Oregon Sexual Abuse Settlement Calculator
Estimate compensation under Oregon's two-track rules — no time limit against the abuser, a 2025 dividing line for institutions, and a dedicated 5-year adult statute
In Oregon there is no deadline at all for suing the person who abused you as a child — ORS 12.117(1)(b) allows those claims 'at any time', retroactively. Claims against an institution are different: for abuse on or after June 26, 2025 they are equally unlimited, but for older abuse they must be brought by age 40, or within 5 years of discovering the connection, whichever is later.
⚠ Oregon's unlimited rule covers the abuser without any deadline — but institutional claims for abuse before June 26, 2025 still expire at age 40 (or 5 years from discovery). The defendant, not your age, decides which rule applies.
All consultations confidential. Pseudonym filings available to protect survivor identity.
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PTSD, depression, anxiety, complex trauma — formally diagnosed?
Larger institutions have more resources and higher settlements.
Estimated Settlement Range
$176,400 — $327,600
Abuse settlements vary widely by jurisdiction, institutional resources, and the documented impact. This is a benchmark range based on reported cases.
Revisado Editorialmente — Contenido revisado en cuanto a exactitud utilizando investigación legal publicada, datos gubernamentales y registros judiciales verificados. Vea nuestra metodología
Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor
Oregon Sexual Abuse Lawsuits — Two Deadlines, One Case
Oregon abolished the civil deadline for child sexual abuse claims against the abuser personally and made it retroactive — the legislature reaffirmed that reach each time it extended the statute (1991, 1993). A survivor of abuse from decades ago can still sue the perpetrator today under ORS 12.117(1)(b).
Institutional claims follow a different clock. A 2025 amendment (2025 c.447) extended the unlimited rule to 'conduct allowing, permitting or encouraging' abuse — but only for abuse occurring on or after June 26, 2025. For older abuse, the claim against the school, church, camp or agency must still be brought by age 40 or within 5 years of discovering the causal connection, whichever is later (ORS 12.117(1)(a)). In practice most historic cases turn on this line.
Adults have their own statute. Since 2019, ORS 12.118 gives adult sexual assault survivors 5 years — with a discovery rule — rather than the general 2-year personal-injury period. Applying the shorter general rule is a common and costly mistake.
Why Oregon Has No Lookback Window
Oregon never needed a temporary window for perpetrator claims, because there is no deadline to reopen. Here is the mechanism:
Permanent abolition (perpetrator claims) — no window needed
OPENOr. Rev. Stat. § 12.117(1)(b)
Child sexual abuse claims against the abuser may be commenced at any time, retroactively — the legislature reaffirmed the retroactive reach each time it extended the deadline (1991, 1993).
Not a time-limited lookback window: there is no deadline at all for perpetrator claims. Institutional/enabler claims only gained the unlimited rule for abuse occurring on or after June 26, 2025.
Current Deadlines
Childhood sexual abuse: no limit against the abuser (ORS 12.117(1)(b)). Against institutions: no limit for abuse on/after June 26, 2025; otherwise by age 40 or 5 years from discovery, whichever is later (ORS 12.117(1)(a)).
Adult sexual assault (18+ at the time): 5 years under ORS 12.118, with a discovery rule — a dedicated statute enacted in 2019, not the general 2-year tort period.
Damage Caps
Oregon's statutory cap on non-economic damages has been held unconstitutional as applied in personal-injury actions, so no fixed legislative ceiling governs abuse claims today. Case value turns on evidence and defendant resources rather than a cap.
Landmark Oregon Results
Oregon has produced some of the largest institutional abuse results in the country — note carefully which are settlements and which are jury verdicts:
| Defendant / Case | Amount | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus (bankruptcy) | $166M | 2011 | Roughly 500 claimants; the province paid $48.1M and its insurer Safeco $118M under the March 2011 bankruptcy settlement — the largest religious-order abuse settlement in the Northwest. |
| Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (bankruptcy) | $71M | 2007 | 169 claimants, averaging about $342,000 each. Portland was the first US archdiocese to file for Chapter 11 over abuse claims (July 2004). |
| Boy Scouts of America — Kerry Lewis (punitive verdict) | $19M | 2010 | A Portland jury awarded $18.5M in punitive damages on top of $1.4M compensatory. This was a jury VERDICT, not a settlement, and the trial forced the BSA's internal 'perversion files' into public view. |
Responsabilidad Institucional: Por Qué Ahí Está el Dinero Real
Los agresores individuales a menudo tienen activos limitados. Los demandados institucionales (iglesias, escuelas, organizaciones) tienen bolsillos profundos Y responsabilidad legal por permitir el abuso. Comprender las teorías de responsabilidad institucional explica las recuperaciones masivas.
