Oregon Tort Laws

Torts are omissions and acts that lead to harm to individuals. According to state ordinances, the resulting injury gives the injured person the right to sue the liable party and recover damages. 

Personal injury falls under tort law. It specifically refers to cases where a victim of an injury seeks compensation for the physical and emotional harm they sustained from at-fault parties. 

Generally, tort claims are filed in state courts. However, in some cases, the number of plaintiffs is large enough to make it impractical for a state court to hear such claims. Moreover, the victims might be residing in different states. For this reason, the plaintiffs may agree to file a mass tort claim before a federal court. 

In this article, Oregonians can find information about mass torts and other types of torts. It also explains how much someone may obtain from tort claims. After the discussion, there is a list of resources that may help tort victims find legal counsel and representation in Oregon. 

Basic Tort Categories in Oregon

Negligent Torts

Negligent torts are actions that cause harm because of the failure to practice reasonable care. A person may, for example, fail to follow traffic rules and cause an accident. Other examples of negligent driving behavior include operating a car without insurance and speeding in a school zone. 

Medical malpractice is another example of a negligent tort. In one case, a Multnomah County Circuit Court jury in August 2017 found a neurosurgery center liable for $4.5 million in damages. The healthcare provider was negligent because it did not review medical records, perform a thorough neurological exam, and advise the patient to watch out for symptoms of a serious condition. In part because of these actions, the patient lost feeling in his legs. 

To establish negligence, plaintiffs — the parties who file the lawsuit — must prove four elements. These are: 

• Duty: Plaintiffs must show that they are owed by the defendant a degree of care. In the case above, the defendant is the healthcare provider. Their duty includes the responsibility to inform patients of potential medical risks. 

• Breach: Plaintiffs must show that the defendant fell short of the expected degree of care. This can be seen in the failure to communicate the need to monitor symptoms. 

• Causation: Plaintiffs must show that the defendant’s breach led to injuries, like numbness in the legs.   

• Damages: Finally, plaintiffs must show that they suffered damages because of the breach. Lost wages are one example of damages. 

Intentional Torts

Intentional torts are actions that involve a person deliberately hurting another. 

There are numerous examples of this type of tort. These include: 

• Assault: Attempting to cause physical harm to someone.  

• Battery: Actually causing physical harm to someone. 

• False imprisonment: Unlawfully restraining someone from moving freely. 

Another example is the intentional infliction of emotional distress. In one incident in February 2023, a judge from the Multnomah County Circuit Court allowed a lawsuit against a Portland-based global nonprofit to proceed.

 This decision was made in light of the non-profit’s alleged role in subjecting the plaintiff to emotional suffering by improperly investigating whether she was abused by her father, the late co-founder of the organization.

Strict Liability Torts

Strict liability torts are cases where the party being sued can be held responsible even if they did not act negligently or intentionally to cause the injuries. These torts are usually seen in cases involving defective products. 

There are many ways a product can be defective: 

• The product was manufactured incorrectly. 

• The product is unsafe, design-wise. 

• The product displays inadequate warnings. 

In one case, the City of Portland filed a lawsuit in May 2023 against a streetcar manufacturer for loose screws in some of its vehicles. These conditions contributed to a derailment back in 2018. The city is now asking for $400,000 in damages. 

Other Tort Categories in Oregon

Economic torts, also known as business torts, are acts that often lead to financial losses. There are numerous examples of economic torts, such as securities fraud, misrepresentation, and business defamation. 

An employee who misappropriates trade secrets also engages in an economic tort. In one incident, an engineer was accused in a lawsuit in February 2023 by his former company, a semiconductor manufacturer, that he took confidential pricing and product design information with him to a competitor. 

Nuisances, on the other hand, are actions that disrupt the rights of the public or an individual's use of their property. Under Oregon law, these actions may include noise, smoke, vibration, or dust. 

Besides humans, a nuisance can involve animals. In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, the mayor of Warrenton — Henry Balensifer — mentioned that because of the growing elk population in his community, some seniors felt like hostages in their own homes. 

Torts vs. Crimes in Oregon

Torts and crimes may be similar in some aspects, but they retain crucial differences. 

Torts are civil wrongs. They often involve disputes between two people. As such, plaintiffs have to resolve these by filing claims in civil courts. The burden of proof is also on them. 

Unlike crimes, torts do not make the person responsible for the injury guilty. Instead, they are described as liable for the damages that the injured person has incurred. Tort liability, therefore, is about reimbursing the plaintiff for the harm that the defendant has caused. 

Fraud is one example of a civil wrong. A person found responsible for intentionally deceiving another to obtain something can be sued for damages. 

