Injured in an Out-of-State Car Accident? What Ohio Drivers Should Know

There’s never a convenient time to get into a car accident. But getting hurt in an out-of-state car accident can turn a road trip, family visit, or work trip into a nightmare in a hurry.

While your license and registration may say “Ohio” on them, the laws of the state where the accident occurred control issues like fault, insurance requirements, damages, and filing deadlines. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to start by calling an attorney in the state where the crash took place.

Even if your crash happened outside of Ohio, you can contact Graham Law. We may be able to investigate the accident, communicate with insurance companies, negotiate on your behalf, and help resolve your claim. If litigation becomes necessary in a state where we’re not licensed, we can also facilitate a referral to capable local counsel.

Invisible Borders, Visible Differences in the Law

Ohio is one of 10 states that borders five other states. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia all border the Buckeye State, and it’s not uncommon for business or pleasure to take Ohio Valley and Muskingum Valley residents to one of these states—or further afield to places like Florida, the Carolinas, or Washington, D.C.

Along the way, you can cross state borders and barely realize it, with little more than a sun-faded sign or phone notification to let you know you’ve left one state and entered another.

But while state borders are often unremarkable, differences between state laws can be noteworthy. For example:

• A crash in Michigan may involve Michigan’s no-fault insurance system, which can affect how medical benefits are paid and when an injured person may pursue damages from an at-fault driver.
• A crash in Pennsylvania can raise issues around Pennsylvania’s “limited tort” and “full tort” auto insurance options and an injured person’s ability to recover non-economic damages.
• A crash in Kentucky may involve no-fault/PIP benefits and tort thresholds that are different from Ohio’s fault-based auto accident system.
• A crash in Indiana or West Virginia may look more familiar in some respects, but those states apply their own rules for comparative fault, damages, insurance coverage, and filing deadlines.

Because car insurance and car accidents are governed at the state level, you should not assume that Ohio law applies to a crash that takes place outside of Ohio. You may live in Ohio, drive an Ohio-registered vehicle, and carry an Ohio auto insurance policy. But when a crash occurs across state lines, you are subject to the laws there, including laws about how a car crash claim is handled.

That’s true whether you’re a shale field worker commuting back and forth to West Virginia or Pennsylvania, a utility worker operating across a multi-state territory, or a truck driver making an out-of-state delivery.

Different State, Same Post-Accident Steps

Despite state-level differences in car accident fault laws and compensation rules, the basic procedures after you get into a crash shouldn’t change much.

Call 911 to report injuries, get medical attention if you need it, exchange information and document the crash scene, notify your insurer, and avoid making statements to the insurance company about fault until you’ve talked to an attorney.

That attorney, though, doesn’t have to be located in the same state as the accident. Your first call can still be to an Ohio or Zanesville car accident attorney.

You may be more comfortable communicating with someone you know from your local law office. Your local, Ohio-based attorney might also be licensed in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, or another state. And they may not be—but that does not prevent them from helping you work through issues that can differ from state to state, such as:

• Fault rules: Ohio follows a comparative negligence rule, but other states may apply different versions of comparative fault, no-fault, or contributory negligence. Those rules can affect an injured person’s ability to recover compensation and whether the amount recovered is reduced by any percentage of fault assigned to them.
• Insurance requirements: Minimum auto insurance requirements vary by state, but your Ohio auto insurance policy might apply situationally, including when uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage, rental car coverage, notice requirements, and coordination with health insurance come into play.
• Available damages: Different states may apply rules to medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, permanent injuries, punitive damages, and other categories of compensation that differ from Ohio’s rules.
• Filing deadlines: The statute of limitations for filing a car accident lawsuit may not be the same as Ohio’s two-year deadline. Additional deadlines may also apply if the crash involved a public entity, like a government vehicle, public employee, or dangerous road condition.
• Whether local counsel is needed: Some claims can be investigated, negotiated, and resolved without filing a lawsuit. Local counsel may not be strictly necessary unless the claims process turns into litigation in a state where your Ohio attorney is not licensed to practice.

The vast majority of car accident claims can be resolved without filing a lawsuit. It’s your right to consult an attorney at any point in the claims process, but exercising that right is entirely your choice. No state requires you to hire an attorney after a crash.

But what if you do find yourself needing to file a lawsuit and hire a personal injury attorney?

How to File an Ohio Out-of-State Car Accident Lawsuit

Bar admissions are state-specific, so your local Ohio lawyer might not be able to file the court documents for your car accident lawsuit and officially represent you in legal proceedings outside Ohio. But we can help you avoid the guesswork of finding an out-of-state attorney on your own.

If your car accident claim cannot be resolved with the insurance company, the next step may be to file a lawsuit. In that situation, where the lawsuit is filed and who can appear in court will depend on the facts of the case and the laws of the state where litigation takes place.

Although you’re free to hire any locally licensed attorney you want, hiring blindly can introduce an additional unknown. To avoid working with an attorney you don’t know, you may be able to work with one recommended by Graham Law.

We have referral networks and co-counsel relationships with attorneys in other states for exactly this type of scenario. For cases filed outside of Ohio, we can connect you with local counsel qualified to evaluate the litigation issues and proceed with court filings in that state.

Depending on the case, your Graham Law attorney may remain involved in the claim while local counsel takes the litigation lead, or the case may be handed over entirely to a lawyer licensed in that state. Either way, the goal is the same: to make sure you have strong representation and receive the fullest compensation the law allows.

You benefit from our partnerships and referrals and get the advantage of two law firms collaborating on the case, but there is no extra cost to you. The overall contingency fee percentage remains the same.

For help with a car accident that happened inside Ohio, outside Ohio, or anywhere in between, contact Graham Law to schedule a free case review.