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★ Ohio · whiplash

Whiplash settlements
in Ohio.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Ohio appeals courts do not let a jury pay a whiplash victim’s medical bills and give nothing for pain when the injury is uncontested. Two rear end cases show the pattern and the fix.

Facts that decide a whiplash claim in Ohio

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)
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)
Seat belt useNot negligence, but can reduce noneconomic loss only.R.C. 4513.263(F)(1), in the MyClaimWorth seat belt chart
united states · sister site
Your whiplash claim in Ohio. See the number for your own case.

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★ OH · reported whiplash outcomes

What Ohio courts have awarded.

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

  • Kubilus v. Owens
    Ohio Court of Appeals · 2008
    $3,711.20 verdict with $0 for pain reversed

    The other driver stipulated to liability, so the trial was only about damages. The jury awarded $3,711.20, made up of $386.40 in lost earnings and $3,324.80 in medical bills, and nothing for pain and suffering. The Court of Appeals held that awarding the undisputed special damages with no value for the accompanying pain was against the manifest weight of the evidence and reversed.

  • Roberts v. Erie Insurance Group
    Ohio Court of Appeals · 2013
    $0 verdict reversed

    Zachary Gillespie rear ended the Robertses’ car at under ten miles an hour in 2008 and was admitted to be at fault. Michelle Roberts said her neck hurt almost all the time, had physical therapy and months of pain injections, and took ibuprofen daily. The jury found the crash caused injury but awarded $0. The Court of Appeals reversed.

★ OH · whiplash · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a whiplash settlement in Ohio.

  1. 1

    An admitted injury needs some pain award. Both Kubilus and Roberts won reversals where juries found the crash caused injury but awarded nothing for it.

  2. 2

    Low speed crashes are not the end of the claim. Roberts was hit at under ten miles an hour and still proved an injury the jury accepted.

  3. 3

    Most whiplash claims fall under the general cap, which applies only to noneconomic damages and allows at least $250,000.

★ 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 whiplash settlement in Ohio.

★ whiplash · 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 whiplash claims.

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

Whiplash band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Whiplash · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of whiplash 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.