Truck Accident Laws in Oregon (2026): Deadlines & Liability

A wreck with a tractor-trailer is not just a larger car accident. A fully loaded commercial truck can outweigh a passenger car many times over, the injuries are often catastrophic, and the case typically involves a trucking company, federal safety regulations, and multiple potential defendants. If a commercial truck hurt you in Oregon, the deadline, the fault rule, and the federal trucking rules all shape your claim from the start.

This page explains Oregon's deadline, its negligence rule, and how its auto-insurance system works, then covers the federal trucking rules that apply nationwide. It is general legal information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

The Deadline to Sue in Oregon

Under ORS 12.110, an action for any injury to the person not arising on contract must be commenced within two years. For most truck collisions, that two-year clock runs from the date of the crash. Wrongful death claims are governed by ORS 30.020, which generally requires the action to be filed within three years after the injury causing death is or reasonably should have been discovered, and in no case more than three years after the death.

Oregon's deadlines are strict, and filing late almost always ends the case regardless of its strength. Some situations carry their own rules. A claim against a public body under the Oregon Tort Claims Act, for example, requires a formal tort claim notice within 180 days (one year for wrongful death) and has its own shorter timelines. Confirming the exact deadline for your situation early is important.

How Oregon Divides Fault

Oregon follows modified comparative negligence. Under ORS 31.600, a claimant's contributory fault does not bar recovery as long as that fault was not greater than the combined fault of all persons against whom recovery is sought. In practice this is a 51% bar: you can still recover if you are 50% or less at fault, but you recover nothing if your share of fault is greater than the combined fault of everyone else.

When you do recover, the court reduces your damages by your percentage of fault. If your damages are $400,000 and you are 25% at fault, your recovery falls to $300,000. Because that bar gives the trucking company's insurer a strong incentive to shift blame onto the injured person, how fault is documented and contested can decide the case in Oregon.

No-Fault and PIP in Oregon

Oregon is an at-fault, or tort, state. The driver who causes a crash is responsible for the resulting harm, and there is no serious-injury threshold you must meet before you can sue the at-fault trucker for pain and suffering. That makes Oregon simpler at the front end than a true no-fault state.

Oregon does require a layer of first-party medical coverage. Under ORS 742.520, most private passenger auto policies must include personal injury protection (PIP), which pays a portion of your own medical bills and certain other losses regardless of fault; ORS 742.524(1)(a) sets that medical benefit at up to $15,000 in the aggregate, for expenses incurred within two years after the date of the injury. PIP is your own coverage and is paid first, but it does not replace your right to pursue the at-fault driver and carrier for the rest of your losses, including pain and suffering.

Damage Caps in Oregon

If you survived the crash and are bringing your own personal injury claim, Oregon does not cap your compensatory damages, so you can seek the full measure of economic losses (medical bills, lost income) and non-economic losses (pain, suffering).

A wrongful death claim is different. ORS 31.710 is titled "Limitation on award for noneconomic damages in claim for wrongful death" and provides that, in any civil action for the wrongful death of any one person, including claims for loss of care, comfort, companionship and society and loss of consortium, the amount awarded for noneconomic damages may not exceed $500,000. The statute excepts claims subject to the Oregon Tort Claims Act (ORS 30.260 to 30.300) and the workers' compensation law (ORS chapter 656), does not apply to punitive damages, and directs that the jury is not told about the limit. Economic damages in a wrongful death case, such as medical and funeral expenses and lost financial support, are not capped by this section.

Because fatal collisions are common in truck cases, whether a claim is brought as a survivor's injury claim or as a wrongful death action can change what is recoverable. Confirming which limits apply to your specific claim is worthwhile.

Minimum Insurance in Oregon

Oregon requires ordinary drivers to carry at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash in bodily-injury liability, $20,000 in property-damage liability, plus the PIP medical coverage and uninsured-motorist coverage described above. Commercial trucks operating in interstate commerce must meet far higher federal minimums, discussed below, which is one reason a truck case can reach insurance a car case never could.

Federal FMCSA Rules That Shape Truck Cases

Most commercial trucks are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These rules apply in every state, and a violation is often strong evidence of negligence.

• Hours of service (49 CFR Part 395): A property-carrying driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty, must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and is capped at 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days. Fatigue and falsified logs are recurring problems.
• Electronic logging devices (ELDs): Most drivers must run an ELD that automatically records driving time, duty status, and location, which makes hours-of-service violations harder to hide.
• Driver qualification and CDL (49 CFR Part 391): Carriers must confirm that drivers hold the proper commercial driver's license and meet medical and qualification standards, and keep a driver qualification file.
• Drug and alcohol testing (49 CFR Part 382): FMCSA requires pre-employment, random, post-accident, and reasonable-suspicion testing for safety-sensitive drivers.
• Vehicle maintenance and inspection (49 CFR Part 396): Carriers must systematically inspect, repair, and maintain their vehicles and keep records. Brake and tire failures often trace back to skipped maintenance.

Who Can Be Liable After a Truck Accident

A car crash usually means one other driver. A truck crash often involves a chain of businesses, and several of them can share responsibility:

• The driver, for negligent or reckless operation.
• The motor carrier (trucking company), both vicariously for its driver acting in the scope of employment and directly for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or retention.
• A broker or shipper, in some circumstances tied to how the load or carrier was arranged.
• A cargo loader, if an improperly secured or overloaded load contributed to the crash.
• A parts or equipment manufacturer, if a defective brake, tire, or other component failed.

Identifying every responsible party matters because it can open access to multiple insurance policies, a key difference from a typical car-accident case.

Federal Minimum Insurance for Trucks

Under 49 CFR 387.9, for-hire motor carriers operating in interstate commerce and hauling general (non-hazardous) freight in vehicles rated at 10,001 pounds or more must maintain at least $750,000 in liability coverage. Carriers transporting certain oil or hazardous substances must carry $1,000,000, and those hauling certain hazardous materials or explosives in bulk must carry $5,000,000. These federal floors dwarf a typical passenger-car policy, which is part of why truck cases are valued differently from car cases.

Why Preserving Evidence Early Matters

Much of the strongest evidence in a truck case sits inside the truck and the carrier's files. ELD and logbook data, the engine control module (ECM) or onboard event recorder often called the black box, dash-camera footage, and maintenance and inspection records can be overwritten, recycled, or lost on routine schedules. Sending a spoliation, or evidence preservation, letter to the carrier early can require it to hold this data before it is gone. The police report, photographs of the scene and vehicles, and your medical records are also central and should be secured promptly.

How to Evaluate a Truck Accident Claim

Most personal injury attorneys review truck cases on a contingency-fee basis, meaning the fee comes out of any recovery rather than up front, and many offer a free initial consultation. No lawyer can promise a particular outcome or dollar figure, and every case depends on its own facts and evidence. The practical steps stay the same: get medical care and follow through, keep the police report and your records, document your losses, and confirm the exact deadline for your situation, because Oregon's deadlines are strict and a missed date usually forfeits the claim.