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★ Oregon · workplace

Workplace settlements
in Oregon.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Oregon’s $500,000 cap on pain and suffering expressly excludes claims subject to the workers’ compensation chapter. A worker left paraplegic when a machine’s hydraulic ram crushed his spine kept a $4.86 million award against the maker, and a worker who fell through a defective board kept his full award as well.

Facts that decide a workplace claim in Oregon

Workers are outside the capORS 31.710(1) caps noneconomic damages “except for claims subject to … ORS chapter 656,” the workers’ compensation law, which the Supreme Court read to cover an injured worker’s claim against a machine maker.ORS 31.710(1), as quoted in Busch (Or. 2020) and applied in Vasquez v. Double Press Mfg. (Or. 2019)
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)
Deadline to sueTwo years for personal injury claims, running from when the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known the facts needed for the claim.ORS 12.110(1), as applied in Clark v. Gilstrap (Or. App. 2024)
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★ OR · reported workplace outcomes

What Oregon courts have awarded.

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

  • Vasquez v. Double Press Manufacturing
    Oregon Supreme Court · 2019
    $4,860,000 noneconomic award upheld

    In 2010, at the end of his shift, Vasquez did not switch his machine to manual or lock it before climbing in to clear jammed material. The machine, still in automatic mode, pinched him between a hydraulic ram and its frame, crushing his spine and leaving him paraplegic. He received workers’ comp and sued the machine’s maker. The Supreme Court held the cap did not apply because his claim was subject to the workers’ comp chapter and affirmed the full award.

  • Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart
    Oregon Court of Appeals · 2018
    $3,125,000 noneconomic award upheld

    Kevin Rains fell almost 16 feet at a job site when a defective wood board broke, and he was left paraplegic. He sued the retailer and the manufacturer, Weyerhaeuser, for product liability, and his wife claimed loss of consortium. The jury found $5,237,700 in economic and $3,125,000 in noneconomic damages for him, and $1,012,500 for her. On remand, the Court of Appeals held reducing their awards to $500,000 would violate the remedy clause.

★ OR · workplace · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a workplace settlement in Oregon.

  1. 1

    Injured workers can sue machine and product makers outside comp, and those claims are not capped.

  2. 2

    Your own mistake does not end a product claim; Vasquez did not lock the machine and still recovered.

  3. 3

    Check the Workers’ Compensation Division’s maximum rate for your injury date for time loss benefits.

★ 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.

★ workplace · 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 workplace claims.

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

Common questions.

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

united states · sister site
Hurt at work 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
Workplace in United States

Workplace band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Workplace · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of workplace 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.