The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
PERSONAL INJURY
Q: I was injured in a car accident on March 29, 2018. I was told my deadline to file a lawsuit against the wrongdoer expired on March 29, 2020. Do I have any options to pursue a claim?
A: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you are not out of options. On March 9, 2020, the Governor of Ohio issued Executive Order 202001D and declared a state of emergency in Ohio in response to COVID-19. He then signed into law Am.Sub.H.B. No. 197 on March 27, 2020, which immediately tolled, retroactive to March 9, 2020, all statutes of limitation, time limitations, and deadlines in the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Administrative Code until the expiration of the Executive Order or July 30, 2020, whichever is sooner. Ohio’s general separation of powers precludes the Ohio General Assembly from tolling time requirements that have been established by the various Supreme Court promulgated rules. The Supreme Court therefore issued Administrative Action, 2020-Ohio-1166 to work in conjunction with the Governor’s executive order and toll these additional time requirements in the same manner. The Supreme Court’s action tolls or pauses the time requirements for filing pleadings, appeals and other filings. As you are already aware, you have two years to file a lawsuit for personal injury as set forth in Ohio Revised Code 2305.10. Tolling essentially freezes time from the date tolling begins, which is March 9, 2020, until the expiration of the order. In your example, the deadline to file your personal injury claim (the “statute of limitation”) would have expired on March 29, 2020, 20 days after the effective date of the order. Your new deadline will now expire 20 days after the tolling order is lifted or July 30, 2020, whichever is sooner. Please contact the DiCello Law Firm to discuss your filing deadlines in greater detail.