Lost Wages and Emotional Distress After Car Accidents

The first, and often, largest type of damages is what is called Compensatory damages. These are damages that are intended to compensate a victim of a car accident for the economic loss they have incurred. According to Ohio Revised Code 2315.18, economic loss means:

• All wages, salaries, or other compensation lost as a result of an injury or loss to person or property that is a subject of a tort action;
• All expenditures for medical care or treatment, rehabilitation services, or other care, treatment, services, products, or accommodations as a result of an injury or loss to person or property that is a subject of a tort action;
• Any other expenditures incurred as a result of an injury or loss to person or property that is a subject of a tort action, other than attorney’s fees incurred in connection with that action.

As such, Ohio law – under ORC section 2315.18(2)a – permits a victim of a car accident to recover all wages, salaries or other compensation lost as a result of the car accident. However, it is critical to obtain the appropriate proof of this loss – which usually involves your Attorney working directly with you employer to provide verification of the loss.

It’s worth noting that the law in Ohio does not contain any limitation on the amount of compensation one may receive for this type of loss after a car accident injury. As outlined below, Non-Economic damages in Ohio are not treated the same.