Beaverton
Wrongful Death Lawyer

We Handle Wrongful Death Claims in Beaverton and Throughout Oregon

No legal claim can undo the loss of someone you love. What it can do is hold the responsible party accountable, ease the financial strain that often follows a sudden death, and give your family answers about what really happened. For many grieving families, those answers matter as much as any check.

Our wrongful death lawyers at Johnston Law Firm have guided families through this process with patience and resolve. Although our law firm is in Portland, we serve clients in Beaverton, Washington County, and throughout all of Oregon. Attorney Marc A. Johnston has handled more than 800 personal injury and wrongful death cases, and he spent years on the defense side, so he knows how insurers try to minimize these claims.

We understand that you may not be ready to talk about legal matters yet. When you are, we are here 24/7; we return calls the same day, and we can meet with you at a time that works for your family. Call (503) 546-3167 or contact our wrongful death attorneys online for a free, confidential consultation.

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How We Can Help With Your Beaverton Wrongful Death Case

A wrongful death case asks a family to prove, sometimes years later, exactly how and why a loved one died. That burden should not fall on you while you are grieving. Our role is to carry it.

• Investigating the death: We obtain police and medical examiner reports, interview witnesses, and work with accident reconstruction or medical experts to establish what happened.
• Handling the estate paperwork: We help your family arrange the appointment of a personal representative, a required step before a wrongful death suit can be filed.
• Valuing the full loss: We calculate lost income, lost household services, and the deeper loss of companionship, often with help from economists.
• Dealing with insurers: We take every call, answer every letter, and keep adjusters from pressuring your family into a quick, low settlement.
• Going to court when needed: If a fair resolution is not offered, we file suit and prepare the case for trial.

You pay nothing upfront. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning our fee comes only from the compensation we recover for your family.

Who Can File for Wrongful Death in Oregon

Oregon handles this question differently than many people expect. Under ORS 30.020, the lawsuit is not filed by a spouse or child directly. Instead, it must be brought by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate, who acts on behalf of the family.

The personal representative is usually named in the decedent’s will. If there is no will, a family member can ask the probate court to appoint one; for Beaverton residents, that typically happens in Washington County Circuit Court in Hillsboro.

Although the personal representative files the case, the recovery benefits the people the law is meant to protect:

• Surviving spouse: The husband or wife of the person who died.
• Children and stepchildren: Including adult children.
• Parents and stepparents: Who often bring claims after the death of a child.
• Other legal heirs: Relatives entitled to inherit under Oregon’s intestate succession laws.

When family members disagree about who should serve or how a recovery should be divided, emotions can run high. We help families work through those questions calmly, and the court has the final say on how any settlement is distributed.

Fatal Accidents We See Most Often in Beaverton

Beaverton sits at the heart of one of Oregon’s fastest-growing counties, and its roads carry heavy commuter traffic toward Portland and the tech campuses along the Sunset Corridor. Many of the deaths that bring families to us happen on these routes:

• Car crashes: High-speed collisions on Highway 217 and US-26, and broadside impacts at busy intersections along Canyon Road and Murray Boulevard.
• Truck accidents: Commercial vehicles serving Washington County’s warehouses and industrial parks can cause catastrophic harm.
• Pedestrian deaths: Wide arterials like the Tualatin Valley Highway and Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway can be deadly for people on foot, especially after dark.
• Workplace incidents: Construction falls and equipment accidents, where a third party (not the employer) may be liable.
• Medical negligence: Missed diagnoses, surgical errors, and medication mistakes.

Even when a crash victim is rushed to a Level I trauma center like OHSU Hospital, some injuries are simply too severe. If your loved one died days or weeks after the incident, you may still have a claim, including compensation for the care and suffering they endured before passing.

Damages We May Be Able to Recover for Your Family Under Oregon Law

ORS 30.020 spells out the types of damages available in a wrongful death action. They fall into a few broad groups:

• Final expenses: Reasonable medical, hospital, funeral, and burial costs.
• Losses before death: Compensation for the pain, suffering, disability, and lost income your loved one experienced between the injury and their passing.
• Financial losses to the family: The income, benefits, and household services your loved one would have provided over their lifetime.
• Loss of society and companionship: The emotional loss of a spouse, parent, or child’s love, guidance, and presence.
• Punitive damages: Available in limited cases where the defendant acted with malice or a reckless disregard for safety, such as some drunk driving deaths.

Putting a number on a life is uncomfortable, and it should be. Still, these figures shape a family’s future. A 42-year-old parent’s lost earnings alone can run well into seven figures once raises, retirement contributions, and years of work are counted, which is why we often bring in an economist to calculate them precisely.

Filing Deadlines and the Path to Resolution

Oregon generally allows three years to bring a wrongful death claim, measured from when the injury causing death was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. In no case, however, can the suit be filed more than three years after the death itself. Claims against a government agency, such as a city or county whose vehicle or road contributed to the death, are far stricter: the Oregon Tort Claims Act (ORS 30.275) generally requires formal notice within one year.

Most wrongful death cases resolve through settlement. A settlement offers certainty, privacy, and a faster end to a painful chapter, while a trial can take longer but may produce a larger verdict when an insurer refuses to accept responsibility. In Oregon, a wrongful death settlement must also be approved by the court, which protects the beneficiaries’ interests.

Delays usually come from disputed liability, multiple defendants, or the time it takes to appoint a personal representative. Starting early keeps those delays from eating into your deadline.

Common Questions About Wrongful Death Claims, Answered