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★ Ohio · medical negligence

Medical negligence settlements
in Ohio.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Ohio’s malpractice cap is the most contested damages question in the state. Two appeals courts held the $500,000 catastrophic injury limit unconstitutional as applied in 2025, another enforced it, and the Supreme Court heard argument in February 2026.

Facts that decide a medical negligence claim in Ohio

Catastrophic injury capR.C. 2323.43(A)(3) caps noneconomic damages for serious, catastrophic medical injuries at $500,000.Paganini v. Cataract Eye Center of Cleveland (Ohio Ct. App. 2025)
As applied challengesThe Eighth and Tenth Districts held the cap unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs before them; the Ohio Supreme Court heard argument in Paganini on 10 February 2026, and we found no decision as of 29 September 2026.Supreme Court of Ohio oral argument preview, 10 February 2026
Other capsCourts have also reduced punitive awards and loss of consortium awards in malpractice cases under the statutory limits.Potts v. Durrani (Ohio Ct. App. 2023)
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)
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★ OH · reported medical negligence outcomes

What Ohio courts have awarded.

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

  • Paganini v. Cataract Eye Center of Cleveland
    Ohio Court of Appeals, Eighth District · 2025
    $1,487,500 verdict kept; cap held unconstitutional as applied

    John Paganini, 92, had cataract surgery in December 2021, felt pain that evening and saw black dots the next morning. A missed diagnosis of a severe eye infection led to a detached retina and permanent vision loss. The jury awarded $1,487,500 in noneconomic damages; the $500,000 cap would have cut that by about two thirds. The court held the cap unconstitutional as applied to him and affirmed.

  • Potts v. Durrani
    Ohio Court of Appeals, First District · 2023
    Over $39 million verdict; judgment cut sharply by caps

    Jeffrey Potts, who had back surgeries in 1982, 1991 and 1994, was operated on by Dr. Durrani; his colon was pierced by a trocar, he developed sepsis and later died. The jury found fraud and a catastrophic injury and awarded over $9 million in compensatory damages, $26 million in punitive damages and $4 million for loss of consortium. The trial court cut the punitive award to $350,000 and consortium to $250,000; the court affirmed in part and sent back the interest calculation.

★ OH · medical negligence · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a medical negligence settlement in Ohio.

  1. 1

    Plead the constitutional challenge early. Paganini and Lyon preserved their as applied arguments and kept verdicts far above the cap.

  2. 2

    Watch the Supreme Court. Its ruling in Paganini will decide whether the $500,000 catastrophic cap applies statewide.

  3. 3

    Caps cut more than pain and suffering. In Potts the punitive and consortium awards were also reduced to statutory limits.

★ 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 medical negligence settlement in Ohio.

★ medical negligence · 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 medical negligence claims.

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

Common questions.

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

united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in Ohio. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own medical negligence case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of OH
Ohio overview

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

★ national frame
Medical negligence in United States

Medical negligence band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Medical negligence · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of medical negligence 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.