Severity and the Pain & Suffering Multiplier

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

In Ohio, how severe your injury is legally matters as much as how much it hurts, because catastrophic injuries escape the cap.

What moves the multiplier

• Permanence. A fully healed fracture supports a lower multiplier than a lasting impairment.
• Future treatment. Ongoing therapy, surgery or medication pushes toward the high end.
• Disfigurement. Permanent visible changes tend to be valued more heavily.
• Daily life. Documented loss of work, activity or family care strengthens the case.
• Documentation. Records, a pain journal and photos make a higher multiplier easier to justify.

The cap grows with economic loss

Because the limit is the greater of $250,000 or three times economic loss, up to $350,000, economic loss up to about $83,333 leaves the cap at $250,000, it rises with three times economic loss in between, and above about $116,667 it stays at $350,000.

The catastrophic gate

A permanent and substantial physical deformity, loss of use of a limb, loss of a bodily organ system, or a permanent functional injury preventing self-care lifts the cap. Courts have required actual evidence of these categories, so medical proof is the case.

Fault

You are barred only if you are more than 50% at fault, and a defendant more than 50% at fault is jointly and severally liable for economic damages; otherwise liability is several.

Official sources

• Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.33 — contributory fault
• Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.18 — noneconomic damages limits
• Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.21 — punitive damages
• Ohio Rev. Code § 2323.43 — medical claims

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Ohio's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Ohio attorney.