State file: Oregon

Wrongful Death Attorneys in Oregon: Your Complete Legal Guide

7 min read

3 years General deadline in the table of this guide. The same row names another period for some deaths: read it before relying on this number.

An Oregon wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative, and the deadline has two parts: three years from when the fatal injury was discovered or should have been discovered, but never later than three years after the death. Oregon’s statute names stepchildren and stepparents as beneficiaries, lets the case recover what the person suffered before dying and punitive damages the person could have claimed, and keeps the damages distributed to the family free of taxes and claims against the estate. Noneconomic damages, including loss of companionship, are subject to a $500,000 limit under ORS 31.710.

Oregon Wrongful Death at a Glance

Question Oregon answer
Who files? The personal representative (ORS 30.020(1))
For whom? Spouse, children, parents, others entitled to inherit under intestacy, and stepchildren and stepparents (ORS 30.020(1))
Deadline Three years from discovery of the fatal injury, but no later than three years after death or any applicable repose period (ORS 30.020(1))
Pre-death suffering Recoverable only in the wrongful death action when one is brought (ORS 30.075(3))
Creditors Damages distributed to the beneficiaries are not subject to taxes or claims against the estate (ORS 30.030(5))
Public bodies Notice of claim within one year for wrongful death (ORS 30.275)
Noneconomic damages Limited to $500,000, with exceptions (ORS 31.710)
Fault rule Recovery allowed if the claimant's fault is not greater than the combined fault of the others; damages reduced (ORS 31.600)

Who Brings the Case and Who Benefits

When a death is caused by the wrongful act or omission of another, the personal representative may sue if the person could have sued had they lived (ORS 30.020(1)). The action is for the benefit of:

  • the surviving spouse, children and parents;
  • other individuals who would inherit the person’s personal property under the intestacy law of the person’s home state; and
  • any stepchild or stepparent, “whether that stepchild or stepparent would be entitled to inherit … or not.”

In a blended family, this means a stepparent or stepchild can be a beneficiary even if neither would inherit under intestacy.

The Deadline

Oregon’s deadline starts from the discovery of the injury, not from the death, and the death then sets an outer limit. The action must be commenced “within three years after the injury causing the death of the decedent is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered by the decedent, by the personal representative or by a person for whose benefit the action may be brought” (other than the wrongdoer). But in no case may it be commenced later than the earlier of three years after the death, or the longest applicable statute of ultimate repose, such as the repose periods for medical, construction and product claims (ORS 30.020(1)).

When the injury was known months before the death, the three years measured from the injury end first.

Public bodies. No action against a public body or its officer, employee or agent may be maintained unless notice of claim is given. For wrongful death, the notice must be given “within one year after the alleged loss or injury.” Formal notice goes to the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for state claims, or to the local public body’s principal office, a member of its governing body or its designated counsel. Actual notice, filing suit within the period, or payment of part of the claim can also satisfy the requirement (ORS 30.275).

What Can Be Recovered

The jury may award (ORS 30.020(2)):

  1. reasonable charges for doctors’, hospital, nursing and other medical services, and burial and memorial services;
  2. what would have compensated the person for disability, pain, suffering and loss of income between the injury and the death;
  3. pecuniary loss to the estate;
  4. compensation to the spouse, children, stepchildren, stepparents and parents for pecuniary loss and for “loss of the society, companionship and services of the decedent”;
  5. separately stated, the punitive damages the person would have been entitled to recover had they lived.

One case for pre-death losses. Oregon also lets a personal injury claim survive death (ORS 30.075(1)), but if a wrongful death action is brought, damages for the person’s disability, pain, suffering and lost income between injury and death “may only be recovered in the wrongful death action” (ORS 30.075(3)).

The $500,000 Noneconomic Limit

ORS 31.710(1) provides that, except for claims subject to the Oregon Tort Claims Act (ORS 30.260 to 30.300) and workers’ compensation (ORS chapter 656), “in any civil action seeking damages arising out of bodily injury, including emotional injury or distress, death or property damage of any one person including claims for loss of care, comfort, companionship and society and loss of consortium, the amount awarded for noneconomic damages shall not exceed $500,000.” Economic damages are not limited by that subsection. This guide reviewed the statute’s text, not court decisions applying it, so how the limit applies to a particular death should be confirmed with counsel.

How the Money Is Distributed

After a settlement or judgment, the personal representative first pays the costs, expenses and fees of the claim and the medical, burial and memorial charges. The part of the recovery for the family’s own losses under ORS 30.020(2)(d) goes to the beneficiary it is apportioned to; if there is a settlement and more than one beneficiary, and they do not agree, the probate court apportions that part “in accordance with the beneficiary’s loss” (ORS 30.030, 30.040). The remainder is distributed under intestacy law or as the beneficiaries agree, and “no such damages shall be subject to payment of taxes or claims against the decedent’s estate” (ORS 30.030(5)).

How Fault Affects the Claim

Contributory negligence does not bar recovery in an action for death “if the fault attributable to the claimant was not greater than the combined fault of all persons specified,” and damages are reduced by the claimant’s percentage. The jury compares the claimant’s fault with that of the defendants, third-party defendants who are liable to the claimant, and anyone who has settled with the claimant, but not with persons who are immune, outside the court’s jurisdiction, or no longer subject to suit because of a limitations or repose period (ORS 31.600).

The firm listings below are separate from the legal information above. Statements about the law in a firm description are not part of this guide’s legal review.

Top 3 Wrongful Death Attorneys in Oregon

1. Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC

A boutique, highly selective trial firm recognized as one of Oregon’s elite litigation groups. They are masters at presenting loss of companionship damages to Oregon juries. They handle catastrophic medical malpractice, trucking, and defective product wrongful death cases, and their selective caseload means every family receives maximum attorney attention.

2. Swanson, Thomas, Coon & Newton

A well-established personal injury and wrongful death firm with a strong reputation across Oregon’s state and federal courts. They are skilled at navigating the probate appointment process and pursuing the wrongful death claim to maximize total recovery.

3. Oregon Injury Law Center

Known for a client-first, results-driven approach. They excel in fatal motor vehicle and commercial trucking accidents and rapidly deploy investigative teams before critical evidence disappears. They aggressively pursue the full extent of the family’s financial and emotional losses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the three-year period start at the accident or at the death?

At the discovery of the injury that caused the death, but the action can never be filed later than three years after the death or the end of any applicable repose period, whichever is earlier.

Can a stepparent recover in Oregon?

Yes. The statute names stepparents and stepchildren as beneficiaries whether or not they would inherit, and includes them among the people compensated for loss of society, companionship and services.

Are taxes or estate claims paid out of the family’s share?

The statute says the damages distributed to the beneficiaries are not subject to taxes or claims against the estate. Medical, burial and memorial charges, and the costs of the claim, are paid from the recovery first.

The death involved a county road crew. What is the first deadline?

A notice of claim to the public body within one year after the loss or injury. The statute also accepts actual notice, filing the lawsuit within that year, or payment of part of the claim by the public body.

Sources and Last Review

Oregon Revised Statutes sections 30.020, 30.030, 30.040, 30.075, 30.275, 31.600 and 31.710. Legal information reviewed October 2026. This page is general information about Oregon law, not legal advice about a specific death.