Are There Caps on Compensation for Victims After Auto Accidents in Ohio?

No two auto accidents are alike. Their causes may be different, they may occur in different places, the amount of property damage they cause may vary, and the severity of the injuries that people suffer won’t be the same. But the common thread after most crashes is financial hardship for the victims—especially due to injuries.

Getting treated for serious injuries can be expensive. But the costs that auto accident victims face don’t end with their ambulance rides, overnight hospital stays, and physical rehabilitation. They also may be out of work or only able to work reduced hours for weeks, months, or years, which means smaller or no paychecks to cover their medical bills and other living expenses.

In total, many auto accident victims need tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation. But are they eligible to get every penny they’re owed, or does Ohio law put a cap on settlements? We go over the answer below.

Economic Damages Are NOT Capped in Ohio

Economic damages are things like medical bills, lost wages, and property damage, and they aren’t subject to any caps in Ohio. That means a person who was paralyzed and permanently disabled from a crash can pursue enough money to fairly compensate them for their lifelong losses just the same as a person who broke a bone and missed only two weeks of work can pursue fair compensation for their losses.

The lack of a cap on economic damages is important, as the true lifetime costs of an auto accident can be significant and more than almost any family can bear on their own. However, it can be difficult to determine how much an injury and crash will cost over the course of a lifetime. That’s why it’s so important to have an experienced Ohio auto accident lawyer on your side right away after a crash.

Non-Economic Damages ARE Capped in Ohio

Medical bills and lost wages are not the only losses or harm that people suffer after auto accidents. Car crashes are violent, frightening, and traumatic events, and it’s not uncommon for victims to become anxious and depressed afterward. Some may even develop post-traumatic stress disorder. The consequences of serious injuries can also dramatically reduce quality of life, as victims may be unable to enjoy hobbies or be physically active. Even without counting mental and emotional distress, the physical pain of car crash injuries is also enough to deserve compensation on its own.

Thankfully, victims can pursue compensation for their non-economic damages, or pain and suffering, after crashes. However, unlike economic damages, these damages can be capped in certain circumstances.

Victims are limited to $250,000 or three times their amount of economic damages, whichever is greater, but there’s a hard cap of $350,000 if there is a single plaintiff after a crash and $500,000 total, if there is more than one plaintiff in a single crash.

Thankfully, victims who suffered catastrophic injuries, such as loss of limb, loss of bodily organ system, or severe disability aren’t capped on how much noneconomic compensation they can receive in Ohio.

Don’t Be Afraid to Pursue Maximum Compensation After a Crash

Auto accident claims and lawsuits are one-time-only deals. You only get one chance to get all of the money you’ll need for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, and the money you receive needs to last you for as long as your injury affects you, which may be for the rest of your life. With that in consideration, the amount you may need is likely to be much more than you originally anticipated—and likely far more than the insurance company will offer you.

But because there are no caps on economic damages in Ohio, and because the cap for noneconomic damages is high for most crashes and removed for crashes with catastrophic injuries, it’s always worth pursuing every penny you’re owed. If you don’t aggressively pursue compensation, you may find that your settlement quickly runs out, but you’re still on the hook for your crash-related expenses.

We Can Negotiate with the Insurance Company While You Rest and Recover

At Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy, we’re no strangers to big settlements. We do in-depth research to determine exactly how much money our clients are owed for their accident-related expenses, and we don’t settle for anything less. Ohio law permits you to pursue full compensation, and that’s exactly what we’ll do when you call us after your crash.

Contact us today for a free consultation. You’ve been through a lot, and you deserve to be paid in full. Our legal team has decades of experience winning settlements for auto accident victims like you, and we know what it takes to win.

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