An Oregon court violated the constitutional rights of a woman whose husband died in a 2021 car crash in the Boring area when it limited the damages she received from $20 million to $500,000, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled.
The decision last week from an Oregon Court of Appeals panel hinged on the section of Oregon’s Constitution guaranteeing that every person “shall have remedy by due course of law for injury” done to them, their property or reputation.
The judges took aim at a law dating to 1987 which limits “noneconomic” damages such as loss of care, comfort or companionship for wrongful death suits to $500,000. Its backers have long cautioned that the limitations are a regulation designed to keep steady liability insurance premiums in Oregon, one of at least 13 states with similar caps…