Ohio Car Accident Laws – Important Info for Drivers

In 2006, there were 1,238 fatal vehicle crashes in the state of Ohio. Ohio has a Proportional Comparative Fault law. This means that if the driver is 50%+ responsible for the car accident, he or she cannot sue the other person involved in the vehicle accident for damages. The fault rule states that car accident victims will receive compensation based on how much of the responsibility he or she at fault. For instance, if a person was 10% responsible for the car accident, he or she would lose 10% of the wages he or she would have received due to the accident.

Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Ohio state laws coverage limits are up to $25,000 for every person in the car when the accident occurred. Each individual can only receive up to $12,500. You are allowed $7,500 for any property damaged caused.

The limit for small claims in Ohio is $3,000.

When injured in a car accident you have up to 2 years to file your claim from the date the accident occurred. If you did not know you were injured at the time of the accident, you have up to 2 years from the date you learned you had an injury.

In the state of Ohio if you get into an accident with an employee driving a government vehicle you may file a lawsuit with the agency. Government agencies include public schools, the county, state, town or city or a public agency.

As with other states, you must first file a form with the government agency within the 30 to 180 date time frame before filing a lawsuit. You may want to contact an attorney as these forms may be very confusing. If you do not get your form in within the stated amount of time or if you make mistakes on the form you may not get all of the benefits from the car accident you should have received.

Ohio drunken driving limit of blood alcohol in a person’s system is .10% or higher. If you are picked up for drunken driving for your first offense you face a fine that will be $200.00 all of the way up to $1,000. You will lose your driver’s license for 90 days. If you refuse to take the blood alcohol or drug test you will lose your driver’s license for one year. You will go to jail for three days in a row or you may take the driver intervention program for three days. The court license suspension is six months to three years.

On the second drunken driving offense you will receive a fine of $300.00 all of the way up to $1,500. You will lose your driver’s license for one year if your blood alcohol is .10% or above. You will spend ten days or more consecutively in jail or five to eighteen days in house arrest (and it could be as high as six months). You must take a intervention program for drivers. For 90 days your vehicle will be impounded along with your license plates. The court may suspend your driver’s license for one to five years.

The third drunken driving offense will cost you $500.00 to $2,500. You will lose your license for two years. If you refuse to be tested for drugs or alcohol in your system you will receive a three year driver’s license suspension. Jail time will be thirty days to one year or you may receive fifteen days of jail and fifty five days of house arrest--which could also be one year. You must take a class with regards to an alcohol treatment program and you must pay for it yourself. If you are drunken driving within six years on your third offense you will give up your vehicle. You will also lose your driver’s license for one to three years.

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