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★ Oregon · whiplash

Whiplash settlements
in Oregon.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Oregon lets you recover if your fault is not greater than everyone else’s, and its courts keep cutting back the $500,000 cap on pain and suffering. In July 2026 the Court of Appeals refused to apply the cap to a $20 million award for a young driver rear ended at about 96 miles per hour. A neck and back strain case was retried because the plaintiff’s crash expert was kept out.

Facts that decide a whiplash claim in Oregon

Fault rule“Contributory negligence shall not bar recovery … if the fault attributable to the claimant was not greater than the combined fault” of the others, but damages are reduced by the claimant’s percentage.ORS 31.600(1), as quoted in Thomas v. Dillon Family LP II (Or. App. 2022)
The $500,000 cap and the remedy clauseORS 31.710(1) limits noneconomic damages to $500,000, but in 2020 the Supreme Court held it violates the remedy clause of Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution in cases like a pedestrian’s leg amputation.Busch v. McInnis Waste Systems (Or. 2020)
Seat belt useNot wearing a seat belt can be used only to mitigate damages, and by no more than 5 percent.ORS 31.760; see our seat belt table
united states · sister site
Your whiplash claim in Oregon. See the number for your own case.

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★ OR · reported whiplash outcomes

What Oregon courts have awarded.

Real Oregon decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Mall v. Horton
    Oregon Court of Appeals · 2018
    Verdict reversed; new trial

    A pickup truck collided with the plaintiff’s car, and he claimed severe neck and back strains, headaches, contusions and abrasions. The driver admitted negligence but disputed the extent of the injuries, so the jury decided only noneconomic damages. The trial court disqualified the plaintiff’s expert in biomechanical engineering and accident reconstruction; the Court of Appeals held that was error, not harmless, and ordered a new trial.

  • Estate of Fisher v. Lee
    Oregon Court of Appeals · 2026
    $20,000,000 award; cap reduction reversed

    Early one January morning, 23 year old Grant Fisher was driving on Highway 26 when a driver going about 96 miles per hour under the influence of narcotics rear ended his truck. It rolled, struck a tree and caught fire; Fisher, with lacerations to his heart, remained conscious for about eight minutes before he died. The jury awarded $20 million in noneconomic damages, which the trial court cut to $500,000. The Court of Appeals held the cap left the estate without a substantial remedy and reversed.

★ OR · whiplash · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a whiplash settlement in Oregon.

  1. 1

    Biomechanical experts cut both ways. In Mall the plaintiff’s own expert was wrongly excluded, and the case was retried.

  2. 2

    After Busch and Fisher, the $500,000 cap often cannot be applied to serious injury awards.

  3. 3

    Seat belt nonuse can reduce damages by no more than 5 percent.

★ OR · statute of limitations
2 years from date of injury

Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.110

★ OR · fault rule
Modified comparative, 51% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 51% claimant fault.

★ whiplash · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Oregon's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for whiplash claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationWhiplash page
Oregon · you are hereModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury—
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · whiplash →
WashingtonPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryWA · whiplash →
WyomingModified comparative, 51% bar4 years from date of injuryWY · whiplash →
AlaskaPure comparative negligence2 years from date of injury or discoveryAK · whiplash →
CaliforniaPure comparative negligence2 years for personal injury; 1 year for medical malpractice (with 3-year repose)CA · whiplash →
ColoradoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicleCO · whiplash →
PennsylvaniaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryPA · whiplash →
South CarolinaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injurySC · whiplash →
TexasModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryTX · whiplash →
VermontModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryVT · whiplash →
Rhode IslandPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryRI · whiplash →
South DakotaSlight versus gross negligence3 years from date of injurySD · whiplash →
★ OR · whiplash · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Oregon? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of OR
Oregon overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Oregon as a whole.

★ national frame
Whiplash in United States

Whiplash band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Whiplash · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of whiplash bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Oregon. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.