Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations and Beneficiaries

This article will examine two important concepts in personal injury claims in Portland, Oregon involving wrongful death. If you have questions about a wrongful death claim, we urge you to give our Portland personal injury attorneys a call for a free and confidential phone consultation at 503-919-1315. Our personal injury lawyers in Portland would like to get to know you, hear your story, and answer any questions you may have. The first concept, which a Portland personal injury attorney would refer to as the a wrongful death claim’s statute of limitations, addresses how long you might have to take action on your wrongful death claim. The second concept, which Personal injury lawyers in Portland, Oregon term beneficiaries, addresses which parties can legally expect to recover compensation in a wrongful death suit. For more information about wrongful death claims, visit our Wrongful Death Claims page.

Wrongful Death Claim Statute of Limitations in Portland

According to ORS 20.080, the statute of limitations for a Portland wrongful death case is three years from the date of the incident ultimately leading to the injuries that caused the wrongful death. This means that you have a three year time limit to file suit before you are no longer able to do so. If the injury was not discovered until after the incident, and if the delay in discovery of the injury is considered “reasonable,” then the statute of limitations begins when the injury was discovered, or when it should have “reasonably been discovered.”

If you have questions about the statute of limitations in a wrongful death case, you should contact your personal injury attorney in Portland, Oregon. Talking to a Portland injury attorney about the statute of limitations on a wrongful death suit can be especially beneficial, as there are more complicated wrongful death statutes in Oregon when the claims involve medical malpractice, product liability, claims against a public body such as OHSU, and claims involving alcohol.

Wrongful Death Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of a wrongful death claim are the people who stand to receive part of the damages awarded as a result of the claim.  Beneficiaries in a wrongful death claim are usually the deceased’s spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, and step-children and step-parents. If the deceased has a will, the damages are usually divided according to the will’s guidelines. If a will cannot be produced, then a judge appoints how the compensation from the wrongful death claim is split up. If the beneficiaries come to an agreement on how to divide the claim’s damages, the judge will almost always agree with them. However, should an agreement not be reached, the beneficiaries will make their cases to the judge in a hearing, after which the judge will decide how to divide the claim’s damages. If you have questions about who the possible beneficiaries are in your wrongful death claim, please feel free to talk to one of our Portland injury lawyers.

More Information on Wrongful Death Claims

If you have recently lost a loved one in an incident involving wrongful death, it would be in your best interest to talk to a Portland personal injury attorney as soon as you can. If you would like to talk to a personal injury attorney in Portland without having to pay for a consultation, Dawson Law Group’s Portland injury lawyers offer free phone consultations to answer your initial questions. A good personal injury lawyer in Portland’s first goal should be to educate you on what to expect from your wrongful death claim so that you have an understanding of what is going to happen in the months to come. (For more information, visit the following page for overview of What to Expect During a Personal Injury Claim.)

A Portland injury attorney can put your mind at ease by taking care of much of a wrongful death claim’s process, from helping you file forms, collect evidence and records, build your case, contact expert witnesses, and negotiate on your behalf. Call our friendly and knowledgeable personal injury attorneys in Portland today at 503-919-1315 and let Dawson Law Group fight for you!