Negligent hiring
Contratación negligente: la institución contrató a un agresor a pesar de señales de alerta (quejas previas, antecedentes penales, advertencias del sector). Responsable por verificaciones de antecedentes inadecuadas e ignorar referencias.
Negligent supervision
Supervisión negligente: la institución no supervisó adecuadamente al agresor dado su rol y contacto con poblaciones vulnerables. Aplica a maestros, clero, entrenadores, cuidadores.
Negligent retention
Retención negligente: la institución mantuvo al agresor en el personal después de conocer conductas preocupantes. Esta es la teoría del 'traslado del sacerdote' — mover a los agresores entre ubicaciones sin tomar acción.
Respondeat superior
Responsabilidad del principal (respondeat superior): el empleador es vicariamente responsable por los actos del empleado cometidos en el curso del empleo. Más limitado para actos intencionales, pero aún aplica a muchos escenarios de abuso.
Breach of fiduciary duty
Incumplimiento del deber fiduciario: las relaciones especiales (clero-feligrés, maestro-estudiante, consejero-cliente) crean deberes reforzados. El incumplimiento crea responsabilidad más allá de la negligencia.
Fraudulent concealment
Ocultamiento fraudulento: la institución ocultó activamente el abuso de las fuerzas del orden, nuevas víctimas o padres. A menudo habilita daños punitivos y extiende el plazo de prescripción (el plazo comienza desde el descubrimiento del ocultamiento).
Oregon Sexual Abuse Lawsuit FAQ
Is it too late to sue for abuse that happened decades ago?
Against the person who abused you: no. ORS 12.117(1)(b) allows child sexual abuse claims against the abuser at any time, and that reach is retroactive. Against an institution, timing matters: for abuse before June 26, 2025 the claim generally had to be brought by age 40 or within 5 years of discovering the causal connection. Because most historic cases target institutions, this is the first question an Oregon attorney will ask.
What changed on June 26, 2025?
A 2025 amendment extended Oregon's unlimited rule beyond the abuser to entities whose conduct allowed, permitted or encouraged the abuse — but it applies to abuse occurring on or after that date. It did not reopen expired institutional claims for older abuse. Oregon therefore runs two regimes at once, and which one applies depends on when the abuse happened and whom you are suing.
How much are Oregon abuse cases worth?
There is no reliable single number. The verified Oregon benchmarks are institutional: the Oregon Province of the Jesuits paid $166.1 million to roughly 500 claimants in 2011 (about $199,000 average, with $118M of it coming from insurer Safeco), and the Archdiocese of Portland paid $71.45 million to 169 claimants in 2007 (about $342,000 average). A single Portland jury awarded $18.5 million in punitive damages in the Kerry Lewis Boy Scouts case — but that is a verdict, not a payout.
Do I need to have reported the abuse to police?
No. A civil claim does not depend on a criminal charge, conviction, or even a police report — the civil case is proved to a lower standard than a criminal one. A prior report can be useful evidence, but its absence does not bar a claim.
Can I file anonymously in Oregon?
Oregon courts can permit a survivor to proceed under a pseudonym, subject to the court's approval, and sensitive records are commonly protected. Your attorney would normally file that motion together with the complaint.
What Is Still Unsettled
Legal situation is evolving. As of April 2026:
- The June 26, 2025 dividing line for institutional claims is new and largely untested — for abuse before that date, institutional defendants can still raise the age-40 / 5-year-discovery deadline even though claims against the abuser have no deadline at all.
- The Kerry Lewis figure is a jury verdict. Verdicts are frequently reduced or settled on appeal; we could not verify the final post-appeal amount, so treat $18.5M as what the jury awarded, not necessarily what was paid.
- Oregon's damage-cap situation rests on constitutional case law rather than a clean statutory rule — worth confirming for any specific case.
This page is informational only. Consult a licensed attorney for case-specific advice.
Primary Sources
- www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors012.html
- www.bishop-accountability.org/settlements
- www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/29/boy-scouts-sexual-abuse-dykes
Other State Sexual Abuse Calculators
California
3 revival windows (AB 218/2777/250)
New York
CVA + ASA + NYC GMVA (open Jul 2027)
New Jersey
Age-55 + 7-yr discovery rule
Maryland
No SOL for childhood + 2025 cap cut
All States — Main Calculator
Nationwide settlement ranges + institutional liability overview
Related
Sexual Abuse Settlement Calculators by State
Lookback windows and settlement ranges for survivors vary by state: