Oregon · Updated
Injured in Oregon: deadlines, rules and lawyers
Most of what to do after an injury is the same everywhere. The deadline to file, and a few other rules, are set by each state. Here are Oregon’s, each with the law it comes from. This is general information, not advice about your case.
We don’t list firms in Oregon yet. You can still check how to look up a lawyer’s license.
Know this first
Step 1: Two years to file in court
2 years(3 for a death)
In Oregon, most injury lawsuits must be filed in court within two years1.
When the clock starts, and whether an exception applies, can depend on the facts. A lawyer can tell you your exact date.
In Oregon, an action for injury to the person not arising on contract must be commenced within two years1. Wrongful death, claims against public bodies and medical claims run on their own clocks, set out below.
The law, as written
Personal injury2 years
In Oregon, an action “for any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract, and not especially enumerated in this chapter, shall be commenced within two years”1.
More detail
In Oregon, an action is commenced against a defendant when the complaint is filed and the summons served; if service occurs within 60 days after filing, the action is deemed commenced on the filing date2.
If a family member died
Step 2: If someone died
A claim for a death can have its own deadline, and it may start on a different day. Here is the rule as the research found it.
The law, as written
Wrongful death3 years
In Oregon, a wrongful-death action must be commenced within three years after the injury causing the death is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, but no later than three years after the death or, if earlier, the longest applicable statute of ultimate repose3.
More detail
Oregon's wrongful-death action is brought by the personal representative for the statutory beneficiaries3.
If a government body was involved
Step 3: Claims against the state or a local government
If a government vehicle, government property or a public employee was part of what happened, a shorter notice or claim step may come first. Ask a lawyer about it early.
The law, as written
Claims against the state or a local public body: notice180 days (1 year for death)
Under the Oregon Tort Claims Act, notice of claim against the state or a local public body must be given within 180 days after the alleged loss or injury, or within one year for wrongful death4. The period excludes up to 90 days during which the injured person cannot give notice because of the injury, minority, incompetency or other incapacity4.
More detail
In Oregon, tort claim notice can be formal written notice, actual notice, filing the action within the notice period, or payment of any part of the claim4. Formal notice goes to the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for state claims, and for local public bodies to the body's principal administrative office, a member of its governing body or its designated general counsel4. The plaintiff has the burden of proving notice4.
Claims against the state or a local public body: suit2 years
Under the Oregon Tort Claims Act, an action against a public body or its officers, employees or agents must be commenced within two years after the alleged loss or injury, “notwithstanding any other provision of ORS chapter 12” except ORS 12.120, 12.135 and 659A.8754.
How fault is counted
Step 4: If you were partly at fault
Barred above 50%
In Oregon, if you are found more than 50% at fault, you generally can’t recover. If not, what you get is cut by your share5.
In Oregon, a claimant's contributory negligence does not bar recovery if the claimant's fault “was not greater than the combined fault” of the defendants and other persons the statute lists, and damages are reduced by the claimant's percentage of fault5. Each defendant's liability is several only, with post-judgment reallocation of uncollectible shares6.
The law, as written
Bar to recoveryBarred above 50%
In Oregon, contributory negligence does not bar recovery “if the fault attributable to the claimant was not greater than the combined fault of all persons specified in subsection (2),” and any damages are diminished in proportion to the claimant's fault5.
More detail
In Oregon, the claimant's fault is compared with the combined fault of the parties against whom recovery is sought, third-party defendants liable in tort to the claimant, and persons who settled with the claimant, not with each defendant separately5. Except for settling persons, fault is not compared with persons who are immune, outside the court's jurisdiction, or protected by a statute of limitation or repose5.
On request, the Oregon trier of fact answers special questions on total damages and each person's percentage of fault, and the jury is told the legal effect of its answers but not of any settlement7.
If a doctor, hospital or clinic was involved
Step 5: Medical malpractice has its own limits
Claims against a doctor, hospital or clinic often have their own deadline and extra steps before filing.
