Oregon Personal Injury Law

Statutes of Limitations: The amount of time you have to sue whoever caused your injury or damage.

• Personal Injury – 2 years from when you discovered the injury
• Damage to Personal Property – 6 years
• Medical Malpractice – 2 years from when you discovered the injury, but no more than 5 years after the act that caused the injury
• Legal Malpractice – 2 years
• Other Professional Malpractice – 2 years

Where to Sue:

• Personal injury claims under $7,500 - Oregon Small Claims Court
• Personal injury claims over $7,500 - Oregon Circuit Court

How to Sue:

Small Claims Court:

• Forms: Claim and Notice of Suit; Affidavit; Summons. The Oregon Small Claims Court clerk will provide you with these forms to complete.
• Where to File/Notify Defendant: You should file where you were injured, or at the defendant's domicile. The defendant may be served personally by certified mail, return receipt requested, by sheriff, or an adult not a party to the case.
• Proving the defendant was notified: The process server must file Proof of Service with the clerk of the Oregon Small Claims Court. If the defendant was served by certified mail, the certified mail card with the defendant's signature constitutes adequate proof of service.
• Attorneys: Legal representation is not permitted in Oregon Small Claims Court.
• Appealing a small claim: Neither side can appeal from the decision of an Oregon Small Claims Court.

Oregon Circuit Court: An Oregon personal injury attorney can be a great help to you if you intend to file a personal injury suit in an Oregon court and can help you avoid harmful consequences that arise from misfiling.

• Forms: Complaint and Summons. Both forms can be obtained from the Oregon Circuit Court where you are filing suit. There are 36 circuit courts in Oregon.
• How to File: Obtain Complaint and Summons forms from the clerk of the Oregon Circuit Court where you are filing suit. Once you complete the forms and pay the filing fee, the clerk will stamp them. You must then begin the process of serving the defendant with the papers.
• How to Notify the Defendant: The local sheriff or a disinterested adult should serve the forms on the defendant, or the papers should be mailed to the defendant by certified mail return receipt requested.

What to Do if You Are Being Sued:

• Time to respond to a Summons in Oregon: 30 days.
• A lawyer can best assist you in drafting a response to the plaintiff's Complaint and Summons; so, you should contact an attorney for advice.
• If the grievance, about which the plaintiff complains, happened at your place of residence or business, notify your insurance company. Your insurance company may provide you a lawyer if your insurance covers the incident in question.

What to Do if a Judgment Was Entered Against You: Not answering an Oregon Summons and Complaint within 30 days may result in the court entering a default judgment against you. If this happens, you must automatically pay what the plaintiff demands in his complaint if the court deems it appropriate.

• Time to Set Aside a Judgment in Oregon:
  • An Oregon court can set aside a default judgment for good cause for surprise, mistake, misconduct or misrepresentation of an adverse party, newly discovered evidence, fraud or misrepresentation not more than 1 year after entry of the judgment
  • An Oregon court can also set aside a default judgment if the judgment if void
• If an Oregon court has entered a default judgment against you, you should seek advice from an Oregon attorney.

Ways to Collect Your Judgment:

• If you are successful in your Oregon personal injury suit it is your responsibility to collect your judgment from the defendant. To collect the judgment, you can ask the court to take money from the defendant's bank account or wages at periodic intervals (garnishment), or you can ask the court to put a lien on the defendant's property, and eventually sell the property to satisfy the judgment.