defined category.

Create a table with four columns: task, normal extent before the injury, limitation after the accident and replacement assistance. Add the medical basis and supporting records for each period. This is more useful than a single total figure.

Then identify whether the loss was complete, partial or limited to particular days. Record changes after surgery, rehabilitation, a return to work or the start of paid assistance. Longer-term effects may require a prognosis.

The guidance on evidence, negotiation and limitation helps prepare the claim. Limitation should be considered early together with knowledge of the damage and responsible person.

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