Ohio Mesothelioma Lawyer | Asbestos Claims, Lawsuits & Deadlines

If your family is dealing with a mesothelioma diagnosis tied to work in an Ohio steel mill, refinery, rubber plant, glass factory, or federal facility, several claim paths may be open at once. These usually include lawsuits against the manufacturers and suppliers of the asbestos products, claims against the owners of the mills, plants, and yards where the exposure happened, claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts that were set up to pay victims, and — for some workers — federal benefits programs.

Ohio gives you two years to file a personal-injury claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. An earlier diagnosis of asbestosis or pleural scarring does not by itself start the clock for mesothelioma in Ohio, because Ohio treats them as separate claims. But the two years can start before the formal diagnosis if you knew, or should have known, that your illness was related to asbestos, so call us right away. If your loved one has already passed away, the family's wrongful-death claim generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. Ohio limits pain-and-suffering damages in most injury cases, but the limit does not apply to injuries that cause the loss of a bodily organ system, and we argue that mesothelioma qualifies; whether it does depends on the medical evidence. The safest step is to call as soon as possible after diagnosis.

You do not need to know the name of the asbestos product before you call. Many strong Ohio cases begin with one sentence: "Dad worked at the Brier Hill mill." Our team rebuilds the exposure history from worksite records, coworker information, product handling, and our own Ohio database.

You don't need the product names or old records. No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS Request a review

Quick answers

How long do we have to file?	Two years for a personal-injury claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. If your loved one has already passed away, the family's wrongful-death claim generally must be filed within two years of the date of death.
Does the Ohio damages cap limit my mesothelioma case?	Possibly not. Ohio limits pain-and-suffering damages in most injury cases, but not when the injury causes the loss of a bodily organ system or a permanent injury that leaves the person unable to care for themselves. We argue that mesothelioma meets that exception; whether it does depends on the medical evidence. The limit never applies to wrongful-death claims.
Does a claim always mean filing a lawsuit?	No. Many families recover through asbestos trust claims and benefits without ever going to court. Some cases involve a lawsuit too. The right mix depends on the work history.
Who may be responsible?	Mostly the companies that made and sold the asbestos products. Ohio law sharply limits claims against the owners of the plants where the exposure happened, and workers' compensation usually bars suing your own employer.
What compensation may be available?	Medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and in some cases punitive damages, subject to Ohio's limits.
What evidence do we need to start?	Just enough to talk. A diagnosis, a rough work history, and the names of any employers or job sites you remember. We do the rest.
Can an adult child or spouse call for the family?	Yes. Most of our first calls come from a spouse or adult child.
Do we have to come to your office?	No. We handle Ohio cases by phone, video, and home visit. Most clients never set foot in our office.

“I started this firm after learning that the cancers that killed my father and grandparents were caused by asbestos, something we did not realize until it was too late to hold anyone accountable. That experience is why we built this site: so that no other family misses their chance to ask the questions, hear the options, and decide for themselves what to do.”

Justinian C. Lane, Founding Partner

Was the exposure at an Ohio steel mill, refinery, rubber plant, glass factory, or federal facility?

Ohio's industrial history runs through the Mahoning Valley steel corridor, the Cleveland industrial belt along the Cuyahoga, Akron's tire and rubber plants, Toledo's glassworks, the Standard Oil refineries (Standard Oil started in Cleveland in 1870), and federal sites such as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, NASA Glenn, the Lima tank plant, and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The asbestos trusts' lists hold more than 8,500 Ohio entries across 556 communities, from 28 trusts. Cleveland alone has 1,391 entries.

Ohio worksite	City	Why it matters
Youngstown Sheet & Tube — Brier Hill and Campbell Works	Youngstown	On the lists of at least 15 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Brier Hill closed in 1979, two years after the Campbell Works closing began the Mahoning Valley steel collapse.
Republic Steel — Cleveland Works	Cleveland	Integrated steel mill; at least 13 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Republic Steel — Warren	Warren	Mahoning Valley integrated steel; at least 12 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber	Akron	Akron's tire and rubber plants; at least 11 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Babcock & Wilcox works	Barberton	B&W's boiler works; at least 13 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
PPG Industries (Pittsburgh Plate Glass)	Barberton	Glass and chemical plant; at least 12 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
U.S. Steel Lorain Works	Lorain	Integrated steel and tubing; at least 14 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Armco Steel — Middletown Works	Middletown	The American Rolling Mill Company (now Cleveland-Cliffs); at least 13 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Standard Oil (Sohio) Toledo refinery	Toledo	At least 11 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Cleveland Electric Illuminating — Avon Lake plant	Avon Lake	Coal-fired power plant; at least 11 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base	Dayton	One of the largest U.S. Air Force installations; at least 9 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Federal civilian employees are covered by FECA (see below).
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant	Piketon	Department of Energy uranium enrichment plant (1954–2001), run by contractors. Contractor employees with an asbestos illness may qualify for federal EEOICPA benefits.

Check Ohio asbestos exposure sites

Not seeing the worksite? That does not mean your family has no claim. Many Ohio claims are built from product-handling reconstruction, coworker information, historical invoices, trust documents, and records from similar worksites in the same industry. Search the trusts' Ohio lists.

Your legal options after an Ohio mesothelioma diagnosis

Think of an Ohio mesothelioma case as a set of claim paths, not one lawsuit. Most families end up using more than one.

Asbestos trust claims

Dozens of the companies that made and sold asbestos products filed for bankruptcy and established asbestos trusts to pay victims. These trusts hold tens of billions of dollars set aside specifically for asbestos disease. Trust claims do not require a courtroom. Ohio requires anyone who files an asbestos lawsuit to disclose their trust claims under oath once the case is underway, so we plan trust claims and any lawsuit together. The asbestos trusts' lists hold more than 8,500 Ohio entries, from 28 trusts, with the Mahoning Valley steel mills, Akron's rubber plants, B&W Barberton, U.S. Steel Lorain and the Toledo and Cleveland refineries among those listed most often. Learn how asbestos trust claims work.

Product liability lawsuits

The companies that are still in business — the makers of the asbestos insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory brick, friction products, and other materials your loved one handled — can be sued in Ohio court under Ohio's product liability law. Ohio requires proof, company by company, that exposure to that company's product was a substantial factor in causing the disease, judged by how the worker was exposed, how close the product was, and how often and how long. Learn more about product liability lawsuits.

Premises liability lawsuits

Ohio's asbestos law sharply limits claims against the owners of the plants and other sites where exposure happened. An owner can be sued only for exposure that happened on its property. For exposure from 1972 on that was caused by an outside contractor's workers, the injured person must prove the owner intentionally violated a federal workplace exposure limit in his breathing zone. For exposure before 1972, the law presumes the owner kept asbestos below the safe levels Ohio had then adopted, unless the injured person proves the owner knew or should have known that the levels where he worked regularly exceeded them and let that continue. A worker cannot bring this kind of claim against his own employer. Learn more about premises liability lawsuits.

