Substitute House Bill 279 Summary

• Amends Ohio wrongful death law to establish a two-year deadline for "other next of kin" to file a written notice of claim with probate court to remain interested persons in settlement proceedings; after two years, other next of kin are no longer interested persons unless they filed notice.

• Prohibits parents who abandoned a minor child from receiving benefits in wrongful death actions, defining abandonment as failure to communicate, care for, or provide support for at least one year prior to the child's death.

• Clarifies that surviving spouses, children, and parents of a decedent are rebuttably presumed to have suffered damages and are always interested persons entitled to notice in wrongful death claims.

• Maintains the two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death claims generally, with exceptions for product liability claims which have a ten-year limit from product delivery with additional exceptions for fraud, extended warranties, and exposure-based claims.

• Allows evidence of surviving spouse's remarriage and cost of annuities to be considered by juries or courts when determining damages for future losses in wrongful death actions.