Slip & Fall Lawyer in Oregon

180 days from the date of the loss or injury under the Oregon Tort Claims Act (ORS 30.275). This applies to falls on any public body's property — state buildings, county courthouses, city sidewalks, public schools, transit facilities. The notice must be in writing. State claims go to the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services. Local public body claims go to the body's principal administrative office, a governing body member, or designated counsel. Missing this 180-day notice bars the claim entirely — the two-year general SOL under ORS 12.110(1) does not save it.

Only if your fault does not exceed 50%. Oregon follows modified comparative fault under ORS 31.600 — recovery is permitted if the claimant's fault is 'not greater than the combined fault of all persons' responsible. At 50% fault, you recover 50% of your damages. At 51%, you recover nothing. Property owners routinely argue that the hazard was open and obvious, that you were distracted, or that you were wearing inappropriate footwear. These arguments are specifically designed to push your fault past the 51% threshold.

It depends on your legal status at the time of the fall. Oregon follows the traditional invitee/licensee/trespasser classification. Business invitees (customers, patrons, shoppers) are owed the highest duty — the owner must inspect for hazards, warn of known dangers, and maintain reasonably safe conditions. Licensees (social guests) are owed a duty to warn of known hidden dangers but not to proactively inspect. Trespassers are generally owed only the duty not to set intentional traps. Property owners often try to argue the injured person was in an unauthorized area to downgrade the duty owed.

Two years from the date of the injury under ORS 12.110(1) for claims against private property owners. But if the fall occurred on government property, the Oregon Tort Claims Act (ORS 30.275) requires written notice within 180 days — and missing that deadline bars the government claim regardless of the two-year SOL. Evidence deadlines are even shorter: surveillance video typically overwrites on a 7-to-30-day loop, so an attorney must send a spoliation preservation letter immediately.

You must prove the hazard existed and that the property owner knew or should have known about it (constructive notice). Key evidence includes surveillance video from the property's security cameras, maintenance and cleaning logs, prior incident reports showing the same hazard, witness statements, photographs of the hazard taken at the scene, weather records (critical in Portland's rain-heavy climate), and your own medical records linking the injuries to the fall. An attorney should send a spoliation preservation letter to the property owner within days of the fall to prevent evidence destruction.

Yes. Portland receives rain approximately nine months of the year, making wet-floor hazards — both interior tracked-in water and exterior walkway conditions — a constant issue. Property owners have a duty to address foreseeable weather-related hazards for invitees: deploying wet-floor signs, using floor mats at entrances, maintaining proper drainage on walkways. The fact that rain is frequent in Oregon actually strengthens the constructive-notice argument — a property owner in Portland cannot credibly claim they were surprised by wet conditions on their premises in November.