Suing the employer

Ohio workers' compensation normally prevents a worker from suing his own employer. The exception is narrow: the worker must prove the employer deliberately intended to cause the injury or disease. The law presumes that intent only if the employer itself deliberately misrepresented a toxic or hazardous substance and the disease resulted directly. Whether that can be proved depends on evidence about that employer, and these claims are rare.

Benefits programs can apply alongside trust claims and a lawsuit, but some have repayment rights or offsets, so we coordinate them case by case:

Ohio workers' compensation — for most private and public employees. Asbestos disease is an occupational disease under Ohio's system, which has its own short deadlines, and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation can claim repayment from a later lawsuit recovery.
FECA — for federal civilian employees at Wright-Patterson, NASA Glenn and its Plum Brook (Neil Armstrong) test facility, Defense Supply Center Columbus, and other federal agencies. FECA must be repaid from recoveries against others, such as a lawsuit or settlement.
EEOICPA — for Department of Energy contractor employees at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and possibly the Mound site in Miamisburg. Its asbestos-disease benefits are reduced by lawsuit and trust recoveries for the same exposure.
VA service-connected disability — for Air Force, Army, Navy, and other service veterans; the VA has no automatic presumption for asbestos diseases, but it treats in-service asbestos exposure as likely for many Navy ratings; a claim still needs a diagnosis and a doctor's opinion linking the disease to service. A veteran who also has FECA benefits for the same illness generally has to choose between them.
Social Security disability — only for claimants under full retirement age who meet Social Security's work and disability rules; it can be reduced by workers' compensation.

A recovery from a lawsuit or a trust does not reduce VA disability. Learn more about asbestos disability claims.

"Can we choose not to sue?"

Yes. Some Ohio families pursue only trust claims and disability or benefit programs and never file a lawsuit. We respect that decision. If your family wants to stay out of court, we will tell you honestly what is on the table through trusts and benefits alone, and we will not pressure you into a court case you do not want.

Uncomfortable with the idea of a lawsuit? So was Clarence Borel. He spent 33 years as an insulator on the Gulf Coast and didn't believe in suing anyone — until he realized his coworkers would die the same way he was dying. His 1969 lawsuit helped establish the product-liability law that protects families today, and the cases that followed it eventually led to the bankruptcy trusts that pay claims now. Read his story.

How long do I have to file an Ohio mesothelioma claim?

Ohio gives you two years to file a personal-injury claim for mesothelioma. Ohio has an asbestos-specific discovery rule: the clock starts when a doctor tells you the illness is related to asbestos, or earlier, when you should have known that it was. The long-ago workplace exposures do not start the clock. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. An earlier diagnosis of asbestosis or pleural scarring does not by itself start the clock for mesothelioma in Ohio, because Ohio treats them as separate claims. But the two years can start before the formal diagnosis if you knew, or should have known, that your illness was related to asbestos, so call us right away.

If your loved one has already passed away, the family's wrongful-death claim generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. The estate's claim for the worker's own losses is separate and keeps the worker's own two-year deadline, which may run out sooner. Families calling after a death should call as soon as possible to confirm what time remains.

The two-year window is short. Evidence — coworker memories, employment records, product invoices — gets harder to track down with every passing month. If the worker dies while the case is pending, the case continues through the estate, and the family's wrongful-death claim arises separately. If Ohio workers' compensation applies, its own claim deadline is shorter still. Call 833-4-ASBESTOS to start the conversation.

Legal detail: Ohio filing deadlines

Personal injury — two years. Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A) imposes a two-year statute of limitations on personal-injury and product liability claims. Section 2305.10(B)(5) governs asbestos: a claim accrues "upon the date on which the plaintiff is informed by competent medical authority that the plaintiff has an injury that is related to the exposure, or upon the date on which by the exercise of reasonable diligence the plaintiff should have known that the plaintiff has an injury that is related to the exposure, whichever date occurs first." (The general "hazardous or toxic chemicals" rule in (B)(1) excludes injuries covered by (B)(5).) O'Stricker v. Jim Walter Corp., 4 Ohio St. 3d 84 (1983), adopted the same earlier-of rule for latent injuries.

Separate claims for nonmalignant disease and cancer. R.C. § 2307.94(B) makes an asbestos claim for a nonmalignant condition "a distinct cause of action" from a claim for asbestos-related cancer in the same person, and no settlement of a nonmalignant claim may require a release of a future cancer claim (§ 2307.94(C)).

Repose. Ohio's ten-year product statute of repose (§ 2305.10(C)(1)) does not bar asbestos bodily-injury claims (§ 2305.10(C)(6)). The ten-year repose for improvements to real property (§ 2305.131) has no asbestos exception; it protects designers and builders, not an owner in actual possession and control.

Wrongful death — two years from death. R.C. § 2125.02(F)(1) (as renumbered effective April 4, 2023). Division (F)(2) is a ten-year repose rule for product claims, with exceptions. We count two years from the date of death. The death claim is separate from the worker's own claim (Klema v. St. Elizabeth's Hosp., 170 Ohio St. 519 (1960); Koler v. St. Joseph Hosp., 69 Ohio St. 2d 477 (1982)).

Survival. R.C. § 2305.21 preserves the worker's own personal-injury claim after death; it can be brought or continued by the estate, subject to the worker's own two-year period.

Workers' compensation. An occupational-disease claim is barred unless filed within one year after the disability began, or within a longer period of up to six months after diagnosis, or within one year after death (R.C. § 4123.85).

Employer intentional tort — two years. R.C. § 2745.01 claims are subject to the two-year period of R.C. § 2305.10 (Funk v. Rent-All Mart, 91 Ohio St. 3d 78 (2001)); Norgard v. Brush Wellman, 95 Ohio St. 3d 165 (2002), starts the clock when the worker discovers, or should have discovered, the employer's wrongful conduct.

Out-of-state claims and choice of law. Ohio decides which state's law governs by the most significant relationship (Morgan v. Biro Mfg. Co., 15 Ohio St. 3d 339 (1984)). Under Ohio's borrowing statute, a tort claim that accrued in another state cannot be brought in Ohio if either state's deadline has run (R.C. § 2305.03(B)).

Who can be sued in an Ohio asbestos case?

In a typical Ohio asbestos case, the defendants are mostly the companies that made the asbestos products, and a case may include several of them.

Product manufacturers and suppliers

The companies that made the asbestos products your loved one worked with — insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory brick, friction products, joint compound, and many others — are the heart of most asbestos cases. Ohio requires proof against each company: that the worker was exposed to that company's product and that the exposure was a substantial factor in causing the disease. A company that only sold a product made by another can be liable in narrower situations, such as its own negligence or when the manufacturer can't be reached.

