Wrongful Death Lawyer in Oregon

Only the personal representative of the decedent's estate can file under ORS 30.020. The action is brought for the benefit of the surviving spouse, surviving children (including stepchildren), surviving parents (including stepparents). If no personal representative has been appointed, one must be appointed through probate court before the wrongful death suit can proceed. This appointment process can take weeks or months and runs against the limitations period, so it should be initiated immediately.

Three years from the date the injury causing death is discovered, but no later than three years after death, under ORS 30.020. This is longer than the standard two-year personal injury SOL under ORS 12.110(1). However, if a government entity was involved, the Oregon Tort Claims Act (ORS 30.275) imposes a one-year written notice requirement for wrongful death claims against public bodies. Missing that one-year OTCA notice deadline bars the claim against the government entity regardless of the three-year SOL.

Yes. ORS 30.020 explicitly authorizes 'the punitive damages, if any, which the decedent would have been entitled to recover.' Oregon is one of the few states where the wrongful death statute itself permits inherited punitive damages without requiring a separate survival action. This is particularly significant in cases involving drunk drivers, commercial carriers with known safety violations, or property owners who ignored documented hazards. The availability of punitive damages substantially increases settlement leverage.

ORS 30.020 enumerates four categories: (1) medical, hospital, nursing, burial, and memorial expenses; (2) the decedent's pain, suffering, disability, and lost income between injury and death (survival damages consolidated into the wrongful death action); (3) the family's pecuniary loss and loss of society, companionship, and services; and (4) punitive damages the decedent would have been entitled to recover. Oregon does not require a separate survival action — ORS 30.020 consolidates everything into a single proceeding.

Yes. Oregon's modified comparative fault under ORS 31.600 applies the 51% bar to wrongful death actions. If the decedent's fault is found to be greater than the combined fault of all defendants, the family recovers nothing. Because the decedent cannot testify, defense counsel will rely entirely on documentary evidence — dashcam footage, event data recorders, toxicology reports, cell phone records — to argue the decedent's fault exceeded 50%. Preserving contradicting evidence is critical and must happen within days of the death.

The Oregon Tort Claims Act (ORS 30.275) imposes a one-year written notice requirement for wrongful death claims against public bodies — state agencies, counties, cities, school districts, transit authorities. 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. This one-year notice deadline is separate from and shorter than the three-year wrongful death SOL under ORS 30.020. Missing it bars the government claim entirely.