The law, as written
Medical negligence2 years from discovery; 5-year repose
In Oregon, an action for injuries arising from medical, surgical or dental treatment must be commenced within two years from when the injury is first discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, and in any event within five years from the date of the treatment, omission or operation1.
More detail
Under ORS 12.110(4), the five-year period applies “notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 12.160” (minority tolling), and is extended only where fraud, deceit or misleading representation prevented filing, in which case suit is due within two years of discovering it1.
If they were a minor
Step 6: If the injured person is a child
The clock can run differently for a child’s claim.
The law, as written
MinorsTolled; max 5 years or 1 year after 18
In Oregon, limitations is tolled while the claimant is younger than 18, but the extension may not exceed five years or one year after the claimant turns 18, whichever occurs first8. A parent's claim for the child's medical expenses is tolled for the same period8.
More detail
Oregon's minority tolling does not extend the five-year medical-negligence repose period1. Child-abuse and sexual-assault claims have separate statutes (ORS 12.115, 12.117).
Next
Step 7: What to do with this
- Write down the datesThe day you were hurt, the day treatment ended, and anything a government body or hospital sent you.
- Ask a lawyer about your factsThese rules have exceptions that depend on details. A lawyer licensed in Oregon can tell you which ones apply.
- Ask each firmWhich deadline applies to me, does a notice need to go out, and by when?
How to check a lawyer’s license in Oregon
Each state keeps a public list of lawyers. Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up by name and read what the listing says about their license. If it isn’t clear, call the office that keeps the list.
Case types
Each case type’s page has Oregon’s deadline and rules for it.
More about deadlines
- What to do after a car accident: learn your deadline
Plain steps after a crash: stay safe, get care, keep a record, talk to insurance companies carefully, and learn your state’s deadline to file.
- After a truck accident: your deadline to file still applies
How a crash with a big commercial truck differs from a car crash: federal safety rules, more than one company involved, larger insurance, and records that are only kept for a while.
- After a motorcycle or bike crash: your deadline to file
What’s different when you were on a motorcycle or a bicycle: keeping your helmet and gear, your rights on the road, helmet rules, fault, road hazards and insurance.
- Hit by a car while walking: your deadline to file
What to do if a car hit you while you were walking: first steps, the evidence that disappears fastest, whose insurance may pay, how fault gets argued, and your deadlines.
- After a slip and fall: your deadline to file
What to do after you fall on someone else’s property: get care, report it, keep a record, and learn the questions that decide a premises case, including falls on public property and at work.
- Wrongful death basics: the deadline often starts at the death
If someone in your family died because of another person’s carelessness: what a wrongful-death claim is, who can bring it, how it differs from a survival claim, getting records, and the deadline.
- Hurt at work: your deadlines
What to do after an injury on the job: get care, tell your employer in writing, and learn how workers’ compensation works and when a separate injury claim against someone else may exist.
- After a dog bite: your deadline to file
What to do after a dog bites you or your child: get care, find out who owns the dog, keep a record, and learn how state rules on dog bites differ.
- After a head or brain injury: deadlines keep running while you recover
What to do after a head injury from a crash, a fall or another accident: get checked, keep a record of how you feel, get help from family, and why legal deadlines keep running while you recover.
- When medical care goes wrong: deadlines are often different, and strict
What to do if you think a doctor, hospital or clinic hurt you: get care, get your records, and learn the extra steps and short deadlines that medical-malpractice claims often have, state by state.
- Deadlines in every state
The usual deadline in all 50 states and DC, side by side. Where we haven’t checked one yet, we say so.
How we list firms
How we list firms
We don’t rank firms. Listing is free and doesn’t depend on buying anything.
Firms are listed for free, in A–Z order. Every fact shows its source and date. We don’t recommend lawyers, and we don’t pass on your details.
Sources
Where the legal facts on this page come from
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.110Read the source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.110
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.020Read the source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.020
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 30.020Read the source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 30.020
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 30.275Read the source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 30.275
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 31.600Read the source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 31.600
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 31.610Read the source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 31.610
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 31.605Read the source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 31.605
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.160Read the source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.160
This is general information, not legal advice.