Oregon Court of Appeals limits wrongful death claims

In the latest of a series of cases interpreting the state's wrongful death law, the Oregon Court of Appeals held on Wednesday that a personal representative cannot pursue a wrongful death claim if the decedent had already recovered damages for personal injury based on the act or omission that underlies the wrongful death action.  In Union Bank of California v. Copeland Lumber Yards, the court concluded that the language of the wrongful death statute bars a claim where the decedent previously recovered damages for the same act or omission.