Premises owners and site operators

Ohio's asbestos law allows claims against a plant's owner only for exposure on its property, and limits them further: for exposure from 1972 on that was caused by an outside contractor's workers, the injured person must prove the owner intentionally violated a federal workplace exposure limit in his breathing zone. These claims depend heavily on the facts and are uncommon.

Asbestos bankruptcy trusts

Many of the largest asbestos manufacturers — Johns Manville, Owens Corning, Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, A.P. Green, Pittsburgh Corning, Fibreboard, Owens-Illinois, Eagle-Picher, and others — filed for bankruptcy and set up asbestos trusts to pay claims. Trust claims are separate from lawsuits, but in an Ohio lawsuit they must be disclosed and can affect the case, so we plan them together.

Employers

Legal detail: Ohio product liability, asbestos statutes, premises liability, and workers' compensation

Product liability. The Ohio Product Liability Act, R.C. §§ 2307.71–.80, governs claims against manufacturers and suppliers and abrogates common-law product claims (§ 2307.71(B)). A product can be defective in manufacture (§ 2307.74), in design (§ 2307.75), for inadequate warning or instruction (§ 2307.76), or for failing to conform to a representation (§ 2307.77). There is no duty to warn of an open and obvious risk (§ 2307.76(B)), and no market-share or industrywide liability (§ 2307.73(C)). A supplier is liable for its own negligence or representations, or as if it were the manufacturer in the situations listed in § 2307.78(B), such as when the manufacturer is insolvent or not subject to process.

Causation. R.C. § 2307.96 requires proof that "the conduct of that particular defendant was a substantial factor," considering the manner of exposure, the proximity of the defendant's asbestos, the frequency and length of exposure, and any factors that mitigated or enhanced it. In Schwartz v. Honeywell Internatl., Inc., 153 Ohio St. 3d 175, 2018-Ohio-474, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that a cumulative-exposure ("each and every exposure") theory alone does not show that a particular defendant's product was a substantial factor.

Asbestos medical criteria. R.C. §§ 2307.91–.93 (2004) require a written medical report and test results within 30 days of filing for nonmalignant claims, lung cancer in smokers, and asbestos wrongful-death claims (§ 2307.92(B)–(D); § 2307.93(A)); a case that falls short is administratively dismissed without prejudice and can be reinstated. "No prima-facie showing is required in a tort action alleging an asbestos claim based upon mesothelioma" (§ 2307.92(E)). The statute defines mesothelioma as a malignant tumor originating in the pleura or the peritoneum, diagnosed by a board-certified pathologist (§ 2307.91(S)). These requirements apply to pending cases (Ackison v. Anchor Packing Co., 120 Ohio St. 3d 228, 2008-Ohio-5243).

Exposure statement. Within 60 days after filing, the plaintiff must give every party a sworn statement of the basis for each claim against each defendant: worksites and employers, knowledgeable witnesses, each defendant's product, the sites connecting the worker to each defendant, exposure dates, and the disease, with supporting documents and a continuing duty to supplement. On a defendant's motion, the court must dismiss without prejudice a claim against a defendant whose product or site isn't identified, unless the plaintiff shows good cause (R.C. § 2307.931, effective April 9, 2025).

Trust claim disclosure. R.C. §§ 2307.951–.954 (effective March 27, 2013): within 30 days after discovery begins, the plaintiff must give all parties a sworn statement identifying every asbestos trust claim and the trust claim materials, and update it within 30 days of any new trust claim; failing to do so is grounds to decline or postpone a trial date. A defendant may move, at least 75 days before trial, to stay the case until the plaintiff files trust claims the defendant identifies. Trust claim materials are presumed authentic, relevant and discoverable, and may be used at trial to prove alternative causation and to allocate responsibility. Within a year after a judgment, a court may reopen it and adjust it for later trust payments.

Successors and parent companies. R.C. § 2307.97 caps the asbestos liabilities of certain corporations that became successors before 1972 at the value of what they acquired. R.C. § 2307.98 limits piercing the corporate veil in asbestos claims to control plus actual fraud.

Premises owners — R.C. § 2307.941. (A)(1): "A premises owner is not liable for any injury to any individual resulting from asbestos exposure unless that individual's alleged exposure occurred while the individual was at the premises owner's property" (Boley v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 125 Ohio St. 3d 510, 2010-Ohio-2550). (A)(2): for exposure before 1972, the owner is presumed to have known Ohio's safe exposure levels and that asbestos was used below them, unless the plaintiff proves the owner knew or should have known the levels in the plaintiff's breathing zone regularly exceeded them and allowed that condition to persist. (A)(3): an owner is presumed not liable to an invitee engaged to work with, install or remove asbestos products if the invitee's employer held itself out as qualified, unless the owner had superior actual knowledge; an owner that hired a qualified contractor before 1972 is liable for exposure caused by the contractor's employees only if it directed the activity or gave or denied permission for the critical acts; for exposure on or after January 1, 1972, caused by a contractor's employee, the plaintiff must prove the owner's intentional violation of an established safety standard (OSHA limits) in the plaintiff's breathing zone that proximately caused the disease. Outside the statute, Ohio's general premises rules (Gladon v. Greater Cleveland Reg'l Transit Auth., 75 Ohio St. 3d 312 (1996); Hirschbach v. Cincinnati Gas & Elec. Co., 6 Ohio St. 3d 206 (1983), on owners who actively participate in a contractor's work) still matter for non-asbestos questions.

Workers' compensation. An employer that complies with the workers' compensation law is not liable for "any injury, or occupational disease" of an employee, whether or not it is compensable (R.C. § 4123.74). Occupational-disease claims must be filed within the § 4123.85 periods. The Bureau of Workers' Compensation or a self-insuring employer has a statutory subrogation right in a recovery against others, divided by formula; the worker must notify it (and, for the state fund, the Attorney General) of every potential defendant, and no settlement or judgment is final without prior notice (R.C. § 4123.931).

Employer intentional tort — R.C. § 2745.01. The employer is liable only if it acted "with the intent to injure another or with the belief that the injury was substantially certain to occur," and "substantially certain" means "deliberate intent to cause an employee to suffer an injury, a disease, a condition, or death" (§ 2745.01(A)–(B)). Under § 2745.01(C), "deliberate misrepresentation of a toxic or hazardous substance creates a rebuttable presumption that the ... misrepresentation was committed with intent to injure another if an injury or an occupational disease or condition occurs as a direct result." The misrepresentation must be the employer's own. The Supreme Court of Ohio upheld the statute in Kaminski v. Metal & Wire Prods. Co., 125 Ohio St. 3d 250, 2010-Ohio-1027, and construed its safety-guard presumption narrowly in Hewitt v. L.E. Myers Co., 134 Ohio St. 3d 199, 2012-Ohio-5317.

What compensation can an Ohio mesothelioma case recover?

