State guide · Midwest
Ohio subrogation law guide
Recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's share and barred only when the plaintiff's fault is greater than the combined fault of all other persons, including nonparties; at exactly 50% the plaintiff recovers half.
Ohio at a glanceOH
- Property damage
- 2 years
- Bodily injury
- 2 years
- Fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- Gov. notice
- None
Overview
Ohio subrogation turns on short clocks and statutory carve-outs. Injury to personal property, including every auto collision claim, runs two years under R.C. 2305.10(A), while negligent damage to real property gets four years under R.C. 2305.09(D) with a discovery rule. The fault rule is modified comparative with a 51% bar, measured against everyone involved, including nonparties allocated under R.C. 2307.23, and defendants at 50% or less pay only their own share. Two statutes reshape the math. R.C. 2744.05(B) bars insurers from bringing subrogation actions against political subdivisions, so a collision with a city plow or a flood from a township culvert usually yields no recovery. R.C. 2323.44 cuts a subrogee's injury-related claim in the same proportion as the insured's recovery was cut by fault or limited coverage, whatever the policy says. And the 10-year product repose, upheld in Groch v. General Motors, ends many appliance and HVAC fire claims, so the manufacturing date must be fixed early.
Quick reference with citations
- Property damage SOL
- 2 years
- R.C. 2305.10(A) (two years for personal property, including vehicles); negligent damage to real property runs four years under R.C. 2305.09(D), with a discovery rule
- Bodily injury SOL
- 2 years
- R.C. 2305.10(A) (two years)
- Product liability
- 2 years (R.C. 2305.10(A)); 10-year repose from delivery to the first purchaser (2305.10(C)), upheld in Groch v. General Motors Corp. (2008); 10-year repose for real property improvements (2305.131)
- Written contract
- 6 years
- Contract and indemnity recoveries
- Comparative fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- R.C. 2315.33; R.C. 2307.23 (allocation of fault to nonparties)
- Government notice of claim
- No general statutory pre-suit notice
- No pre-suit notice for political subdivisions; suit within two years (R.C. 2744.04(A)). R.C. 2744.05(B) deducts insurance benefits from any award against a political subdivision and bars insurer subrogation actions against it for those benefits. Court of Claims actions against the State are due within two years (2743.16), with recoveries reduced by insurance proceeds (2743.02(D)).
Fault rule in practice
How Ohio's rule changes a $50,000 recovery.
Recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's share and barred only when the plaintiff's fault is greater than the combined fault of all other persons, including nonparties; at exactly 50% the plaintiff recovers half.
Authority: R.C. 2315.33; R.C. 2307.23 (allocation of fault to nonparties)
| Insured's share of fault | Recoverable in OH | Under pure comparative |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| 20% | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| 50% | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| 60% | Barred | $20,000 |
Doctrines that move the number
Ohio doctrine checklist.
Made-whole doctrine
Ohio treats the made-whole doctrine as a default that clear policy language can override (Northern Buckeye v. Lawson, 2004). For subrogated claims arising from injury, death or loss to person, R.C. 2323.44 (amended 2015) now applies regardless of contract: when the insured recovers less than full value because of comparative fault, several-liability allocation or limited insurance, the subrogee's claim shrinks in the same proportion.
Economic loss doctrine
Chemtrol Adhesives (1989) and Corporex v. Shook (2005) bar tort recovery of purely economic loss absent physical harm to persons or other property. Property damage beyond the defective product or work itself remains recoverable, with product claims governed by R.C. 2307.71 et seq.
Joint and several liability
Under R.C. 2307.22, a defendant more than 50% at fault is jointly and severally liable for economic loss, and a defendant at 50% or less pays only its share. Non-economic damages are several only.
Anti-subrogation and waiver
The general rule bars subrogation against the carrier's own insureds and co-insureds, and R.C. 2744.05(B) adds a statutory bar on subrogation actions against political subdivisions.
Practice notes
Working Ohio subrogation files.
- 1
Calendar Ohio property claims on two clocks. A damaged vehicle claim expires two years from the crash under 2305.10(A). A water or fire claim for a building runs four years under 2305.09(D), and Harris v. Liston applied a discovery rule to negligent damage to real property. Contents inside the building are personal property, so file the whole claim within two years whenever possible.
