Fault in a Oregon car accident: what happens if you were partly to blame
Oregon uses modified comparative fault: your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, and you recover nothing if you were more than 50% at fault.
Oregon’s rule
Oregon uses modified comparative fault: your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, and you recover nothing if you were more than 50% at fault.
Under Oregon’s modified comparative fault rule, a driver found 30% at fault recovers 70% of their damages — but a driver found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.
Source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 31.600
How insurers use the percentage
Fault is not decided by the police report. The report is evidence, but the percentage that ends up in a settlement is negotiated — and the adjuster’s opening number is chosen to lower what their company pays.
In Oregon that negotiation is especially high-stakes. Moving you from 45% to 55% does not reduce your recovery by ten points; it eliminates it.
Evidence that decides fault
Photographs of the vehicles’ final positions and damage, dashcam and nearby business video, independent witnesses, the police report and any citations, 911 call records, and the vehicles’ event data recorders. The earlier these are collected, the more of them exist.
Traffic-code violations carry weight. A driver who ran a red light, followed too closely or failed to yield broke a rule written into Oregon’s vehicle code, and that makes the fault argument concrete rather than one driver’s word against another’s.
Oregon is an at-fault insurance state
The at-fault driver’s liability insurance pays for the injuries they caused. Every Oregon policy includes personal injury protection paying at least $15,000 in medical expenses regardless of who caused the crash. That coverage pays first, but it does not replace a claim against the driver who caused the crash.
Source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 742.520
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover if I was partly at fault in Oregon?
Yes, as long as your share of fault is not greater than 50%. Above that line, Oregon law bars recovery entirely.
Does the police report decide who was at fault?
No. It is important evidence, but fault in an insurance claim or lawsuit is decided on all the evidence, and officers’ conclusions are often disputed.
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This page is general information about Oregon law, reviewed September 2026. It is not legal advice, laws change, and the right answer for your claim depends on its facts. CaseChecker.ai is not a law firm; it connects people with independent attorneys licensed in their state.