Personal-injury compensation

In an Ohio mesothelioma case, the recoverable damages include:

Medical expenses — past and future, including ongoing treatment, surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hospice, and related costs. In Ohio, both the amount billed and the amount actually accepted as payment can come into evidence.
Lost wages and lost earning capacity — past and future, with future losses reduced to present value.
Pain and suffering and mental anguish — Ohio limits these damages to $250,000, or three times the economic losses up to $350,000 (and $500,000 for all claims arising from one person's injury). The limit does not apply when the injury causes the loss of a bodily organ system or a permanent injury that leaves the person unable to care for themselves. We argue that mesothelioma meets that exception; whether it does depends on the medical evidence in each case.
Loss of consortium — for a spouse.
Punitive damages — available only on clear and convincing proof against each company; for the companies that made the products, misconduct showing flagrant disregard for the safety of the people who could be harmed. The judge sets the amount, which is capped at twice the compensatory damages (less for small companies). A company may avoid punitive damages if its product met all applicable government safety standards, or if it has already paid punitive awards for the same conduct above that cap.

Wrongful-death compensation

If your loved one has already passed away from mesothelioma, the family's wrongful-death claim can cover loss of support, loss of services, loss of companionship and society, loss of prospective inheritance, mental anguish, and funeral expenses. The spouse, children, and parents are presumed to have suffered damages; other relatives must prove theirs. The pain-and-suffering limit does not apply to wrongful-death claims. Ohio does not allow punitive damages in a wrongful-death claim. The worker's own claim for his losses before death continues separately through his estate.

Legal detail: Ohio damages and wrongful death

Compensatory damages — the cap. R.C. § 2315.18(B)(2) limits noneconomic damages to the greater of $250,000 or three times the plaintiff's economic loss, up to $350,000 per plaintiff and $500,000 per occurrence. Economic loss is not capped (§ 2315.18(B)(1)). Asbestos claims are expressly covered (§ 2315.18(A)(7)).

The exceptions. Under § 2315.18(B)(3) there is no limit if the noneconomic losses are for "(a) Permanent and substantial physical deformity, loss of use of a limb, or loss of a bodily organ system; (b) Permanent physical functional injury that permanently prevents the injured person from being able to independently care for self and perform life-sustaining activities." Whether a particular mesothelioma meets (a) or (b) depends on the medical evidence; any party may seek summary judgment on the nature of the injury before trial (§ 2315.18(E)(2)), and the jury is not told about the limit (§ 2315.18(F)(2)). The section does not apply to wrongful-death actions under Chapter 2125 (§ 2315.18(H)(3)).

Constitutional challenges. The Supreme Court of Ohio upheld § 2315.18 against a facial challenge in Arbino v. Johnson & Johnson, 116 Ohio St. 3d 468, 2007-Ohio-6948, and as applied in Simpkins v. Grace Brethren Church of Delaware, 149 Ohio St. 3d 307, 2016-Ohio-8118. Brandt v. Pompa, 171 Ohio St. 3d 693, 2022-Ohio-4525, held the cap unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiff there and similarly situated plaintiffs who were child victims of intentional criminal conduct, such as sexual abuse, who suffered permanent and severe psychological injuries, in claims against the people found guilty of those acts.

Medical expenses. Both the original bill and the amount accepted as full payment are admissible as evidence of the reasonable value of medical care (Robinson v. Bates, 112 Ohio St. 3d 17, 2006-Ohio-6362).

Collateral source. R.C. § 2315.20 lets a defendant introduce evidence of collateral benefits, except benefits from a source with a mandatory federal, contractual or statutory right of subrogation, and life insurance or disability payments (unless the employer paid for the policy and is a defendant). The plaintiff may then show what was paid to secure the benefits, and a source whose benefits are introduced loses its subrogation right.

Punitive damages. Under R.C. § 2315.21, punitive damages require clear and convincing proof of malice or aggravated or egregious fraud by that defendant (or its knowing authorization or ratification), and an award of compensatory damages; trial is bifurcated on request. They are capped at two times the compensatory damages awarded against that defendant (§ 2315.21(D)(2)(a)); for a small employer (no more than 100 full-time employees, or 500 in manufacturing) or an individual, the lesser of two times compensatory damages or 10% of net worth, up to $350,000 ((D)(2)(b)). A defendant that shows punitive damages were already awarded and collected for the same course of conduct, in amounts exceeding the cap, is not liable for more unless the court finds new and substantial evidence of further misconduct or that the earlier awards were totally insufficient ((D)(5)). The cap does not apply where the defendant was convicted of a related felony requiring purpose or knowledge ((D)(6)). For product liability claims against manufacturers and suppliers, R.C. § 2307.80 requires clear and convincing proof that the harm resulted from misconduct that "manifested a flagrant disregard of the safety of persons who might be harmed by the product"; the court sets the amount; and a manufacturer or supplier of a product (other than a drug or device) that fully complied with all applicable government safety and performance standards is not liable for punitive damages, unless it fraudulently withheld material information from the agency or misrepresented it (§ 2307.80(D)).

No punitive damages in wrongful death. Rubeck v. Huffman, 54 Ohio St. 2d 20 (1978); R.C. § 2125.02(D) lists compensatory damages only.

Wrongful death and survival. R.C. § 2125.01 (wrongful death) and § 2305.21 (survival) are separate claims belonging to different people, usually brought by the same personal representative (Peters v. Columbus Steel Castings Co., 115 Ohio St. 3d 134, 2007-Ohio-4787). A lifetime judgment does not bar a later wrongful-death claim, but issues it decided bind the beneficiaries (Thompson v. Wing, 70 Ohio St. 3d 176 (1994)). Wrongful-death damages: R.C. § 2125.02(C)(1) (funeral and burial expenses) and (D) (support, services, society, prospective inheritance, mental anguish). The spouse, children and parents are rebuttably presumed to have suffered damages (§ 2125.02(A)); for deaths on or after April 4, 2023, other next of kin keep notice rights in the probate settlement only if a settlement application is filed, or they file a notice of claim, within two years of death (§ 2125.02(B)).

What evidence do we need to prove an Ohio asbestos case?

You do not need to gather everything before calling. A diagnosis and a rough work history are enough to start the conversation. Our investigators do the heavy lifting using our Ohio exposure database, military records, Social Security earnings statements, union records, and coworker outreach.

Evidence	Why it helps	What if you do not have it?
Pathology report or medical records confirming mesothelioma	Establishes the diagnosis and the form (pleural, peritoneal, pericardial)	We obtain medical records directly from the treating hospital.
Work history — employers, job sites, dates, job titles	Connects the worker to specific Ohio facilities and the trusts that list them	We reconstruct from Social Security earnings records, union records, and the trusts' lists of Ohio sites.
Product names (insulation, gaskets, packing, brick, friction products)	Identifies manufacturers and the trusts that may apply	We use coworker testimony, historical invoices, and worksite documentation to identify products.
Military service records (DD-214)	Opens VA service-connected disability for veterans	We help obtain DD-214 from the National Archives.
Federal facility employment records	Opens FECA for federal civilian employees and EEOICPA for Department of Energy contractor employees	We obtain records from the relevant federal agency.
Witness statements from coworkers	Confirms exposure and product handling	We locate coworkers through union records, retiree associations, and worksite networks.
Death certificate (if loved one has passed)	Establishes the wrongful-death window	We obtain from the Ohio Department of Health.

