Hit by a Company Vehicle in Ohio, You Beat the Ticket, and the Insurer Still Won't Pay: Your Claim

Attorney Answer

Winning in traffic court helps, but it does not decide the insurance claim. The court found only that the state could not prove the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Your claim is decided on a lower standard, in negotiation or in a lawsuit against the driver and, if he was working at the time, the company. The officer's conclusions in the report are generally not evidence of fault in that suit. You have two years.

Two different standards. Ohio Rev. Code § 2901.05(A):

(A) Every person accused of an offense is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and the burden of proof for all elements of the offense is upon the prosecution.

A civil claim for your damage is decided on whether it is more likely than not that the other driver was at fault, and the insurer is not bound by the traffic court's result. Your photos and the dismissal are still good evidence to put in front of it.

The report. Ohio Evidence Rule 803(8) lets public records of an agency's activities, and of what an officer observed under a duty to report, come in as evidence, but Ohio's version has no clause for an investigation's conclusions. An Ohio appeals court held in Petti v. Perna, 86 Ohio App.3d 508, 621 N.E.2d 580 (3d Dist. 1993), that a deputy's conclusions about the cause of a crash he did not witness were not admissible. The error was harmless in that case, so treat this as a general rule, not a guarantee.

Who you can claim against. The driver is responsible for his own negligence. The company may also be responsible if he was acting within the scope of his job when the crash happened, which the company may dispute. You cannot sue the company's insurer directly at the start. Ohio Rev. Code § 3929.06(B):

(B) Division (A)(2) of this section does not authorize the commencement of a civil action against an insurer until a court enters the final judgment described in division (A)(1) of this section in the distinct civil action for damages between the plaintiff and an insured tortfeasor and until the expiration of the thirty-day period referred to in division (A)(2) of this section.

Shared fault. If the insurer argues you were partly at fault, Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.33 governs:

The contributory fault of a person does not bar the person as plaintiff from recovering damages that have directly and proximately resulted from the tortious conduct of one or more other persons, if the contributory fault of the plaintiff was not greater than the combined tortious conduct of all other persons from whom the plaintiff seeks recovery in this action and of all other persons from whom the plaintiff does not seek recovery in this action. The court shall diminish any compensatory damages recoverable by the plaintiff by an amount that is proportionately equal to the percentage of tortious conduct of the plaintiff as determined pursuant to section 2315.34 of the Revised Code.

What you can do

1. Keep the court's dismissal or acquittal record, your photos and the crash report.

2. Send the insurer a written demand with your evidence: photos, repair estimates, medical records and bills.

3. Ask the insurer in writing for the specific reason it is denying the claim.

4. If it will not pay, file suit against the driver and the company before the deadline.

5. 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. A lawsuit for injury or damage must be filed within two years of the crash under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A), even while you are negotiating.