An Ohio wrongful death claim involves a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of a decedent's estate and surviving family members against the party responsible for negligently or intentionally causing the decedent's death. The personal representative of the estate has two years to file the claim. Damages awarded may include financial support, services, care, companionship, mental anguish, and lost inheritance. The award is distributed according to Ohio inheritance laws.

1. WRONGFUL DEATH
LAWS IN OHIO
By Dyer, Garofalo, Mann & Schultz L.P.A.

2. What is wrongful death claim in Ohio?
• “Wrongful death" means that someone passed away due to the
negligence or bad behavior of another person. In other words,
the death is legally the fault of another person.
• Wrongful death claims in Ohio are governed by Ohio Revised
Statues section 2125, which defines a wrongful death as a
death "caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default" and allows a
wrongful death suit if the wrongful act, neglect, or default would
have given rise to a lawsuit if the victim had not died.
• A wrongful death suit is a civil action, not a criminal one.
• In a civil suit, the defendant must pay cash damages to the plaintiffs,
whereas in a criminal case, the defendant may face jail time, fines, and
other penalties.

3. What is wrongful death? (cont.)
• A wrongful death claim is kind of a personal injury claim in
which the injured person is no longer available to file his or her
own case in court.
• Instead, another party must file the claim on behalf of the
deceased person's estate and any surviving family members.
• The family of the deceased may still recover damages in a
wrongful death suit, even if the party at fault is not convicted in
a criminal case.
• Wrongful death suits may involve negligence, as well as
intentional actions; these are typically also crimes. Here are
some of the crimes that can leas to a wrongful death:
• Medical malpractice
• Dangerous drugs
• Defective medical devices and products
• Car and truck accidents, and more.

4. Who can file an Ohio wrongful death lawsuit?
• As a deceased victim cannot bring a suit on her own
behalf, the Ohio wrongful death laws specify that a
"personal representative" of the estate of the deceased
can bring suit instead.
• In the state of Ohio, the suit must be for the benefit of the
estate, surviving spouse, parents, and children of the
deceased. Those people are presumed to have suffered
damages because of the death.
• Other family members, such as siblings or grandparents,
are not presumed to have suffered a loss. However, they
too may recover damages, if they can provide proof in
court that they have suffered a compensable loss due to
the death of the victim.

5. When can you bring a wrongful death suit?
• Ohio wrongful death laws gives family members of the
deceased person a limited amount of time in which to file a
lawsuit for wrongful death, which is called a "statute of
limitations."
• According to the Ohio wrongful death law, a personal
representative has a limit of two years from the date of death to
file.
• If you try to file a wrongful death lawsuit after that time, the
court will typically dismiss your case.
• However, there are certain factors that can affect the way the
statute of limitations runs. In this case, you should consult with
a wrongful death attorney to understand exactly how the statute
of limitations might apply in your case.

6. How much is a wrongful death suit worth?
• A wrongful death case may be settled before trial or may
go before a jury.
• In Ohio, the jury has the right to award an amount
proportional to the injuries and loss suffered by the
beneficiaries of the suit.
• The jury may also separately award funeral and burial costs.
• “All factors existing at the time of the decedent's death
that are relevant to a determination of the damages
suffered by reason of the wrongful death” are taken into
consideration in determining the amount of the jury award.
• For example, jury can consider whether people were dependent on
the deceased for support, how much the deceased earned, how
long she expected to continue working, and other factors.

7. Damages in Ohio Wrongful Death Lawsuits
• The damages awarded in a wrongful death suit fall into
five general categories:
• loss of support, based on the compensation the deceased person
would reasonably have earned if he or she had lived
• loss of the services of the deceased person, including things like
housework, yard work, and child care
• loss of the care, companionship, advice, guidance, counsel,
instruction, or society of the deceased person
• loss of the prospective inheritance the deceased person's spouse
or children might have received if he or she had lived, and
• mental anguish suffered by the surviving family members as a
result of the untimely death.

8. How Will the Award Distributed?
• The distribution of the proceeds from a
wrongful death suit is determined by Ohio's
laws regarding inheritance.
• Generally, family members who are all
related to the same degree will receive
equal parts of the award.
• Family members who are farther removed
from the deceased will receive less than
those who are more closely related.