In one incident, a couple sued a Portland resident who ran a makeup and hair salon for ghosting them before their wedding. The couple filed a small claims action in Multnomah County in August 2022 to recover their $1,800 deposit. 

Crimes, on the other hand, are actions that harm society. As such, the government — to represent society — acts as the plaintiff. These actions are resolved in criminal courts. The government also has the burden of proof. One may be guilty of a crime, and conviction leads to penalties beyond monetary damages, like jail time. 

Fraud is an example of a crime. In one case, a federal jury in Portland convicted three former executives in May 2023 for wire and mail fraud. The executives defrauded investors for almost $300 million. Such crimes are punishable by a maximum of 20 years of prison time. 

Mass Torts in Oregon

Mass torts are actions that lead to harm for a large number of people. Mass tort claims, therefore, are lawsuits that involve several plaintiffs against a similar defendant. Different examples can justify such a claim. These include:

• Toxic substance exposure: In December 2022, a settlement worth almost $700 million was reached between the Oregon Department of Justice and an agrochemical company. The damages the state received will go to cleaning up its persistent pollutants in Portland Harbor. These pollutants, known as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, may cause cancer. 

• Environmental damage: In June 2023, Multnomah County initiated a lawsuit against various oil corporations for causing a heat dome that killed 69 people and damaged property in 2021. Plaintiffs are seeking over $50 billion in damages.

Another example involves a utility provider. In December 2023, the provider announced that it had reached a $250 million settlement with 10 timber companies for the damage the companies sustained. The losses were a result of a wildfire that the provider allegedly started by neglecting to perform tasks like trimming hazardous trees.

• Product liability: In December 2019, the Oregon Attorney General filed a lawsuit against a pelvic mesh device manufacturer for its failure to disclose to nearly 4,000 women the dangerous complications arising from using the product. 

In another case, Portland Public Schools submitted a claim against an e-cigarette company for its alleged role in driving up teenage substance abuse in public schools. The district claims that the company used ads that misled or excluded information about the amount of nicotine in its products.

 In addition, tech companies may be held liable for their role in the current mental health crisis affecting teenagers. School districts throughout the country, including one in Oregon, are suing social media companies because they promote apps that they say are addictive. 

If each plaintiff in these cases had a separate trial, the legal costs would be too high. A mass tort claim streamlines the legal process by combining various lawsuits into one. 

Mass Torts vs. Class Actions

Mass tort claims appear to be the same as class-action lawsuits because they can both involve numerous plaintiffs against one or two defendants. But there are differences between the two: 

Numerous class-action lawsuits have impacted Oregonians. For example, a group of homeless individuals in Portland submitted a class-action claim in September 2023 before the Multnomah County Circuit Court. This lawsuit aims to impose a temporary restraining order on an ordinance that may fine or jail the approximately 10,000 unhoused people in the city. 

The Mass Tort Process

Mass tort claims involve different stages. These are: 

• Reviewing records: Attorneys assess many documents to determine if this evidence can lead to a mass tort claim. 

• Finding injury patterns: Attorneys find similarities with the damage plaintiffs sustained from defendants. 

• Submitting claims in federal courts: Attorneys file these lawsuits before federal judges. In some cases, the impact of the defendant is felt in different courts. Given this, attorneys may petition the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Multidistrict litigation refers to the judicial process where different lawsuits submitted in various federal courts are consolidated before one federal judge. 

• Holding bellwether trials: Attorneys represent plaintiffs in these test trials, where a few cases are chosen as a benchmark for how lawsuits against the defendant may turn out. 

• Securing settlements. Attorneys on behalf of defendants, if the results of bellwether trials are disadvantageous for them, may decide to settle remaining claims and avoid further litigation costs. 

Keep in mind that even with more than a million lawsuits combined into multidistrict litigation across the years, only around 1% of these cases go through trial. As such, individuals can contact an experienced Oregon attorney who provides guidance throughout the process of settling mass tort claims. 

Oregon Tort Liability Insurance Requirements

Businesses face tort liability risk if they intentionally or negligently harm others. If they sell products, they can also deal with strict tort liability risk. 

A company may purchase general liability insurance to mitigate the chances of lawsuits. This policy can cover different areas, including: 

• Property damage. 

• Bodily injury. 

• Reputational damage.  

Besides general liability insurance, Oregon law requires almost all businesses to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Such a policy aims to pay for the medical expenses and disability benefits of injured workers. 

Additionally, companies in Oregon that own vehicles need to insure them appropriately through commercial auto insurance. If one of its cars or trucks experiences a collision, the business can compensate for damages like lost wages and medical expenses through its insurer. 

