Damages and Noneconomic Caps in Cincinnati, OH What Ohio Limits, and What It Does Not

Two categories, defined by statute

Section 2315.18(A)(2) defines economic loss as pecuniary harm: wages, salaries or other compensation lost as a result of the injury; expenditures for medical care or treatment, rehabilitation services, or other care, treatment, services, products or accommodations; and any other expenditures incurred as a result of the injury, other than attorney's fees incurred in the action. Division (A)(4) defines noneconomic loss as nonpecuniary harm, including pain and suffering, loss of society, consortium, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, counsel, instruction, training or education, disfigurement, mental anguish, and any other intangible loss.

Division (A)(7) defines the actions covered. A "tort action" is a civil action for damages for injury or loss to person or property, and includes a product liability claim, an asbestos claim, and certain employment discrimination actions; it does not include a civil action upon a medical, dental, optometric or chiropractic claim, or an action for breach of contract.

The arithmetic

Division (B)(1) states plainly that there is no limitation on the amount of compensatory damages representing economic loss.

Division (B)(2) limits compensatory damages for noneconomic loss to the greater of two hundred fifty thousand dollars or an amount equal to three times the economic loss, as determined by the trier of fact, to a maximum of three hundred fifty thousand dollars for each plaintiff, or a maximum of five hundred thousand dollars for each occurrence. Division (A)(5) defines "occurrence" as all claims resulting from or arising out of any one person's bodily injury.

The multiplier matters more than the headline figure. Because the ceiling is the greater of a fixed amount or three times economic loss, up to a hard maximum, the documented economic loss can raise the noneconomic ceiling until it reaches the per-plaintiff maximum.

Where the cap disappears

Division (B)(3) removes the limits in division (B)(2) where the noneconomic losses are for either of two categories. The first, in (B)(3)(a), is loss of a bodily organ system, loss of use of a limb, or permanent and substantial physical deformity. The second, in (B)(3)(b), is permanent physical functional injury that permanently prevents the injured person from being able to independently care for self and perform life-sustaining activities.

Those phrases are the whole fight in a catastrophic case, and they explain why the medical record has to describe function and permanence rather than only diagnosis and procedure.

Procedure the jury never hears

Division (D) requires the trier of fact to return a general verdict accompanied by answers to interrogatories specifying the total compensatory damages recoverable, the portion representing economic loss, and the portion representing noneconomic loss. Division (E)(1) then has the court enter judgment on economic loss as found, and on noneconomic loss subject to the limits, and states that division (B) is applied in a jury trial only after the jury has made its factual findings and determination as to the damages. Division (E)(2) lets any party seek summary judgment before trial on the nature of the alleged injury, to determine which limit applies.

Division (F)(1) provides that a court of common pleas has no jurisdiction to enter judgment on an award of noneconomic damages in excess of the statutory limits, and division (F)(2) directs that where the trier of fact is a jury, the court shall not instruct the jury with respect to the limit. Division (G) provides that an amount not recoverable because of division (B)(2) shall not be reallocated to another tortfeasor beyond what that tortfeasor would otherwise be responsible for. Division (I) supplies a fallback: if the limits in division (B)(2) are held unconstitutional, division (C) and section 2315.19 govern.

Punitive damages have their own ceiling

Section 2315.21(C) makes punitive or exemplary damages unrecoverable unless the defendant's actions or omissions demonstrate malice or aggravated or egregious fraud, or the defendant as principal or master knowingly authorized, participated in or ratified such actions by an agent, and unless the trier of fact has determined the total compensatory damages recoverable.

Division (D)(2)(a) then bars judgment for punitive damages in excess of two times the compensatory damages awarded to the plaintiff from that defendant. Division (D)(2)(b) sets a stricter rule where the defendant is a small employer or individual: the lesser of two times those compensatory damages, or ten per cent of the employer's or individual's net worth when the tort was committed, up to a maximum of three hundred fifty thousand dollars. Division (D)(2)(c) excludes attorney's fees awarded on a punitive claim from that calculation.

Actions the general cap does not reach

Division (H) lists three exclusions. The cap does not apply to tort actions brought against the state in the Court of Claims, including actions where a state university or college is a defendant under division (B)(3) of section 3345.40. It does not apply to tort actions brought against political subdivisions of this state that are commenced under or subject to Chapter 2744, where division (C) of section 2744.05 instead governs recoverable damages. And it does not apply to wrongful death actions brought under Chapter 2125.

Medical claims are handled by a parallel statute rather than by this one. Section 2323.43(A)(2) uses the same greater-of formula with the same three hundred fifty thousand dollar per-plaintiff and five hundred thousand dollar per-occurrence maximums, and division (A)(3) doubles those to five hundred thousand dollars per plaintiff and one million dollars per occurrence for the catastrophic categories.

What this means for documentation

Because the ceiling on noneconomic loss floats on proven economic loss, wage records, tax returns, mileage, out-of-pocket receipts, home modifications and future care costs affect far more than the bills column. And because the exceptions are written in functional terms, therapy notes describing what a person can and cannot do without help are worth more than a series of imaging reports.

A case that reaches a verdict in this county does so in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, whose Local Rule 9 has been effective since October 1, 2025 and prices a jury demand deposit at $270.00 on top of the $325.00 taken to open the case.

This page summarizes Ohio's damages statutes as general information. It is not legal advice, and how these limits would apply to a particular injury should be reviewed with an attorney licensed in Ohio.