An Uninsured Driver in Ohio Promised to Pay for the Damage and Hasn't: Your Three Options

Attorney Answer

Ohio gives you three tools, and the first has a deadline measured from the crash, not from the broken promise. Within six months of the accident you can report the other driver to the BMV as uninsured, which makes them prove they had coverage. You can put the promise in a written agreement the BMV will enforce. And you can sue for the damage, in small claims court if it is $6,000 or less, within two years.

First, make sure you can name them. A plate number is enough to start, but every option below needs a name and an address. If you don't have them, report the crash to the police with the plate number and the date, and ask for the report number.

The BMV report. Ohio lets anyone involved in a crash tell the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that the other driver was uninsured. Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.06:

(A) Any person who is in any manner involved in a motor vehicle accident, including as the driver of a motor vehicle, the owner of property, or any person sustaining bodily injury or property damage, may, within six months after the accident, forward a written report of the accident to the registrar of motor vehicles on a form prescribed by the registrar alleging that a driver or owner of any vehicle involved in the accident was uninsured at the time of the accident.

(B) Upon receipt of the accident report, the registrar shall send a notice by regular mail to the driver and owner alleged to be uninsured requiring the person to give evidence that the person had proof of financial responsibility in effect at the time of the accident.

(C) Within thirty days after the mailing of the notice by the registrar, the driver of the vehicle alleged to be uninsured shall forward a report together with acceptable proof of financial responsibility to the registrar in a form prescribed by the registrar.

A driver who cannot show coverage has violated Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.101, and the penalty is a license suspension. That gives the other driver a reason to deal with you that a promise alone does not.

Put the promise in writing. Ohio has a statute for exactly the arrangement you made. Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.24:

(A) The persons involved in or affected by a motor vehicle accident may at any time enter into a written agreement for the payment of an agreed amount with respect to all claims for bodily injury to or death of any person or property damage arising from the accident which may provide for payment in installments. A signed copy of the agreement may be filed with the registrar of motor vehicles.

(C) If the registrar receives satisfactory evidence that any person obliged to make payment under any such agreement has defaulted in payment, the registrar shall impose a class F suspension of the offender's driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege for the period of time specified in division (B)(6) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code on the person as provided in section 4509.17 of the Revised Code.

A signed agreement, filed with the BMV, turns “I'll pay you” into something with consequences if the payments stop.

Suing for the damage. A claim for damage to your car must be filed within two years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A):

(A) Except as provided in division (C) or (E) of this section, an action based on a product liability claim and an action for bodily injury or injuring personal property shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues. Except as provided in divisions (B)(1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) of this section, a cause of action accrues under this division when the injury or loss to person or property occurs.

Small claims court handles claims up to $6,000. Ohio Rev. Code § 1925.02(A)(1):

(A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, a small claims division established under section 1925.01 of the Revised Code has jurisdiction in civil actions for the recovery of taxes and money only, for amounts not exceeding six thousand dollars, exclusive of interest and costs.

A judgment the other driver doesn't pay has its own consequence. Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.37(A):

(A) The registrar of motor vehicles upon receipt of a certified copy of a judgment, shall impose a class F suspension for the period of time specified in division (B)(6) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code of the license and registration and any nonresident's operating privilege of any person against whom such judgment was rendered, except as provided in sections 4509.01 to 4509.78 of the Revised Code.

Under R.C. 4509.40 the suspension stays in place until the judgment is paid or otherwise resolved.

Your own policy. If you carry collision coverage, a claim under it is another route to getting the car fixed, and your insurer can then go after the other driver.

What you can do

1. If you don't have the other driver's name and address, report the crash to the police with the plate number and get the report number.

2. Send the BMV the uninsured-driver report within six months of the crash. The form is on the Ohio BMV's website.

3. If the other driver still says they will pay, write it down: the total, the payment amounts and dates, and both signatures. File a signed copy with the BMV under R.C. 4509.24.

4. Get a written repair estimate and keep your photos of the damage.

5. If the money still doesn't come, file in small claims court for a claim of $6,000 or less.

6. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Ohio attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Six months from the accident for the BMV report under Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.06(A), and two years from the accident to sue for the damage to your car under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A). Both run from the crash, not from the promise.