Oregon medical malpractice deadlines: how long you have to act.

In Oregon, a lawsuit for injuries arising from medical, surgical, or dental treatment, omission, or operation generally must be brought within 2 years from the date the injury is first discovered or, using reasonable care, should have been discovered (ORS 12.110(4)).

The main limits and special rules:

• A 5-year outer limit: the lawsuit generally must be brought within 5 years from the date of the treatment, omission, or operation, even if the injury was found later.
• Fraud or deceit: if fraud, deceit, or a misleading representation kept a lawsuit from being brought within those 5 years, a separate 2-year period runs from its discovery.
• Children and incapacity: Oregon has tolling rules for minors and for people with a disabling mental condition, and the medical malpractice statute limits how far they reach.
• Other rules: deaths, public bodies, and federal facilities have their own deadlines.

These are general rules, not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the exact facts, so talk with an attorney licensed in Oregon about your dates.

Oregon’s medical malpractice statute runs the 2 years from “the date when the injury is first discovered or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered” (ORS 12.110(4)).

That means the starting date isn’t always the date of the care. A missed diagnosis may only come to light when another doctor finds it, and a surgical problem may take months to show. But the clock can also start when the injury reasonably should have been discovered, which may be earlier than the day you actually learned of it. When exactly that was is often disputed.

Don’t assume the clock started late. Write down when the care happened and when you first learned or suspected something may have gone wrong, and give both dates to an attorney.

Even if an injury isn’t discovered for years, Oregon sets an outer limit: every such action generally must be commenced within 5 years from the date of the treatment, omission, or operation the claim is based on (ORS 12.110(4)). This limit runs from the care itself, not from when the problem was found.

The statute applies this 5-year limit “notwithstanding” Oregon’s tolling rules for minors and people with a disabling mental condition (ORS 12.110(4); ORS 12.160). So a problem discovered 4½ years after surgery may leave only months to act, and one discovered after 5 years may already be too late unless the fraud exception below applies.

Oregon’s medical malpractice statute has one written exception to the 5-year limit. If no action was commenced within 5 years because of fraud, deceit, or misleading representation, the action can be commenced within 2 years from the date the fraud, deceit, or misleading representation is discovered or, using reasonable care, should have been discovered (ORS 12.110(4)).

Showing fraud or a misleading representation takes evidence, such as altered records or false statements about what happened. If you believe something was hidden from you, tell an attorney, and keep copies of everything you were given.

Oregon generally pauses the statute of limitations while a person who was under 18 when the claim accrued is still a minor. That pause can’t extend the time for more than 5 years, or for more than 1 year after the person turns 18, whichever comes first (ORS 12.160(1), (2)).

For medical malpractice claims, though, the 5-year outer limit applies notwithstanding that tolling rule (ORS 12.110(4)). How the two rules fit together for a particular child, especially a baby or young child, is a question for an attorney licensed in Oregon. Families shouldn’t wait for a birthday before asking.

When a child’s deadline is paused, a parent’s, guardian’s, or conservator’s claim for the child’s medical expenses from the same conduct is paused for the same period (ORS 12.160(5)). See birth injuries for more on concerns about a baby’s care.

If, when the claim accrues, a person has a disabling mental condition that bars them from comprehending rights they are otherwise bound to know, Oregon generally pauses the statute of limitations while that condition lasts. The pause can’t extend the time for more than 5 years, or for more than 1 year after the condition ends, whichever comes first (ORS 12.160(3), (4)).

The condition must exist when the right to bring the action accrues (ORS 12.170). As with children, the 5-year medical malpractice limit applies notwithstanding this tolling rule (ORS 12.110(4)), so an attorney should check how both apply to the dates.

In Oregon, a wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative of the person who died, for the benefit of family members and others the statute lists. It is available when the person who died could have brought an action for the same act or omission had they lived (ORS 30.020(1)).

• The usual limit: the action generally must be commenced within 3 years after the injury that caused the death is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, by the person who died, by the personal representative, or by a person the action benefits (other than the wrongdoer).
• The outer limit: in no case can it be commenced later than the earlier of 3 years after the death, or the longest outer limit (statute of ultimate repose) that applies to the act or omission. The statute names the medical malpractice limit in ORS 12.110(4) among those outer limits.

How those limits apply to a death after medical care depends on the dates, so families should talk with an attorney early, including about who can serve as personal representative.

Oregon has a voluntary process for an “adverse health care incident,” which the statute defines as an objective, definable, and unanticipated consequence of patient care that is usually preventable and results in death or serious physical injury (ORS 31.260(1)).

• The notice. A patient may file a notice of adverse health care incident with the Oregon Patient Safety Commission, and a health care facility or provider may file one too (ORS 31.262).
• Discussion and mediation. The patient and the facility or provider may then discuss the incident, and if that doesn’t resolve it, they may enter mediation. If a facility or provider makes an offer of compensation, it must tell the patient of the right to seek legal advice before accepting (ORS 31.264; 31.268).
• The deadline. The statute of limitations for a negligence claim is tolled for 180 days, or another period the patient and the facility or provider agree on, from the date the notice is filed (ORS 31.272(2)).
• A lawsuit stays possible. The discussion and mediation provisions don’t prevent a patient from bringing a civil action for negligence unless the patient signed a release of the claim (ORS 31.272(1)).

Whether to use this process, and how it affects your own dates, including the 5-year outer limit, is something to decide with an attorney licensed in Oregon before you file or sign anything.

Filing on time. For deadline purposes, an Oregon action is generally treated as commenced against a defendant when the complaint is filed and the summons is served. If service happens within 60 days after the complaint is filed, the action is treated as commenced on the filing date (ORS 12.020). Leaving filing to the last day can leave no room for that step.

Dispute resolution. In an action for damages against a health practitioner or a health care facility based on negligence, all parties and their attorneys generally must take part in arbitration, mediation, or a judicial settlement conference within 270 days after the action is filed (ORS 31.250(1), (2), (6)). The requirement doesn’t apply if the case is resolved within that time, if all parties agree in writing to waive it, or if the parties already took part in the discussion and mediation process described above (ORS 31.250(1), (5)).

Preparing a medical malpractice case takes time, so attorneys usually need to start well before the deadline. Waiting until the last few weeks can leave too little time.

• Write down the dates: when the care happened, and when you first learned or suspected something went wrong.
• Request your medical records and keep bills, discharge papers, and anything you were given.
• Note who provided the care, including whether it was a state or local public body, a VA or military facility, or a private provider, since different rules may apply.
• Talk with an attorney licensed in Oregon soon. Only an attorney can tell you which deadline applies and how much time is left.

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This guide summarizes the Oregon Revised Statutes (2025 Edition) and federal law, as read on October 11, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice.

• ORS 12.110: 2-year discovery rule, 5-year limit, and fraud exception for medical, surgical, and dental claims
• ORS 12.160 and 12.170: tolling for minors and people with a disabling mental condition
• ORS 12.020: when an action is commenced
• ORS 30.020: wrongful death
• ORS 30.275 and 30.260: Oregon Tort Claims Act notice and time limits
• ORS 31.250: dispute resolution in actions against health practitioners and health care facilities
• ORS 31.260 to 31.272: notice of adverse health care incident, discussion, mediation, and tolling
• 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b): federal tort claims