If your file is missing pieces, call anyway. Most of our Ohio clients start with a diagnosis, a name, and a hometown — and we build the rest.

How does Ohio divide responsibility when many asbestos companies were involved?

Most Ohio asbestos cases involve many companies. A company the jury finds more than half responsible pays all of the economic damages, such as medical bills and lost income; the others pay only their own share. For pain and suffering, each company pays only its own share. The jury can also assign shares to companies that are not in the case, including bankrupt companies and companies that settled, which can lower what the others pay; trust claims can make up part of the bankrupt companies' share, under each trust's own payment rules.

A worker's own share of fault, if any, reduces the recovery, and bars it only if it is greater than the combined share of everyone else.

Legal detail: comparative fault, joint and several liability, and settlement credits

Comparative fault. R.C. §§ 2315.32–.36. A plaintiff's contributory fault does not bar recovery unless it is greater than the combined tortious conduct of all other persons, whether or not they are parties (§ 2315.33); damages are reduced by the plaintiff's percentage. Contributory fault is not a defense to an intentional tort claim (§ 2315.32(B)), except an employee's intentional-tort claim against the employer for conduct on the employer's premises (§ 2307.011(D)).

Assumption of risk. In negligence claims, implied assumption of risk is compared as fault (Anderson v. Ceccardi, 6 Ohio St. 3d 110 (1983); Hirschbach v. Cincinnati Gas & Elec. Co., 6 Ohio St. 3d 206 (1983); R.C. § 2307.011(B)). In product liability claims, express or implied assumption of the risk, if it directly and proximately caused the harm, is a complete bar (R.C. § 2307.711(B)(2)), except that implied assumption of the risk is compared, not a bar, against a supplier sued for its own negligence (§ 2307.711(B)(3)). A federal court applying Ohio law has stated, quoting earlier Ohio decisions, that the defense is not available when an employee is required to encounter the risk while performing normal job duties (Hubbard v. PPG Indus., Inc., No. 5:12-cv-1124 (N.D. Ohio June 25, 2014)).

Joint and several liability — R.C. § 2307.22. A defendant more than 50% at fault is jointly and severally liable for all economic loss ((A)(1)); defendants 50% or less at fault pay only their proportionate share of economic loss ((A)(2), (B)). A defendant against whom an intentional tort claim is alleged and established is jointly and severally liable for all economic loss whatever its percentage ((A)(3)), but that rule does not cover an employee's intentional tort claim against the employer for conduct on the employer's premises (§ 2307.011(D)). Noneconomic loss is several only ((C)).

Allocation to nonparties. The jury assigns a percentage to each person from whom the plaintiff does not seek recovery, including settled, dismissed and other disclosed nonparties, if a defendant raises it as an affirmative defense before trial (R.C. §§ 2307.23, 2307.011(G)). Trust claim materials may be used to prove that allocation (§ 2307.954(B)).

Contribution and settlement credits. R.C. § 2307.25 (contribution; a settling defendant has no contribution claim against those it didn't release). A good-faith release reduces the claim against the others by the greater of the amount stated in the release or the amount paid; the reduction does not apply if it would leave the plaintiff with less in total than the compensatory damages awarded, and then the plaintiff cannot recover more than that total (R.C. § 2307.28). These rules do not apply to the extent a defendant owes only its own proportionate share (R.C. § 2307.29).

How trust claims, lawsuits, and benefits can work together

Track	What it is	How it fits
Trust claims	Claims against the bankruptcy trusts established by manufacturers that went under	Filed directly with each trust; no courtroom. In an Ohio lawsuit they must be disclosed under oath, can be used as evidence, and a court can adjust a judgment for later trust payments.
Civil lawsuit	A case in Ohio court against the companies that made the asbestos products, and in some cases others	Can recover medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and in some cases punitive damages
Benefits	Ohio workers' compensation, FECA (federal civilian employees), EEOICPA (Department of Energy contractor employees, including Portsmouth), VA service-connected disability (veterans), SSDI (only under full retirement age)	Workers' compensation has a statutory share of a lawsuit recovery, and FECA must be repaid from it; EEOICPA is reduced by lawsuit and trust recoveries; VA and FECA for the same illness generally require a choice; a lawsuit or trust recovery does not reduce VA disability

Which claims are filed, and in what order, depends on the work history and is decided case by case with the trial team. We discuss every settlement offer with the family before anyone responds to it.

Ohio military and federal-facility exposure

Ohio has a large federal footprint. Who employed the worker decides which benefits apply, and federal installations themselves are not sued as premises owners.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Dayton) — one of the largest U.S. Air Force installations, home to Air Force Materiel Command, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, and the Air Force Institute of Technology. Consolidated from Wright Field and Patterson Field, dating to 1917. Federal civilian employees are covered by FECA; Air Force veterans may qualify for VA service-connected disability.
NASA Glenn Research Center (Cleveland) — formerly the Lewis Research Center; renamed for John Glenn in 1999. Its Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility (formerly Plum Brook Station) near Sandusky tests large spaceflight hardware. NASA's civil servants are covered by FECA; contractor employees by Ohio workers' compensation.
Lima Army Tank Plant / Joint Systems Manufacturing Center — a government-owned, contractor-operated plant that has built the M1 Abrams tank since 1980. Its workers are contractor employees, covered by Ohio workers' compensation, not FECA.
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Piketon) — Department of Energy uranium enrichment plant, operated 1954–2001 by contractors, including Goodyear Atomic and, later, Lockheed Martin and USEC. Contractor employees with an asbestos-related illness may qualify for EEOICPA Part E; its cash payments are capped and reduced by state workers' compensation for the same illness, and offset by lawsuit and trust recoveries for the same exposure.
Defense Supply Center Columbus — Defense Logistics Agency installation; federal civilian employees are covered by FECA.
Mound Site (Miamisburg) — former Department of Energy facility, now closed and cleaned up. Contractor employees may qualify for EEOICPA.
Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant (now Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center) — run for decades by private contractors; its contractor employees are covered by Ohio workers' compensation, not FECA.
VA Medical Centers — Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Chillicothe.

A federal civilian employee's remedy against the United States is FECA, which must be repaid from recoveries against others, such as the product makers. A household member's own illness is a separate injury, and any claim against the United States would go through the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Legal detail: federal programs and military products

FECA. Exclusive remedy against the United States (5 U.S.C. § 8116(c)); the Department of Labor is repaid from third-party recoveries (§ 8132). A beneficiary generally may not receive FECA and VA compensation for the same injury or death at the same time and must elect (§ 8116(b)).

