Ohio sovereign immunity is the rule that the state and its local governments generally cannot be sued, but Ohio has waived that protection in defined ways. You can bring a civil claim against the state in the Court of Claims under Ohio Revised Code 2743.02, and you can sue a city, county, school district, or other political subdivision only if your claim fits one of five narrow exceptions in Chapter 2744.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2743.02 – State Waives Immunity From Liability Both tracks come with short deadlines, strict damage limits, and procedures that differ sharply from ordinary civil litigation.
Suing the State: The Court of Claims
Every civil action against the state, a state agency, or a state university must be filed in the Court of Claims in Columbus.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2743.02 – State Waives Immunity From Liability A common pleas court or any other venue is not an option. The only proper defendant in an original Court of Claims action is the state itself, not the employee who caused the harm.
There are no jury trials. A judge or magistrate decides every case.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2743 – Court of Claims – Section: Trial by Jury The waiver also does not reach every kind of claim. High-level policy decisions and certain regulatory actions remain protected, so if the challenged decision involved genuine policy judgment rather than a failure to follow established procedures, the court is likely to find it shielded.
You have two years from the date your cause of action arose to file, or any shorter period that would apply in a comparable suit between private parties.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2743.16 – Statute of Limitations Missing this deadline ends the claim, no matter how strong the evidence.
Claims against state universities and colleges carry extra limits under Ohio Revised Code 3345.40, including a $250,000 cap on non-compensatory damages in cases other than wrongful death and a mandatory offset for insurance proceeds or other benefits you received.4Ohio Attorney General. Court of Claims Defense
Suing a City, County, or School District
Local governments operate under a separate framework. Cities, counties, townships, school districts, port authorities, and a long list of other local bodies all qualify as “political subdivisions” under Ohio Revised Code 2744.01.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744 – Political Subdivision Tort Liability – Section: Definitions A claim against any of them has to pass a three-step analysis, and most claims die at step three.
The deadline here is also two years from when the cause of action accrues.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744 – Political Subdivision Tort Liability – Section: Statute of Limitations Tolling exists for minors and legally incapacitated people, but those exceptions are narrow. Treat the two years as a hard stop.
Step One: Blanket Immunity
Every political subdivision starts out immune. Under Ohio Revised Code 2744.02(A), a subdivision is not liable for injury, death, or property loss caused by any act or omission connected to either a governmental or proprietary function.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744.02 – Governmental Functions and Proprietary Functions of Political Subdivisions This is the wall. To get past it, your claim has to fit one of five statutory exceptions.
Step Two: The Five Exceptions
These are the only ways through. A claim that doesn’t match one of them is dismissed, no matter how badly the government behaved.
- Negligent operation of a motor vehicle by an employee acting within the scope of their job. This is the most commonly used exception and covers things like police cruiser collisions and snowplow accidents.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744.02 – Governmental Functions and Proprietary Functions of Political Subdivisions
- Negligent performance of a proprietary function, meaning something private businesses also do. Ohio law specifically lists hospital operations, public cemeteries (other than township cemeteries), utilities, sewer systems, stadiums, auditoriums, and off-street parking facilities as proprietary.8Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744.01 – Political Subdivision Tort Liability Definitions
- Negligent failure to keep public roads in repair or to remove obstructions from them. The statute refers to roads, not sidewalks, and there’s a complete defense when a municipal bridge is involved and the city does not have maintenance responsibility for it.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744.02 – Governmental Functions and Proprietary Functions of Political Subdivisions
- Injury caused by a physical defect in or on the grounds of a government building through employee negligence. This covers offices and courthouses but explicitly excludes jails, juvenile detention centers, and other detention facilities.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744.02 – Governmental Functions and Proprietary Functions of Political Subdivisions
- Liability expressly imposed on a political subdivision by another section of the Ohio Revised Code.
Step Three: Defenses That Restore Immunity
This is where most claims collapse. Even after you prove an exception applies, Ohio Revised Code 2744.03(A) gives the subdivision defenses that can put immunity back in place:
- The employee was carrying out a judicial, quasi-judicial, prosecutorial, legislative, or quasi-legislative function.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744 – Political Subdivision Tort Liability – Section: Defenses and Immunities
- The employee’s non-negligent conduct was required or authorized by law, or essential to exercising the subdivision’s powers.
