A $500,000 limit, but not a sure thing
ORS 31.710 limits noneconomic damages in a civil action for the wrongful death of one person to $500,000, with the jury not told of the limit and punitive and economic damages outside it. In 2026, the Court of Appeals applied it in Ritchie and rejected it in Fisher.
The statutory claim belongs to the personal representative for the statutory beneficiaries, and covers pecuniary loss and loss of society, companionship and services. The limit is a legislative response to Busch.