Statutes of Limitations for Tort Cases in Oregon

Oregon personal injury laws have different time limits for filing claims, depending on the situation. For instance, plaintiffs harmed because of battery, assault, or negligence need to submit their claim two years from the date of the injury. 

This differs in cases involving wrongful death, where the deadline to file the lawsuit is generally three years. This timeframe starts from the day when the victim passed away. 

In medical malpractice cases, the claim against the healthcare provider must be filed with the court within two years from the day the injury was or should have been discovered. 

Remember that under Oregon law, the statute of repose applies in medical malpractice cases. In other words, patients have a maximum time limit — in such cases, five years — to file a lawsuit against a healthcare provider. 

Product liability claims are also subject to a two-year deadline. However, the statute of repose for these is 10 years. This 10-year period either begins from the day the product was purchased or the deadline in effect in the state where the product was manufactured, whichever is later.  

How Much Can Someone Sue in a Tort Case in Oregon?

Oregon tort laws limit the compensation plaintiffs can receive from liable defendants. These rules, for example, do not cap economic damages. To put it differently, Oregon plaintiffs do not face limits to the compensation they might obtain for a range of tangible losses, from lost earnings and medical expenses to repair costs and lost business opportunities. 

Oregon law also does not place a cap on non-economic damages. These refer to intangible losses like loss of companionship, emotional distress, and suffering. However, plaintiffs in wrongful death cases must face a $500,000 limit on these damages. 

Economic and non-economic damages fall under a category known as compensatory damages. 

Punitive damages — the financial award given to plaintiffs as a way for courts to punish defendants — are likewise not capped. 

Oregon does have a notable rule; unlike other states that allow plaintiffs to receive all punitive damages, the Beaver State takes 70% of the award. This situation, where there are no limits on compensatory and punitive damages, is uncommon but possible. 

In 1987, Oregon placed a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages. This move was part of tort reform in the state. Legislators passed laws that aimed to decrease the impact of litigation on businesses, following the lobbying of various groups, like the Oregon Liability Reform Coalition.

In 2020, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the $500,000 cap was unconstitutional. However, even though there may generally be no limits in place, plaintiffs can still find their compensation reduced. In some cases, they can even face a situation where they cannot recover damages. 

This is because Oregon courts follow the modified comparative fault system. If a plaintiff is found to be 50% or less responsible for the accident, they may still receive damages. This compensation, though, is reduced in proportion to their share of the fault. 

This 50% or less rule is simple to apply in a dispute involving a plaintiff and a defendant. But in mass tort claims with many plaintiffs and few defendants, the application of the rule is less clear-cut. However, since victims are treated as individual plaintiffs, courts determine compensation based on different factors. These may include:

• How many plaintiffs are present. 

• How severe the injuries to the various plaintiffs were.

• How financially capable the defendants are. 

How compensation works in mass tort claims can be different in traditional lawsuits. As such, one must understand the average value of the recoverable compensation in claims involving different products.

Other Legal Remedies in Tort Cases in Oregon

Claiming damages is not the only legal solution for Oregon plaintiffs in tort cases. Other reliefs and remedies include: 

• Injunctions: These are court orders that plaintiffs may request to compel a defendant to do or not do something. For example, some Oregon lawmakers filed a lawsuit in 2023 that sought to impose an injunction against a tech company hired by state officials. The plaintiffs alleged that the company in question could silence contrary views and violate their First Amendment rights. 

• Restitutions: These are court orders for defendants to reimburse plaintiffs for their losses. For example, in 2023, a Canyonville resident and former CEO of a company that managed assisted living facilities was ordered by a U.S. Attorney’s Office to pay more than $74 million to over 1,400 financial fraud victims. 

Resources for Tort Victims in Oregon

Oregon Department of Justice

The Oregon Department of Justice aims to support healthy communities across the state through solutions that help consumers. One is a complaints database. This allows Oregonians to find information on whether a company that operates in the state has received complaints. Keep in mind that the database contains information starting on January 1, 2008. To report companies or ask questions to the department, one may call 1-877-877-9392. 

Oregon State Bar

The Oregon State Bar seeks to deliver justice to Oregonians through various programs. One of these is the Client Security Fund. In operation since 1967, the program allows clients to reimburse costs that they incurred because of their lawyer’s dishonest conduct. One must download and complete a form and mail it to the bar for reimbursement. For other questions, individuals can call 503-620-0222.    

Help Now! Advocacy

Help Now! Advocacy provides support for various individuals, particularly low-income Oregonians and those with disabilities. It has experience working with people hurt because of defective products or scams. It also assists those seeking help with Medicare and Medicaid. To contact the organization, one may call 855-427-4737 or 541-732-1911.