The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that a nearly 40-year-old law capping noneconomic wrongful death damages at $500,000 is unconstitutional as applied to the family of a man killed in a 2021 crash on U.S. Highway 26.

The decision, published July 8, could affect how Oregon families pursue wrongful death claims after traffic fatalities.

The case involves 23-year-old Grant Fisher, who was killed near Boring when Sandy resident Trever Nicholas Lee, then 33, rear-ended Fisher's truck at approximately 96 miles per hour while under the influence of narcotics, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle. The collision knocked Fisher's truck off the road and into a tree. The truck caught fire.

A pathologist testified that Fisher likely experienced oxygen starvation, helplessness, and extreme panic before losing consciousness. Fisher was survived by his wife, Caitlin Fisher, and a four-month-old daughter.

Lee pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. He is serving his sentence at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, with an earliest possible release date of April 2030, according to state corrections records.

Caitlin Fisher sued Lee on behalf of her husband's estate, seeking $15 million for loss of society and companionship and $5 million for conscious pain and suffering.

The Multnomah County Circuit Court initially awarded the full $20 million but reduced it to $500,000 in 2023 after applying a 1987 Oregon law that caps noneconomic damages in wrongful death suits.

Lee did not appear in the civil proceedings, and no counsel appeared on his behalf.

Judge Steven R. Powers authored the 11-page decision finding the cap unconstitutional as applied to Fisher's case.

"In the nearly 40 years since the legislature set that amount, the meaningfulness of $500,000 as a remedy for grievous injuries, such as the injury to Fisher and plaintiff in this case, has drastically diminished," Powers wrote.

He concluded that the legislature's stated reason for the cap — reducing insurance costs — "cannot bear the weight of the dramatic reduction in noneconomic damages that the statute requires."

The panel sent the case back to the trial court for further consideration of Fisher's specific circumstances rather than reinstating the full $20 million outright. The 1987 cap remains on the books and could still be applied in other cases.

Broader context

The ruling follows a 2020 Oregon Supreme Court decision that struck down a similar 1987 cap on noneconomic damages in wrongful injury cases. Oregon is one of at least 13 states with similar caps, according to a 2024 report from the Tort Law Reform Foundation. Supporters of the cap have argued it keeps liability insurance premiums stable.

The Oregon Legislature has not changed the wrongful death cap since it was enacted.

Attorneys John Coletti and Nadia Dahab, representing Fisher's estate, said in a joint statement that the decision "confirms that their loss cannot be reduced to an arbitrary number by the legislature and gives the power to determine the value of life to Oregon jurors."

No hearing date has been set for the case's return to Multnomah County Circuit Court.