EEOICPA. Part E (42 U.S.C. § 7385s) covers Department of Energy contractor and subcontractor employees with an illness caused by a toxic substance at a covered DOE facility; cash compensation is capped at $250,000, not counting medical benefits (§ 7385s-2); it is reduced by state workers' compensation for the same covered illness, not counting medical and vocational-rehabilitation benefits and after the costs of obtaining it (§ 7385s-11); and it is offset by tort recoveries for the same exposure, including asbestos trust settlements (§ 7385; EEOICPA Fin. Dec. No. 20231211-50025412-3 (Dep't of Labor 2024)).

Government-contractor defense. Manufacturers of military-specification products often raise the federal government-contractor defense under Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988): reasonably precise specifications approved by the United States, conformity with them, and a warning to the government of dangers known to the supplier but not the government. Such cases are often removed to federal court.

What happens after you call?

A free case review is a conversation, not a commitment to file a lawsuit.

First call. You — or a spouse, adult child, or other family member — talk with our intake team. We listen first. We do not need every record, every product name, or every job title. Tell us what you know.
Work history review. Our investigators check the worker's job history against the trusts' lists of Ohio sites and identify the relevant worksites and the trusts that may apply.
Medical records and diagnosis. We obtain the pathology report and the relevant medical records directly from the treating hospital — you do not have to chase them.
Strategy meeting. We walk you through the available claim paths — which trusts apply, whether a civil case makes sense, which benefits programs fit, and what the realistic outcomes look like.
Filing. Once you retain us, we prepare the trust claims and, where a lawsuit makes sense, the civil case, in the order the trial team decides fits the case. An Ohio asbestos lawsuit requires a sworn statement within 60 days of filing that identifies each company's product and the sites connecting the worker to it, so we build that record before we file. The two-year clock means time is short.
Case workup and resolution. Discovery, depositions, settlement discussions, and (rarely) trial. Most asbestos cases resolve through settlement; we prepare every case as if it will go to trial. If a case goes to trial and is lost, Ohio courts usually order the losing side to pay the other side's court costs. We discuss every settlement offer with the family before anyone responds to it.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS when you are ready.

How Ohio's laws may work in practice

Raymond is a 76-year-old retired millwright from Youngstown. From 1968 until the Brier Hill Works closed in 1979, he worked there for Youngstown Sheet & Tube as a millwright in the Blooming Mill and across the integrated steel operations. His work involved boiler maintenance, refractory replacement in soaking pits and reheat furnaces, gasket and packing replacement on process equipment, routine insulation work, and brake maintenance on the overhead cranes. After Brier Hill closed, he did maintenance work for another Mahoning Valley steel company until he retired in 1995. In late 2025 he developed worsening shortness of breath and persistent chest discomfort. Imaging at Cleveland Clinic showed pleural thickening with a large pleural effusion. In March 2026 a pleural biopsy confirmed pleural mesothelioma of the epithelioid histological subtype.

For Raymond's family, several claim paths run together. Raymond can't sue the steel companies that employed him; his claims are against the companies that made the asbestos refractory brick, gaskets, packing, insulation, and crane brake linings he handled, and Ohio requires proof, company by company, that exposure to each company's product was a substantial factor in causing his disease. Brier Hill appears on the lists of at least 15 asbestos trusts, including Johns-Manville, and we prepare trust claims for the trusts his work history supports, together with any lawsuit, because an Ohio lawsuit requires him to disclose his trust claims under oath. Ohio workers' compensation may also cover his medical care, but its deadline is short: generally within a year after his disability began. We will argue that Ohio's pain-and-suffering limit does not apply because his pleural mesothelioma causes the loss of a bodily organ system; whether it does depends on the medical evidence. Raymond's wife and children lived with the asbestos dust on his clothes for decades. Ohio law bars their take-home claims against the owners of the mills where he worked, but if one of them is diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, they may have their own claims against the companies that made the products and against the trusts. As part of our representation, we offer free asbestos health screening to family members of every client who may have been exposed at home. The screening is a chest X-ray read by a B-reader, with a CT scan if needed; it looks for asbestos-related changes in the lungs and isn't a diagnosis or a reliable way to find mesothelioma early. If Raymond dies while the case is pending, his claim continues through his estate, and his wife and children have a separate wrongful-death claim, which Ohio's pain-and-suffering limit does not reach.

Legal analysis of this hypothetical

Limitations. Under R.C. § 2305.10(A) and (B)(5), Raymond's two years run from when a doctor told him his illness was related to asbestos, or earlier, when he should have known. Counting from the March 2026 biopsy, he should file well before March 2028; the firm files promptly once retained. If he dies, the family's wrongful-death claim must generally be filed within two years of his death (R.C. § 2125.02(F)(1)).

Defendants and theories. Product liability claims under the Ohio Product Liability Act against the manufacturers of the refractory, gasket and packing, insulation, and friction products Raymond handled: inadequate warning (R.C. § 2307.76) and, where the evidence supports it, defective design (§ 2307.75). Common-law negligence and warranty counts against manufacturers are abrogated (§ 2307.71(B)). Raymond's employers are immune under R.C. § 4123.74; no employer intentional-tort claim under § 2745.01 is assumed, because it would need proof that an employer itself deliberately intended to injure him or deliberately misrepresented asbestos to him. No premises claim: he was an employee, not an outside contractor, and Youngstown Sheet & Tube's corporate successors went through bankruptcy.

Causation. Industrial hygiene and medical testimony must show, for each manufacturer, the manner, proximity, frequency and length of Raymond's exposure to its product (R.C. § 2307.96); cumulative exposure alone is not enough (Schwartz v. Honeywell, 2018-Ohio-474). The § 2307.931 sworn exposure statement within 60 days of filing must identify each defendant's product and the sites connecting Raymond to it.

Medical showing. No prima facie medical showing is required for pleural mesothelioma (R.C. § 2307.92(E)).

Damages. Medical expenses (both billed and accepted amounts admissible, Robinson v. Bates); little lost income, because Raymond retired in 1995; and noneconomic damages for pain, suffering and mental anguish, subject to the R.C. § 2315.18(B)(2) limit unless the (B)(3) exception applies on the medical evidence. His wife's loss of consortium. Punitive damages only on clear and convincing proof that a manufacturer's own misconduct showed flagrant disregard for safety (R.C. § 2307.80), set by the court and capped at two times compensatory damages (§ 2315.21(D)(2)), subject to the government-standards and prior-award defenses.

Fault allocation. The jury may assign shares to settled companies, bankrupt companies and other nonparties (R.C. § 2307.23); a manufacturer more than 50% at fault pays all economic loss, the others their shares (§ 2307.22).

Trust filings. Brier Hill appears on the lists of at least 15 trusts, including Johns-Manville. The R.C. § 2307.952 sworn trust statement is due within 30 days after discovery begins, with updates within 30 days of each later trust claim.

