Ohio

Statute of Limitations

Medical Claim Generally:

A medical malpractice claim “shall be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued” However, the plaintiff is allowed a 180 day extension with notice given. [Ohio  R.C. §2305.113]

The statute of limitations begins on the date you discovered or should have discovered the medical malpractice, but cannot be filed more than 4 years after the malpractice.

Minors:

“The person may bring it within the respective times limited by those sections, after the disability is removed” [Ohio  R.C. §2305.16]

The statute of limitations does not begin to run until the minor turns 18.

Wrongful death:

A wrongful death action must be brought within 2 years of the date of death [Ohio Revised Code § 2125.02]

Damage Caps

The amount of compensatory damages that represents damages for noneconomic loss that is recoverable in a civil action to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property shall not exceed the greater of $250,000 or an amount that is equal to three times the plaintiff's economic loss, as determined by the trier of fact, to a maximum of $350,000 for each plaintiff or a maximum of $500,000 for each occurrence. However, the amount recoverable for noneconomic loss in a civil action under this section may exceed the amount described above but shall not exceed $500,000 for each plaintiff or $1,000,000 for each occurrence if the noneconomic losses of the plaintiff are for either of the following: (1) permanent and substantial physical deformity, loss of use of a limb, or loss of a bodily organ system or (2) permanent physical functional injury that permanently prevents the injured person from being able to independently care for self and perform life sustaining activities.

Attorney Fee   Caps

If the contingent fee is more than the noneconomic damages cap, then court approval is needed. Other than that, the attorney fees must be reasonable. [Ohio  R.C. §2323.43]

Pre-suit

Requirements

“An affidavit of merit is required to establish the adequacy of the complaint” [Rule 10(D)(2)(a) of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure]

Expert

Qualifications

“A person giving expert testimony on the issue of liability in any medical claim” must be licensed, devote “at least one-half of his or her professional time to the active clinical practice in his or her field of licensure, or to its instruction in an accredited school, at either the time the negligent act is alleged to have occurred or the date the claim accrued,”  and practice “in the same or a substantially similar specialty as the defendant.”  [Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 601]

Negligent

Credentialing Claims

The Ohio Supreme court has repeatedly recognized negligent credentialing [Schelling v. Toledo Hospital (2021)]