The Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury in Ohio
When a person is injured because of someone else's intentional or negligent actions, there is a limited period of time to file a lawsuit. This time is called the statute of limitations. Ohio has a basic personal injury statute of limitations, set forth in the state code at section 2305.10, but also allows for extensions in a few circumstances.
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Cause of Action
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A civil cause of action accrues, or begins, at the time the defendant acts intentionally or accidentally and causes the plaintiff to suffer an injury.
Statute of Limitations
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The statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit begins to run when the cause of action occurred and the injury was suffered. From that date, the injured party, called the plaintiff, has two years to file his lawsuit against the defendant, the one who caused the injury. The lawsuit will allow the plaintiff to collect monetary damages suffered because of the injury to his body or personal property.
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Products Liability
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Ohio's code allows for a longer statute of limitations if a defective product caused the plaintiff's injury. The plaintiff can also file a personal injury products liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the defective product. Under 2305.10(C)(1) of Ohio's code, the plaintiff can only file a lawsuit against the manufacturer if no more than 10 years has passed since the manufacturer delivered the product to the purchaser.
Discovery Rule
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Occasionally, a plaintiff does not discover his injury, or realize the cause of the injury, until some time after the initial cause of action. Ohio uses the Discovery Rule, which means that the statute of limitations does not start running until the injury is discovered. From that new date, a plaintiff would still only have two years to file the personal injury lawsuit.
Tolls
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There are also some circumstances where a statute of limitations is "tolled" or temporarily stopped. First, if a defendant is involved in a bankruptcy proceeding, making it impossible for a plaintiff to collect any monetary damages, the statute of limitations stops running until the conclusion of the bankruptcy. This prevents the plaintiff from losing the right to file a lawsuit because of an expired statute of limitations due to the defendant's financial situation.
Also, if the plaintiff is a minor, under 18, he cannot yet be a party to a lawsuit. In that case, the statute of limitations is tolled until the victim reaches the age of 18. When the victim becomes the age of majority, the statute of limitations begins to run and the plaintiff has two years to file.
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References
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