Panel backs inflation adjustment to Ohio damages caps; supporters cite fairness for victims

Representative Stewart, sponsor of House Bill 447, told the Judiciary Committee the bill would update Ohio’s damages caps for non-economic harms to account for inflation since 2005.

Stewart said the bill raises the current $250,000 cap on non-economic damages to $450,000 (or, in some formulations, up to three times the plaintiff’s economic loss up to a specified maximum) and increases other thresholds such as $500,000 limits on permanent and substantial injury to new higher amounts (e.g., $830,000 per plaintiff or $1.6 million per occurrence as described during testimony). The sponsor said the bill does not otherwise alter the balance in tort law; its intent is to preserve the buying power of caps enacted in 2005 and to make future inflationary adjustments automatic so Ohio would not need to revisit the issue every two decades.

Committee members asked whether the bill would drive insurance premiums higher. Stewart said he had not analyzed premium impacts directly and expected actuaries to account for actuarial risk; he added that the bill does not make plaintiffs more likely to prevail in litigation, it only adjusts statutory limits in cases where juries award higher sums.

Members from both parties expressed sympathy for victims who have their jury awards reduced by statutory caps and urged that the adjustment is overdue. The committee accepted a sponsor amendment to narrow the bill’s language and remove provisions that might have allowed effectively unlimited damages.