Benefits. Ohio workers' compensation occupational-disease claim within the R.C. § 4123.85 period, with the Bureau's subrogation right in any recovery (§ 4123.931). No FECA or EEOICPA (private employers). No Social Security disability: Raymond is past full retirement age.

If Raymond dies. His own claim continues through his estate under R.C. § 2305.21, keeping his own deadline. The family's wrongful-death claim (R.C. § 2125.01) is separate: the spouse, children and parents are presumed to have suffered damages, the noneconomic limit does not apply (R.C. § 2315.18(H)(3)), and punitive damages are not available (Rubeck v. Huffman, 54 Ohio St. 2d 20 (1978)).

This example is general. Every case depends on the diagnosis, exposure history, dates, defendants, applicable law, and available evidence.

Why families choose our firm

Our firm has recovered over $400 million for asbestos clients nationally. We back that with a proprietary database of 200,000+ verified asbestos exposure sites built over more than a decade, and we have reviewed the more than 8,500 Ohio entries on the asbestos trusts' lists. Dozens of our clients worked at Ohio job sites.

For Ohio families, that means:

Deep Ohio worksite knowledge. The Mahoning Valley steel mills, including Brier Hill, Republic Steel in Cleveland and Warren, Goodyear and Akron's rubber plants, B&W and PPG in Barberton, U.S. Steel Lorain, Armco Middletown, the Toledo refineries and glass plants, the Cleveland industrial corridor, Wright-Patterson, NASA Glenn, the Lima tank plant, and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
Claims built for Ohio law. Product liability claims proved company by company, the sworn exposure and trust statements Ohio requires, and the evidence the damages-cap exception turns on.
Benefits coordination. Workers' compensation, FECA, EEOICPA, VA and Social Security disability coordinated case by case with the trial team, with attention to repayment rights and offsets.
Trust claims. We routinely get claims approved by many asbestos trusts. Even where the worksite is not on a trust's list, we use product-handling reconstruction to support the trust claims the evidence permits.
Remote case handling. Most clients never come to the office. We handle Ohio cases by phone, video, and home visit.
No fee unless we recover. Contingent fee.

Learn more about our firm and asbestos database

Court decisions: 111 asbestos cases from Ohio courts

Frequently asked questions

What is the statute of limitations for mesothelioma in Ohio?

Two years. Ohio starts the clock when a doctor tells you the illness is related to asbestos, or earlier, when you should have known it was. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. An earlier diagnosis of asbestosis or pleural scarring does not by itself start the clock for mesothelioma in Ohio, because Ohio treats them as separate claims. But the two years can start before the formal diagnosis if you knew, or should have known, that your illness was related to asbestos, so call us right away.

What if my loved one already passed away — is there a separate deadline?

Yes. The family's wrongful-death claim generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. The estate's claim for the worker's own losses keeps the worker's own two-year deadline, which may run out sooner. Families calling after a death should call as soon as possible to confirm what time remains.

Does the Ohio damages cap apply to my mesothelioma case?

Possibly not. Ohio limits pain-and-suffering damages to $250,000, or three times the economic losses up to $350,000 (and $500,000 for all claims arising from one person's injury). The limit does not apply when the injury causes the loss of a bodily organ system or a permanent injury that leaves the person unable to care for themselves. We argue that mesothelioma meets that exception; whether it does depends on the medical evidence in each case. The limit never applies to wrongful-death claims.

Can I sue my employer for asbestos exposure in Ohio?

Rarely. Ohio workers' compensation normally prevents a worker from suing his own employer. The exception is narrow: the worker must prove the employer deliberately intended to cause the injury or disease. The law presumes that intent only if the employer itself deliberately misrepresented a toxic or hazardous substance and the disease resulted directly. Whether that can be proved depends on evidence about that employer.

Do I need to know the asbestos product names?

Not to call us. Most families do not know them. We rebuild the product history from coworker testimony, the trusts' site lists, historical invoices, union records, and similar workplaces. If a lawsuit is filed, Ohio requires a sworn statement within 60 days identifying each company's product, so we do that work before filing.

Do I need old employment records before calling?

No. We obtain Social Security earnings records, union records, military records, and federal facility employment records as part of the case workup. Start with what you remember.

Can an adult child call for a parent?

Yes. Most of our first calls come from a spouse or adult child. The conversation is confidential, and we can speak with you, the worker, or both.

Will we have to file a lawsuit?

Not necessarily. Many Ohio families recover meaningful compensation through trust claims and benefits without ever filing in court. The right mix depends on the work history.

Are trust claims separate from lawsuits?

Yes. Asbestos trust claims are filed directly with each trust and do not require a courtroom. But if you also file an Ohio lawsuit, you must disclose your trust claims under oath and the companies in the case can use them as evidence, so we plan trust claims and any lawsuit together.

Can I file an Ohio claim if I no longer live in Ohio?

Usually. Many retired Ohio workers now live in Florida, Arizona, the Carolinas, or elsewhere. Where the case is filed and which state's law applies depend on where the exposure happened and where the companies are, and another state's deadline can sometimes apply. We handle cases remotely, and you do not need to travel.

What if the exposure happened through a spouse's work clothes?

Ohio law bars take-home claims against the owner of the plant where the worker was exposed (Boley v. Goodyear, 2010). That rule does not bar a family member's claims against the companies that made the asbestos products, or trust claims, which depend on the facts and each trust's rules. Our firm offers free asbestos health screening to family members of every client who may have had at-home exposure.

Are punitive damages available in Ohio asbestos cases?

In some personal-injury cases. They require clear and convincing proof against each company of misconduct showing malice or flagrant disregard for safety. The judge sets the amount for the companies that made the products, it is capped at twice the compensatory damages (less for small companies), and earlier punitive awards for the same conduct can limit them. Ohio does not allow punitive damages in a wrongful-death claim.

Where will my Ohio case be filed?

Usually in an Ohio Court of Common Pleas in a county where venue is proper — for example, where a defendant is located or where the exposure happened — such as Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Mahoning County (Youngstown), Trumbull County (Warren), Summit County (Akron), Stark County (Canton), Lorain County (Lorain), Lucas County (Toledo), Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Montgomery County (Dayton), or Butler County (Middletown and Hamilton). Some cases are filed in, or moved to, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, Youngstown) or the Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus).

What if I served at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base?

Air Force veterans may qualify for VA service-connected disability, with proof of in-service asbestos exposure and a doctor's opinion linking the disease to service. Federal civilian employees there are covered by FECA, which must be repaid from recoveries against others; a veteran who also has FECA benefits for the same illness generally has to choose between them. We coordinate these with any trust claims and lawsuit case by case.

What if I worked at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant?

Contractor employees at Portsmouth with an asbestos-related illness may qualify for EEOICPA Part E, the federal program for Department of Energy contractor workers. Its cash payments are capped and reduced by state workers' compensation for the same illness, and offset by lawsuit and trust recoveries for the same exposure, so we coordinate it with any trust claims and lawsuit case by case.