- 2
Example of the 51% bar with nonparty allocation: a carrier pays $46,000 for a Columbus restaurant kitchen fire. The jury assigns 40% to the insured, 35% to the HVAC contractor and 25% to a nonparty electrician. The insured is not barred, since 40% is less than the combined 60%, but the contractor is severally liable, so recovery is $16,100. The electrician's $11,500 share is lost.
- 3
Before working a public-entity claim, identify who owns the at-fault vehicle or facility. Cities, counties, townships, school districts and regional transit authorities are protected by 2744.05(B). A private contractor working for them is not, so a road crew subcontractor or a utility locator may be the real recovery target and should be put on notice early.
- 4
On injury-related subrogation such as medical payments or UM, R.C. 2323.44 overrides contract terms. If an insured's $100,000 injury claim settles for the adverse driver's $25,000 limits, an $8,000 medical payments claim is diminished in the same proportion, to $2,000. Disputed allocations go to a declaratory judgment action under Chapter 2721.
- 5
The product repose runs from delivery to the first purchaser, not from the fire. Ishqkala decodes appliance and furnace serial numbers from origin and cause reports and repair estimates to estimate the delivery date, and flags Ohio product claims within 12 months of the repose cutoff so the express-warranty and fraud exceptions in 2305.10(C) can be checked.
Key cases
Northern Buckeye Education Council Group Health Benefits Plan v. Lawson
103 Ohio St.3d 188, 2004-Ohio-4886
Held that clear and unambiguous plan language granting the insurer priority overrides the made-whole doctrine, so the subrogee may recover even when the insured is not fully compensated.
Corporex Development & Construction Management, Inc. v. Shook, Inc.
106 Ohio St.3d 412, 2005-Ohio-5409
Reaffirmed that the economic loss rule bars negligence claims for purely economic loss in a construction dispute, so tort recovery requires physical harm to persons or other property.
Groch v. General Motors Corp.
117 Ohio St.3d 192, 2008-Ohio-546
Upheld the 10-year product liability statute of repose in R.C. 2305.10(C), which cuts off product claims measured from delivery to the first purchaser.
Inter-company arbitration
Arbitration Forums resolves most Ohio carrier-to-carrier auto and property disputes, compulsory for signatories up to $100,000 in total company-paid damages. Arbitrators apply loss-state law, so the 51% bar compares the insured with all other contributors, and a responding company at 50% or less pays only its share; name every member company involved. Political subdivision claims stay out of the forum under 2744.05(B), and product filings must allow inspection of the alleged defective part.
How Ishqkala applies this guide
OH rules, built into every score.
- Opportunities with a Ohio loss state are calendared against the 2 years property damage period or the 2 years bodily injury period, whichever controls the claim type.
- The insured's estimated fault share is applied under modified, 51% bar before recoverable dollars are scored.
- Public-entity claims are flagged for counsel review because notice and immunity rules vary by entity.
- Alerts fire at 180, 90, 45 and 15 days before the controlling deadline.
Other modified, 51% bar jurisdictions
FAQ
Ohio subrogation FAQ
2 years (R.C. 2305.10(A) (two years for personal property, including vehicles); negligent damage to real property runs four years under R.C. 2305.09(D), with a discovery rule). A subrogating carrier generally takes the insured's claim subject to the same limitation period, usually measured from the date of loss.
Modified, 51% bar (R.C. 2315.33; R.C. 2307.23 (allocation of fault to nonparties)). Recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's share and barred only when the plaintiff's fault is greater than the combined fault of all other persons, including nonparties; at exactly 50% the plaintiff recovers half.
No pre-suit notice for political subdivisions; suit within two years (R.C. 2744.04(A)). R.C. 2744.05(B) deducts insurance benefits from any award against a political subdivision and bars insurer subrogation actions against it for those benefits. Court of Claims actions against the State are due within two years (2743.16), with recoveries reduced by insurance proceeds (2743.02(D)).
Ohio treats the made-whole doctrine as a default that clear policy language can override (Northern Buckeye v. Lawson, 2004). For subrogated claims arising from injury, death or loss to person, R.C. 2323.44 (amended 2015) now applies regardless of contract: when the insured recovers less than full value because of comparative fault, several-liability allocation or limited insurance, the subrogee's claim shrinks in the same proportion.
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