Medical Malpractice Funding in Ohio

Ohio medical claims must be filed within one year of accrual under R.C. 2305.113(A) — half the two-year period that governs general personal injury in Ohio. Accrual is measured from the cognizable event, when the patient discovers or should have discovered the injury, or from the termination of the physician-patient relationship, whichever is later. Serving a written notice of intent within the one-year period extends the deadline by 180 days under R.C. 2305.113(B). A four-year statute of repose in R.C. 2305.113(C) bars claims filed more than four years after the act, with two exceptions: an injury that could not reasonably have been discovered within three years may be filed within one year of discovery, and a retained foreign object may be sued on within one year of discovery. Ohio requires an affidavit of merit from a qualified expert with the complaint under Civ.R. 10(D)(2).

Modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar under R.C. 2315.33. A med-mal plaintiff whose fault is greater than the combined fault of all other parties recovers nothing; otherwise the award is reduced proportionally under R.C. 2315.34. Under R.C. 2307.22, a defendant found less than 50 percent at fault is only severally liable for non-economic damages, which affects recovery in multi-defendant hospital cases.

Ohio caps non-economic damages in medical claims under R.C. 2323.43. The general limit is the greater of $250,000 or three times economic damages, up to $350,000 per plaintiff and $500,000 per occurrence. For a catastrophic injury — permanent and substantial physical deformity, loss of use of a limb, loss of a bodily organ system, or a permanent physical injury that prevents the plaintiff from independently caring for themselves — the cap rises to $500,000 per plaintiff and $1,000,000 per occurrence. The figures are fixed and are not adjusted for inflation. Ohio's non-economic damages caps were upheld against a facial constitutional challenge in Arbino v. Johnson & Johnson, 116 Ohio St.3d 468, 2007-Ohio-6948. Economic damages are not capped, and the cap does not apply to wrongful death claims, which are governed by R.C. chapter 2125.

Ohio awards prejudgment interest in a medical claim only under R.C. 1343.03(C), where the court finds after judgment that the defendant failed to make a good faith effort to settle and the plaintiff did not. Interest then runs from the date the cause of action accrued if liability was admitted or the harm intentional, or otherwise from the later of written notice to the defendant or its insurer or the filing date, until judgment. Prejudgment interest is not awarded on future damages. Post-judgment interest runs under R.C. 1343.03(A).

Under Ohio Civ.R. 3(C), a medical claim is filed in the county where the defendant resides or has its principal place of business, where the defendant conducted the activity giving rise to the claim, or where all or part of the claim arose — ordinarily the county of the hospital or practice. Claims against state university hospitals are heard in the Ohio Court of Claims under R.C. chapter 2743.

Ohio regulates consumer litigation funding under the Non-recourse civil litigation advance contracts (current); replaced by a new consumer/commercial framework effective October 6, 2026 (H.B. 105), Ohio Rev. Code § 1349.55 (current, through 10/5/2026); Ohio Rev. Code §§ 1357.01–1357.10 (effective 10/6/2026). Current law imposes no fixed rate cap — only an APR-style disclosure recalculated every 6 months.

How does Ohio's one-year limit affect when a med-mal claim can be funded?

The one-year period under R.C. 2305.113 is short, so most Ohio med-mal complaints are filed with an affidavit of merit before the expert work is complete. Funding is realistic once the complaint and affidavit are on file, and the 180-day notice extension is often what makes timely filing possible.

The cognizable-event standard for accrual and the termination-of-relationship rule are both litigated, so underwriting confirms counsel's accrual analysis. A claim filed on the strength of the 180-day extension is not weaker for that reason, but the notice date and filing date are checked. The four-year repose is absolute apart from its two narrow exceptions.

What does the 2323.43 cap mean for an Ohio advance?

Non-economic damages are capped at $350,000 per plaintiff in most injury claims and $500,000 for catastrophic injuries, so the fundable value of an Ohio med-mal case rests largely on economic damages and on whether the injury qualifies as catastrophic under the statutory definition.

The cap is the greater of $250,000 or three times economic damages, so a large medical-expense record raises the non-economic ceiling up to the $350,000 or $500,000 limit. Wrongful death claims are outside R.C. 2323.43 entirely. Because the figures are not indexed, they have not changed since enactment, and underwriting applies them as fixed amounts.

Why does Ohio's funding statute matter to a plaintiff choosing a funder?

R.C. 1349.55 requires front-page disclosure of the total repayment at six-month intervals, a five-day cancellation right, and a bar on funder control of the case. A contract that does not meet those terms is not compliant, and the plaintiff's attorney must acknowledge the agreement in writing.

The statute has governed Ohio consumer funding since 2008 and gives Ohio plaintiffs a clearer disclosure baseline than most states. It is scheduled for repeal on October 6, 2026 under House Bill 105, which restructures third-party litigation funding regulation. Contracts executed after that date should be checked against whatever framework replaces it.