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★ Ohio · head & brain

Head & brain settlements
in Ohio.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

An Ohio jury awarded $25.2 million to a woman left with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and severe neuropathy after a nutritional deficiency went undiagnosed. Applying the malpractice cap would have cut her noneconomic damages sharply, and the Court of Appeals held the cap unconstitutional as applied to her.

Facts that decide a head & brain claim in Ohio

General noneconomic capThe greater of $250,000 or three times economic damages, up to $350,000 per plaintiff or $500,000 per occurrence; no cap for permanent and substantial physical deformity, loss of use of a limb or loss of a bodily organ system, or an injury that leaves the person unable to care for self.R.C. 2315.18, upheld in Arbino v. Johnson & Johnson (Ohio 2007)
Who can diagnose brain injuryA chiropractor who treats by adjustment and cannot diagnose brain injury cannot supply the medical proof of a closed head injury.Webster v. Altenloh Brinck (Ohio Ct. App. 2021)
Deadline to sue“An action for bodily injury ... shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues”; car crash claims accrue on the day of the crash.R.C. 2305.10(A), as quoted in Fong v. Faires (Ohio Ct. App. 2025)
Fault ruleContributory fault does not bar recovery “if the contributory fault of the plaintiff was not greater than the combined tortious conduct of all other persons”; damages are reduced by that share.R.C. 2315.33, as quoted in Crumb v. Leafguard (Ohio Ct. App. 2020)
united states · sister site
Your head & brain claim in Ohio. See the number for your own case.

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★ OH · reported head & brain outcomes

What Ohio courts have awarded.

Real Ohio decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Lyon v. Riverside Methodist Hospital
    Ohio Court of Appeals, Tenth District · 2025
    $25,172,526.32 verdict, affirmed

    Susana Lyon was eventually diagnosed at another hospital with a severe nutritional deficiency and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which led to severe peripheral neuropathy; she alleged her doctors failed to diagnose it in time. A Franklin County jury awarded $25,172,526.32, including $744,157.32 in past and $4,428,369 in future medical costs and $20 million in noneconomic damages. The trial court declared the malpractice cap in R.C. 2323.43 unconstitutional as applied, and the Tenth District affirmed.

  • Webster v. Altenloh Brinck
    Ohio Court of Appeals, Sixth District · 2021
    Directed verdict affirmed

    After a fall at work, Teresa Webster sought workers’ compensation for conditions including a closed head injury. Her chiropractor testified that she treated by adjustment, prescribed no medicine and could not diagnose brain injury, and billing codes alone were not accepted as proof. The trial court directed a verdict against the brain injury condition, and the court affirmed.

★ OH · head & brain · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a head & brain settlement in Ohio.

  1. 1

    Use the right expert. Webster lost the head injury part of her claim because only a chiropractor testified, and she could not diagnose brain injury.

  2. 2

    Catastrophic injuries escape the general cap. Brain injuries that leave a person unable to care for self fall within the R.C. 2315.18 exception.

  3. 3

    Malpractice brain injury awards are in flux. Lyon’s $20 million noneconomic award stood because the cap was held unconstitutional as applied; the Ohio Supreme Court heard argument on the issue in February 2026.

★ OH · statute of limitations
2 years from date of injury

Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10

★ OH · fault rule
Modified comparative, 51% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 51% claimant fault.

★ OH · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a head & brain settlement in Ohio.

★ head & brain · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Ohio's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for head & brain claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationHead & brain page
Ohio · you are hereModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury—
South DakotaSlight versus gross negligence3 years from date of injurySD · head & brain →
WisconsinModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryWI · head & brain →
IllinoisModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIL · head & brain →
IndianaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIN · head & brain →
IowaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIA · head & brain →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · head & brain →
OklahomaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOK · head & brain →
OregonModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOR · head & brain →
PennsylvaniaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryPA · head & brain →
South CarolinaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injurySC · head & brain →
Rhode IslandPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryRI · head & brain →
TennesseeModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the USTN · head & brain →
★ OH · head & brain · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Ohio? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of OH
Ohio overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Ohio as a whole.

★ national frame
Head & brain in United States

Head & brain band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Head & brain · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of head & brain bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Ohio. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.