What is considered a catastrophic injury?

An injury severe enough to cause permanent disability or long-term complications, such as spinal cord injury and paralysis, traumatic brain injury, severe burns, amputation, loss of vision or hearing, and multiple fractures requiring ongoing care.

How long do I have to file a catastrophic injury lawsuit in Oregon?

Two years from the date of injury under ORS 12.110. Claims involving a government vehicle or property require a tort claim notice within 180 days, and if the injury later proves fatal, the wrongful death claim has a three-year limit.

What if the at-fault driver’s insurance is not enough to cover my injuries?

Your attorney looks for additional coverage: umbrella policies, employer or commercial policies, other liable parties such as trucking companies, property owners, or manufacturers, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

Does Oregon cap damages in catastrophic injury cases?

No. The Oregon Supreme Court struck down the $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury cases, and economic damages such as lifetime medical care and lost earning capacity have never been capped.

How is a catastrophic injury case valued?

Through a life care plan projecting all future medical and care needs, expert calculation of lost earning capacity, and the noneconomic impact of the injury. Serious cases frequently reach seven or eight figures.

Will a settlement affect my Medicaid or Social Security benefits?

It can, which is why catastrophic injury settlements are often structured through a special needs trust, a Medicare set-aside, or a structured settlement to preserve eligibility for public benefits while ensuring the money lasts.

Portland Catastrophic Injury Attorney

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A catastrophic injury can have profound implications on a person’s life. You may be unable to return to work, need to pay for thousands of dollars in medical expenses and struggle with the physical and emotional impact of the injury. If someone else’s actions caused you to sustain a severe injury, you may have grounds for legal action—and the Portland accident attorneys at DuBois Law Group – PDX Injury Law can help.

Why Choose A Portland Catastrophic Injury Lawyer From DuBois Law Group – PDX Injury Law?

We are dedicated to securing maximum compensation on our client’s behalf. Our injury lawyers in Portland have recovered millions of dollars in settlements and jury verdicts.
Handling a personal injury lawsuit can be difficult after a serious injury. Our Portland personal injury attorneys will take care of all aspects of your case on your behalf, allowing you to focus on recovery.
Our firm operates a separate medical department staffed by healthcare professionals. We can connect you with the treatment you need and recommend specialists who can provide you with important care.

What Are The Common Types of Catastrophic Injuries In Portland?

A catastrophic injury occurs when you sustain harm that is so serious that it results in permanent disability and long-term complications. These injuries can occur in many types of accidents across the state, including construction, and workplace accidents, dangerous conditions on someone else’s property, and accidents involving product liability.

Common types of catastrophic injuries include the following.

Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis:

A spinal cord injury refers to damage to the spinal cord, which can result in a loss of function or sensation. Paralysis is a common consequence of severe spinal cord injuries and can be categorized as quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs and torso) or paraplegia (paralysis of the lower body). Speak to a Portland spinal cord injury lawyer today!

Traumatic Brain Damage:

A traumatic brain injury refers to an injury to the brain caused by a sudden impact or forceful blow to the head. It can result in a range of impairments, including cognitive difficulties, memory loss, changes in behavior or personality, motor skill impairments, and sensory impairments. Our brain injury attorneys in Portland are here for you.

Amputation Injuries:

Amputation injuries involve the loss of a limb or a body part, either through trauma during an accident or as a medical necessity due to severe injury or infection. Amputations can significantly impact a person’s mobility and require rehabilitation and prosthetic devices. Let our amputation lawyers in Portland help you.

Burn Injuries and Scarring:

Burn injuries occur when the skin and underlying tissues are damaged due to heat, chemicals, electricity, or radiation. Burns can result in pain, disfigurement, scarring, and long-term physical and psychological effects. There’s no case our Portland burn injury attorneys can’t handle!

Permanent Nerve Damage:

Permanent nerve damage refers to the impairment or loss of function in nerves, leading to chronic pain, numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, or paralysis. Nerve damage can occur as a result of trauma, such as in accidents, or due to medical conditions.

Loss of Hearing or Eyesight:

Injuries can lead to a loss of hearing or eyesight, either partial or complete. Trauma to the head, exposure to loud noises, or damage to the optic nerves can result in vision loss. Similarly, injuries to the ears or head trauma can cause hearing loss.

Facial Injuries:

Facial injuries can involve fractures of the facial bones, lacerations, burns, or damage to the eyes, nose, or mouth. These injuries can cause disfigurement, loss of function (such as difficulty speaking or eating), and psychological trauma.

Medical Malpractice Injuries:

Medical malpractice refers to a legal concept that arises when a healthcare professional or medical institution fails to provide a standard level of care to a patient, resulting in harm, injury, or death. Get the justice you deserve with the help of a medical malpractice lawyer in Portland!

What Are The Legal Options for Portland Catastrophic Injury Victims?

If you sustained a catastrophic injury due to the negligence of another person, you could hold him or her accountable for your economic and non-economic losses in a personal injury lawsuit. In certain situations, you may also be eligible for an insurance claim. To identify your optimal path to compensation, speak to a Portland catastrophic injury attorney as soon as possible.

To prove your right to compensation in a catastrophic injury lawsuit, you will need to supply sufficient evidence that satisfies four important elements.

The at-fault party owed you a duty of care.
The at-fault party breached his or her duty of care.
The at-fault party’s breach of duty caused your accident and catastrophic injury.
You sustained damages in the accident that you can collect in your lawsuit.

For example, say that you are driving along a highway when a truck driver suddenly loses control of his vehicle and collides with your car. You are rushed to the hospital and learn that you are paralyzed from the waist down. Later, the police report informs you that the driver fell asleep at the wheel, leading to your accident.

The truck driver in this case has a duty to follow all traffic laws, as well as state and federal trucking regulations. He breached this duty by falling asleep while driving, likely due to driving for too many hours. Your Portland personal injury attorney from DuBois Law Group can request evidence from the trucking company, such as driving logs, to identify the driver’s breach of duty. You can also use police reports, witness testimony, surveillance footage, and medical records to prove causation and your right to damages.

What Makes a Catastrophic Injury Case Different

In an ordinary injury claim, the at-fault driver’s insurance policy is usually enough to cover the loss. In a catastrophic injury case it almost never is. Oregon’s minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person, and even a generous personal policy of $250,000 or $500,000 is a fraction of what a lifetime of care for a paralyzed or brain-injured person costs. The first job of a Portland catastrophic injury lawyer is therefore to find every source of recovery: the at-fault party’s umbrella policy, an employer’s commercial policy if the driver was working, the trucking company and its cargo and maintenance contractors, the property owner whose unsafe conditions contributed, the manufacturer of a defective vehicle or product, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which can be stacked across household policies.

The defense fights harder in these cases as well. When millions of dollars are at stake, insurers retain their own medical experts, dispute causation and pre-existing conditions, and delay in the hope that financial pressure forces a low settlement. Catastrophic cases go to trial far more often than routine injury claims, and the firm handling yours must be prepared, staffed, and funded to take it there. That is why DuBois Law Group – PDX Injury Law deliberately handles a small number of cases at a time.

Valuing a Lifetime of Loss

A catastrophic injury claim is built on a life care plan: a physician- and nurse-prepared projection of every future medical need, from surgeries and therapy to attendant care, equipment, medication, and home and vehicle modification, priced over the injured person’s life expectancy. Vocational and economic experts add lost earning capacity, including the earnings of a spouse or parent who leaves work to provide care. Together those numbers routinely reach seven and eight figures for spinal cord injuries, severe traumatic brain injuries, major burn injuries, and amputations.

Oregon law now allows full recovery of noneconomic damages as well. The Oregon Supreme Court struck down the state’s $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury cases, so a jury can award the true measure of pain, disfigurement, and loss of independence and enjoyment of life. Where the defendant’s conduct was reckless, such as drunk or drugged driving, punitive damages may be added; our FAQ on punitive damages in personal injury cases explains how. Structuring the recovery matters too. A structured settlement, a special needs trust, or a Medicare set-aside can protect the injured person’s eligibility for public benefits and ensure the money lasts. Our FAQ on how much is my case worth and our article on evaluating head injury settlements describe the valuation process in more detail.

How Long Do You Have to File a Catastrophic Injury Lawsuit in Oregon?

Oregon’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims, ORS 12.110, gives you two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit, and that deadline remains in effect as of 2026. If a TriMet vehicle or a government-owned vehicle or property was involved, a tort claim notice is due within 180 days. When a catastrophic injury later proves fatal, the family’s claim becomes a wrongful death action with its own three-year limit under ORS 30.020, handled by our Portland wrongful death lawyers. Because life care planning and expert work in these cases take many months, the two-year window is shorter than it sounds, and contacting an attorney in the weeks after the injury protects your family’s options.

Contact A Portland Catastrophic Injury Lawyer From DuBois Law Group – PDX Injury Law

If you are the victim of a catastrophic injury in Portland, you may have grounds for legal action—and the attorneys at DuBois Law Group can fight for your right to justice. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and discuss your legal options with a Portland catastrophic injury lawyer. (503) 222-4411