Talk with an Ohio mesothelioma lawyer

Whether your family is dealing with a new diagnosis, a very sick loved one, or a death from mesothelioma, our team is ready to help. We have spent more than a decade building the Ohio worksite database that supports our cases, and we know how Ohio's asbestos laws, damages rules and deadlines apply to each family's claims.

You do not need to know the product names. You do not need to have all the records. You do not need to travel to our office. A spouse or adult child can call for the family.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS Request a free case review

Sources and references

Statutes and rules

Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A), (B)(5) — two-year limitations period; asbestos claims accrue when the plaintiff is informed by competent medical authority, or should have known, of an asbestos-related injury, whichever is first.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(C)(1), (C)(6) — ten-year product repose; does not bar asbestos bodily-injury claims.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.131 — ten-year repose for improvements to real property.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.03(B) — borrowing statute for tort claims that accrued in another state.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.21 — survival of personal-injury claims.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2125.01 — wrongful-death cause of action.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2125.02 — wrongful-death beneficiaries and probate notice ((A), (B)), funeral expenses ((C)(1)), damages ((D)), two-year deadline ((F)(1)), and product repose with exceptions ((F)(2)), as amended effective April 4, 2023.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2307.71–.80 — Ohio Product Liability Act; abrogates common-law product claims (§ 2307.71(B)); manufacturing, design, warning and representation defects (§§ 2307.74–.77); supplier liability (§ 2307.78); punitive damages (§ 2307.80).
Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.711 — assumption of the risk in product liability claims.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2307.91–.95 — asbestos medical criteria; no prima facie showing for mesothelioma (§ 2307.92(E)); separate claims for nonmalignant disease and cancer (§ 2307.94).
Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.931 — sworn exposure statement within 60 days of filing (effective April 9, 2025).
Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.941 — limits on asbestos claims against premises owners.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2307.951–.954 — asbestos trust claim disclosure, stays, admissibility and judgment adjustment.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.96 — asbestos causation: substantial factor, defendant by defendant.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2307.97–.98 — successor asbestos liability; piercing the corporate veil in asbestos claims.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.011 — definitions, including contributory fault, intentional tort claim, and persons from whom recovery is not sought.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2307.22–.23 — joint and several liability; allocation of fault, including to nonparties.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2307.25, 2307.28, 2307.29 — contribution; settlement credits.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.18 — noneconomic damages limit ((B)(2)), its exceptions ((B)(3)), and its inapplicability to wrongful-death actions ((H)(3)).
Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.20 — collateral benefits.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.21 — punitive damages standard, bifurcation and caps.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2315.32–.36 — comparative fault.
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 4123.74, 4123.85, 4123.931 — workers' compensation exclusivity, occupational-disease claim deadlines, and subrogation.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2745.01 — employer intentional torts.
Ohio Civ. R. 54(D) — costs to the prevailing party.
5 U.S.C. §§ 8116, 8132 — FECA exclusivity, election, and repayment from third-party recoveries.
42 U.S.C. §§ 7385, 7385s, 7385s-2, 7385s-11 — EEOICPA offsets and Part E.

Cases

Schwartz v. Honeywell Internatl., Inc., 153 Ohio St. 3d 175, 2018-Ohio-474 — cumulative-exposure testimony alone does not show that a particular defendant's product was a substantial factor under R.C. § 2307.96.
Boley v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 125 Ohio St. 3d 510, 2010-Ohio-2550 — no premises-owner liability for asbestos exposure away from the owner's property.
Ackison v. Anchor Packing Co., 120 Ohio St. 3d 228, 2008-Ohio-5243 — the asbestos medical-criteria statutes apply to pending cases.
O'Stricker v. Jim Walter Corp., 4 Ohio St. 3d 84 (1983) — discovery rule for latent bodily injuries.
Funk v. Rent-All Mart, Inc., 91 Ohio St. 3d 78, 2001-Ohio-270 — two-year period for employer intentional-tort claims.
Norgard v. Brush Wellman, Inc., 95 Ohio St. 3d 165, 2002-Ohio-2007 — discovery of the employer's wrongful conduct in employer intentional-tort claims.
Kaminski v. Metal & Wire Prods. Co., 125 Ohio St. 3d 250, 2010-Ohio-1027 — R.C. § 2745.01 upheld.
Hewitt v. L.E. Myers Co., 134 Ohio St. 3d 199, 2012-Ohio-5317 — the "equipment safety guard" presumption in R.C. § 2745.01(C), read narrowly.
Arbino v. Johnson & Johnson, 116 Ohio St. 3d 468, 2007-Ohio-6948 — R.C. § 2315.18 upheld against a facial challenge.
Simpkins v. Grace Brethren Church of Delaware, 149 Ohio St. 3d 307, 2016-Ohio-8118 — R.C. § 2315.18 upheld as applied.
Brandt v. Pompa, 171 Ohio St. 3d 693, 2022-Ohio-4525 — R.C. § 2315.18 unconstitutional as applied to child victims of intentional criminal conduct, such as sexual abuse, with permanent and severe psychological injuries, suing those found guilty of the acts.
Robinson v. Bates, 112 Ohio St. 3d 17, 2006-Ohio-6362 — both the medical bill and the amount accepted as full payment are admissible.
Rubeck v. Huffman, 54 Ohio St. 2d 20 (1978) — no punitive damages in wrongful-death actions.
Peters v. Columbus Steel Castings Co., 115 Ohio St. 3d 134, 2007-Ohio-4787 — survival and wrongful-death claims are separate claims belonging to different people.
Thompson v. Wing, 70 Ohio St. 3d 176 (1994) — a lifetime judgment does not bar a later wrongful-death claim; collateral estoppel applies.
Klema v. St. Elizabeth's Hosp., 170 Ohio St. 519 (1960); Koler v. St. Joseph Hosp., 69 Ohio St. 2d 477 (1982) — wrongful-death claims are separate from the decedent's own claims.
Morgan v. Biro Mfg. Co., 15 Ohio St. 3d 339 (1984) — choice of law by most significant relationship.
Gladon v. Greater Cleveland Reg'l Transit Auth., 75 Ohio St. 3d 312 (1996) — general premises-liability duties.
Hirschbach v. Cincinnati Gas & Elec. Co., 6 Ohio St. 3d 206 (1983) — owner that actively participates in a contractor's work; assumption of risk compared in negligence.
Anderson v. Ceccardi, 6 Ohio St. 3d 110 (1983) — implied assumption of risk merged into comparative negligence.
Hubbard v. PPG Indus., Inc., No. 5:12-cv-1124 (N.D. Ohio June 25, 2014) — federal court applying Ohio law; assumption of risk not available for risks an employee must encounter in normal job duties.
Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988) — federal government-contractor defense.

Last reviewed: November 2026. The Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. — PLLC | Round Rock, TX · Mesa, AZ · Redmond, WA. We partner with firms in every relevant jurisdiction so claims can be handled in the appropriate court or claims system.

This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.