State guide · West
Oregon subrogation law guide
Recovery is reduced by the claimant's share and barred only when its fault is greater than the combined fault of the parties against whom recovery is sought; at exactly 50% the claimant recovers half.
Oregon at a glanceOR
- Property damage
- 2 years
- Bodily injury
- 2 years
- Fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- Gov. notice
- 180 days
Overview
Oregon is not a no-fault state, but every auto policy carries personal injury protection of at least $15,000 per person, and PIP recovery runs on its own statutory track. A PIP carrier can seek inter-insurer reimbursement from the at-fault driver's liability insurer under ORS 742.534, with liability and amount decided by mandatory arbitration, or proceed by lien under 742.536 or direct subrogation under 742.538. Since 2019, ORS 742.544 bars PIP reimbursement from an injured person's recovery until that person is fully compensated, while preserving unreduced recovery of property damage payments. Property claims follow modified comparative fault with a 51% bar under ORS 31.600, and several liability with court reallocation of uncollectible shares under ORS 31.610. The limitation picture changed in 2016, when Goodwin v. Kingsmen Plastering held that negligence claims for physical damage to property fall under the two-year period of ORS 12.110 with a discovery rule. Public body claims need notice within 180 days under the Oregon Tort Claims Act.
Quick reference with citations
- Property damage SOL
- 2 years
- ORS 12.110(1) (two years with a discovery rule for negligent physical damage to property, per Goodwin v. Kingsmen Plastering, 2016); ORS 12.080 allows six years for injury to an interest in real property and for injuring personal property
- Bodily injury SOL
- 2 years
- ORS 12.110(1) (two years)
- Product liability
- 2 years from discovery and no later than 10 years after first purchase (ORS 30.905), subject to ORS 30.907 and 30.908
- Written contract
- 6 years
- Contract and indemnity recoveries
- Comparative fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- ORS 31.600
- Government notice of claim
- 180 days
- Oregon Tort Claims Act, ORS 30.275: notice within 180 days after the loss (one year for wrongful death), by formal written notice, actual notice, filing suit within the period, or the public body's payment on the claim. Suit must be filed within two years (30.275(9)), and recoveries are subject to the indexed Tort Claims Act limits.
Fault rule in practice
How Oregon's rule changes a $50,000 recovery.
Recovery is reduced by the claimant's share and barred only when its fault is greater than the combined fault of the parties against whom recovery is sought; at exactly 50% the claimant recovers half.
Authority: ORS 31.600
| Insured's share of fault | Recoverable in OR | Under pure comparative |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| 20% | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| 50% | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| 60% | Barred | $20,000 |
Doctrines that move the number
Oregon doctrine checklist.
Made-whole doctrine
Oregon has no general made-whole rule for property or casualty subrogation. For auto injury benefits, ORS 742.544, amended by SB 421 in 2019, bars PIP or health reimbursement until the injured person is fully compensated, adds rebuttable presumptions tied to available limits, voids contrary policy terms, and preserves unreduced recovery of property damage payments.
Economic loss doctrine
Onita Pacific Corp. v. Trustees of Bronson (1992) requires a special relationship before negligence can reach purely economic loss. Physical damage to other property remains recoverable; damage to a product itself is a warranty claim.
Joint and several liability
ORS 31.610 makes liability several only. On motion within one year after judgment, the court reallocates an uncollectible share among the other parties, including a claimant at fault, in proportion to their fault.
Anti-subrogation and waiver
General rule: no subrogation against the carrier's own insured or co-insureds for the covered loss. Check lease and construction contract waivers of subrogation before demand.
Practice notes
Working Oregon subrogation files.
- 1
Treat two years as the Oregon property deadline. After Goodwin, a water loss from a plumber's faulty fitting, or a fire from a contractor's hot work, runs two years from when the damage was or should have been discovered. The six-year periods in ORS 12.080 still cover trespass, waste and injuring personal property, but do not let a building claim drift on that theory.
