Oregon Raised the Limits on Claims Against Government Agencies

Blog  ·  July 25, 2026  ·  By Kaith Sheikhly, Oregon personal injury attorney

If you were hurt by a city bus in Portland, slipped on a broken stairway at a county building in Salem, or were hit by a state agency vehicle near Eugene, there is a cap on how much money you can recover. That cap just went up.

On July 1, 2026, new limits took effect under the Oregon Tort Claims Act. The Oregon Tort Claims Act, or OTCA, is the law that lets you sue a government body in Oregon — and also limits how much you can collect. The Office of the State Court Administrator adjusts these limits every year, as required by law (ORS 30.271, ORS 30.272, ORS 30.273).

Here is the plain-English version: the ceiling on government injury claims is a little higher than it was last year, but only for injuries that happen on or after July 1, 2026.

What the new limits are

The State Court Administrator published the adjusted figures. For causes of action arising on or after July 1, 2026, and before July 1, 2027, the limits are:

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns →

"Local public body" means things like a city, a county, a school district, or a transit district. So a claim against Beaverton or Gresham falls under the local limits, not the state ones.

For comparison, the limits that applied from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 were $2,637,500 for a single claimant against the state and $879,200 for a single claimant against a local body.

The date that matters is when you were hurt — not when you file

This is the part people get wrong most often.

The limits are tied to when the cause of action arises — meaning roughly when the injury happened — not the date you file a claim or a lawsuit. The State Court Administrator's notice says the new figures "apply to all causes of action arising on or after July 1, 2026, and before July 1, 2027."

So if you were injured by a TriMet bus in June 2026, the older, lower limits apply to your case, even if you don't file until 2027. If you were injured in August 2026, the new limits apply.

The deadlines are much shorter than for a regular injury case

A higher cap does not help you if you miss the deadline. Claims against Oregon government bodies have their own clock, and it is short.

You generally must give the government a notice of claim — a formal heads-up that you intend to make a claim — within 180 days after the loss or injury (ORS 30.275(2)(b)). For a wrongful death claim, the notice deadline is one year (ORS 30.275(2)(a)).

There is a limited pause built in. The law does not count a period of up to 90 days during which the injured person could not give notice because of the injury itself, or because of being a minor, incompetency, or other incapacity (ORS 30.275(2)).

Separately, the lawsuit itself must be filed within two years after the alleged loss or injury (ORS 30.275(9)). That is true even if some other Oregon statute would give you longer.

And if the government argues you never gave proper notice, the burden is on you — the injured person — to prove that you did (ORS 30.275(7)).

What this means for you

A few practical takeaways:

Write down the date you were hurt. That single date decides which limit applies and when your deadlines run.

Do not wait to see how you heal. In an ordinary car crash case against a private driver, people often wait months before calling a lawyer. With a government claim, waiting a few months can eat most of your 180 days. Our step-by-step guide to the days after an Oregon crash covers what to document while it is still fresh.

"Government" is broader than you think. Public hospitals, community colleges, public transit, road and sidewalk maintenance, public housing, and school districts can all be public bodies. If any government entity might be involved, treat the short deadline as if it applies.

A higher cap is not a promise of a higher recovery. The limit is a ceiling, not a target. What a claim is worth depends on the facts, the injuries, the evidence, and the law.

Talk to someone before the clock runs out

Government injury claims in Oregon are unforgiving about deadlines, and the notice rules have real traps in them. If you were injured by a public agency, a public employee, or on public property anywhere in Oregon — Portland, Salem, Eugene, Beaverton, Gresham, or a smaller community — it is worth getting your questions answered early.

Sheikhly Law offers a free consultation, in English or Arabic. Reach out and we will talk through your situation and the deadlines that apply to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to sue a city or county in Oregon after an injury?

You generally have 180 days to give notice of your claim, and two years to file the lawsuit (ORS 30.275(2)(b), ORS 30.275(9)). Wrongful death claims get one year for the notice (ORS 30.275(2)(a)). These are much shorter than the deadlines for many other injury cases, so act quickly.

Is there a cap on what I can get from a government agency in Oregon?

Yes. For injuries arising on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027, a single claimant is limited to $2,708,100 against the State of Oregon and $902,700 against a local public body. Multiple claimants sharing one accident are limited to $5,416,200 and $1,805,300 respectively.

Do these new limits apply to my older accident?

No. The limits are set by the date your cause of action arose. An injury from 2024 or 2025 uses the limit in effect at that time. The State Court Administrator keeps a published table of every year's limits going back to 1989.

This article is general information about Oregon law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different — talk to a lawyer about your specific situation.