- The act or omission involved discretion related to policy-making, planning, or enforcement powers. This is a broad defense that covers a lot of day-to-day government decisions.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744 – Political Subdivision Tort Liability – Section: Defenses and Immunities
- The decision concerned acquiring equipment, supplies, personnel, or facilities, unless made with malicious purpose, bad faith, or reckless disregard for safety.
In practice, this three-tier structure tilts the system heavily toward local governments. You have to clear the exception, survive the defense, and then still prove the underlying negligence.
Can You Sue the Government Employee Personally?
Usually not. Individual government workers have broad personal immunity under Ohio Revised Code 2744.03(A)(6). You can only reach them personally when their actions were clearly outside the scope of their job, they acted with malicious purpose or in bad faith, or they behaved in a wanton or reckless manner.10Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744.03 – Defenses and Immunities A separate provision also removes immunity where another statute expressly imposes personal civil liability on the employee.
Wanton or reckless conduct is a high bar. More than carelessness or poor judgment, it generally requires showing the employee knowingly created a dangerous situation or was aware their behavior was likely to cause harm and went ahead anyway. Simple negligence, even serious negligence, is not enough. That is why most claims target the entity instead of the individual.
What You Can Actually Recover
Winning does not mean collecting the full value of your losses. Punitive damages are prohibited in lawsuits against local governments. Compensatory damages for actual losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property repair costs, are not capped. Non-economic damages like pain and suffering are capped at $250,000 per person, except in wrongful death cases.11Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2744.05 – Damage Limitations
Ohio also requires a collateral-source offset. If you received insurance payments or benefits from any other source for the same injury, the court must deduct those amounts from your award, even if you have to repay those benefits after recovering. Your net recovery will almost always be less than the total damages the judge or jury finds.
Each side also generally pays its own lawyer under the American Rule. A winning plaintiff typically cannot recover attorney fees from the state unless a separate statute authorizes fee-shifting for that type of claim.
The Federal Alternative: Section 1983
Ohio’s immunity framework governs state-law tort claims. It does not block lawsuits for federal constitutional violations. Under 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983, anyone acting “under color of” state law who deprives a person of their constitutional rights can be sued in federal court.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1983 – Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights This is the main tool for excessive force, unlawful arrest, due process, and similar misconduct claims.
Local governments can be defendants in Section 1983 suits, but only on specific terms. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Monell v. Department of Social Services that a city or county is liable when the constitutional violation resulted from an official policy, regulation, or widespread custom, not merely because it employed the person who caused the harm.13Justia. Monell v Department of Social Services You cannot hold a municipality liable just because it employs the wrongdoer. You have to tie the harm to a deliberate policy choice or an entrenched practice the government tolerated.
The state of Ohio itself generally cannot be sued under Section 1983 because of Eleventh Amendment immunity. The workaround is suing a state official in their official capacity for prospective injunctive relief, asking the court to order the official to stop an ongoing constitutional violation. That produces no money judgment against the state, but it can force a change in practice going forward.
How to File in the Court of Claims
Before you file, identify the exact state agency involved and calculate your damages as specifically as you can. Gather witness statements, photographs, medical records, and repair estimates early. Documentation carries extra weight here because small claims are decided entirely on paper.
Small Claims up to $10,000
Claims of $10,000 or less go through an “administrative determination,” a streamlined procedure designed so you can participate without a lawyer.14Ohio Court of Claims. About the Ohio Court of Claims You fill out the Court’s claim form, pay a $25 filing fee, and submit your supporting documents.15Ohio Court of Claims. Does It Cost Money to File a Claim The Court sends the claim to the state agency, which has 60 days to investigate and file a written report. The Clerk then decides the claim on the documents alone.
Standard Civil Actions Over $10,000
For larger claims, you file a formal complaint with the Court of Claims in Columbus through the electronic filing system or by mail. The filing fee is $25.16Ohio Court of Claims. Legal Community If you cannot afford it, you can request a waiver by submitting a written explanation and completing the Court’s Application to Waive Filing Fee, though you may still owe court costs later.15Ohio Court of Claims. Does It Cost Money to File a Claim After the Clerk processes the filing, the complaint is served on the agency, which has 28 days to respond.14Ohio Court of Claims. About the Ohio Court of Claims From there the case moves through discovery and trial before a judge or magistrate.