- 2
Example of the 51% bar and reallocation: a carrier pays $52,000 for a Portland apartment fire. The jury assigns the insured landlord 20%, the general contractor 50% and an electrical subcontractor 30%. The carrier recovers 80%, or $41,600, each defendant paying its own share. If the subcontractor's $15,600 share is uncollectible, move within one year of judgment to reallocate it.
- 3
Choose the PIP route deliberately. Inter-insurer reimbursement under ORS 742.534 is usually fastest, and the Court of Appeals has held that disputes over liability and amount must be arbitrated, not litigated. If the at-fault driver is uninsured, the lien under 742.536 or subrogation under 742.538 applies, subject to the full-compensation rule and presumptions in 742.544.
- 4
The 180-day Tort Claims Act notice can be met by formal notice, actual notice, filing suit or partial payment, but do not rely on actual notice. A water bureau knowing a main broke is not the same as knowing a claim is being made. Serve formal written notice on behalf of the insured and the carrier within the period.
- 5
Ishqkala separates Oregon PIP features from property features in the Recovery Opportunity Manifest. PIP amounts are scored against the ORS 742.544 presumptions using the adverse driver's known limits, while collision, rental and property damage features are scored at full paid value, because the statute preserves unreduced property recovery even when the injured person is not fully compensated.
Key cases
Goodwin v. Kingsmen Plastering, Inc.
359 Or 694 (2016)
Held that negligence claims for physical damage to property fall under the two-year period in ORS 12.110 with a discovery rule, not the six-year period in ORS 12.080(3).
Onita Pacific Corp. v. Trustees of Bronson
315 Or 149, 843 P.2d 890 (1992)
Held that negligence claims for purely economic loss require a special relationship creating a duty beyond the contract, channeling most economic-only recoveries into contract.
Fazzolari v. Portland School District No. 1J
303 Or 1, 734 P.2d 1326 (1987)
Framed Oregon negligence around whether the defendant's conduct unreasonably created a foreseeable risk of the kind of harm that occurred, the test every subrogated negligence claim must meet.
Inter-company arbitration
Oregon PIP inter-insurer reimbursement under ORS 742.534 is decided by mandatory arbitration between insurers, and AF's PIP forum takes jurisdiction under the Oregon statute creating the recovery right. Collision and property disputes go to AF's Automobile and Property forums, compulsory for signatories up to $100,000 in total company-paid damages, under the 51% bar and several liability. Because reallocation of uncollectible shares is a court remedy, multi-party losses with a doubtful defendant may be better litigated.
How Ishqkala applies this guide
OR rules, built into every score.
- Opportunities with a Oregon loss state are calendared against the 2 years property damage period or the 2 years bodily injury period, whichever controls the claim type.
- The insured's estimated fault share is applied under modified, 51% bar before recoverable dollars are scored.
- Files involving a public entity get a 180-day notice deadline that outranks the general SOL in the priority queue.
- Alerts fire at 180, 90, 45 and 15 days before the controlling deadline.
Other modified, 51% bar jurisdictions
FAQ
Oregon subrogation FAQ
2 years (ORS 12.110(1) (two years with a discovery rule for negligent physical damage to property, per Goodwin v. Kingsmen Plastering, 2016); ORS 12.080 allows six years for injury to an interest in real property and for injuring personal property). A subrogating carrier generally takes the insured's claim subject to the same limitation period, usually measured from the date of loss.
Modified, 51% bar (ORS 31.600). Recovery is reduced by the claimant's share and barred only when its fault is greater than the combined fault of the parties against whom recovery is sought; at exactly 50% the claimant recovers half.
Oregon Tort Claims Act, ORS 30.275: notice within 180 days after the loss (one year for wrongful death), by formal written notice, actual notice, filing suit within the period, or the public body's payment on the claim. Suit must be filed within two years (30.275(9)), and recoveries are subject to the indexed Tort Claims Act limits.
Oregon has no general made-whole rule for property or casualty subrogation. For auto injury benefits, ORS 742.544, amended by SB 421 in 2019, bars PIP or health reimbursement until the injured person is fully compensated, adds rebuttable presumptions tied to available limits, voids contrary policy terms, and preserves unreduced recovery of property damage payments.
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