After nearly two decades as a Portland personal injury attorney—following a successful career as a chiropractic physician—attorney Aaron DeShaw understands that choosing the right brain injury attorney in 2026 can make the difference between a denied claim and a life-changing recovery.
If you live in Oregon, working with an experienced Portland brain injury attorney is one of the best steps you can take to seek compensation for your losses. Skilled brain injury lawyers and personal injury lawyers understand that brain injuries often require years of rehabilitation and ongoing medical care, which can complicate both settlement and trial strategies.
Unfortunately, not all brain injury attorneys are equally equipped to handle a difficult case. The best brain injury attorneys know how to document and prove the full impact of a TBI — including cognitive changes, loss of earning capacity, emotional trauma, and PTSD — even when symptoms don't show up on standard medical scans
If your injury includes a brain injury, always be sure to hire the best brain injury lawyer you can find. For any claim involving wrongful death, amputation or other catastrophic harm, DeShaw Law offers a free consultation to help you better understand your options.
Speak to a Portland Brain Injury Attorney
3 Recent Updates to Oregon Personal Injury Law
2025 has been described as a turning point in personal injury law. A series of appellate cases and statutes now affect how much injured people can recover, who they can sue, and how insurance companies must handle claims. Longstanding rules that favored insurers and capped certain damages are being reworked by new court decisions and legislation.
1. Increased Insurance Company Liability (The Moody decision)
The Oregon Supreme Court's Moody decision was a watershed moment in personal injury law — and it's particularly important for traumatic brain injury victims. Brain injury claims are frequently disputed, lowballed, or denied outright by insurance companies because TBI symptoms can be "invisible" on standard imaging. Under Moody, policyholders can now sue their own insurers in tort for violations of the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act, opening the door to emotional distress and consequential damages beyond policy limits in first-party claims. For brain injury victims, this means insurers who unreasonably deny or delay valid TBI claims may now face significantly greater financial exposure — leverage that didn't exist before Moody.
2. Wrongful Death Damages Cap
Oregon has a long‑standing $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages. Economic losses in wrongful death—medical expenses, funeral costs, lost income and so forth—remain uncapped, and deaths arising in the course of employment already fall outside the cap under existing law.
3. Ongoing Requirements of PIP (Personal Injury Protection) Insurance
An effort to make Personal Injury Protection optional failed, so Oregon drivers still receive mandatory no‑fault medical coverage of at least 15,000 dollars for up to two years after a crash, regardless of fault. At the same time, strict procedural rules remain: most personal injury claims have a two‑year statute of limitations, claims against public bodies require a tort claim notice within 180 days, and updated liability caps now apply to governmental defendants.
Taken in full, these changes are good news for people living with traumatic brain injuries. They give injured people more leverage against their own insurers, while opening up new avenues for higher noneconomic recovery. (Notably, other changes have made hospital and device cases harder to pursue.) Because deadlines and notice requirements have not relaxed, working with an experienced Oregon personal injury attorney is more important than ever to preserve claims.
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Bringing a Successful Brain Injury Lawsuit in 2026
Across the United States, injury victims who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI)—whether from a car accident, fall, or someone else’s negligence—face an uphill battle. This often includes not just long-term medical treatment, but also pain and suffering, lost wages, huge medical bills and an ongoing battle with their insurance company.
Modern juries generally understand that brain injuries can dramatically alter lives, and that the effects of a brain injury can be long-term. With the assistance of a competent traumatic brain injury lawyer, you may be able to collect compensation for cognitive, emotional, and physical challenges resulting from your injury.
While no two brain injury cases are exactly the same, you and your legal team will need to demonstrate the following three items:
Causation
Causation is about connecting the dots between the event and the brain injury itself. You have to show that, more likely than not, the defendant’s conduct led to the specific traumatic brain injury (TBI) and related symptoms. This is often the most medically complex part of the case because brain injuries can be subtle, delayed, or overlap with pre‑existing issues.
Liability
Liability is about proving that someone else is legally responsible for the incident that produced the brain injury. In a negligence framework, you’re usually establishing four elements: duty (the defendant owed a duty of care), breach (they failed to act as a reasonably careful person or entity would), causation (their breach led to the incident and injury), and damages (you suffered losses as a result).
Damages
Damages translate the consequences of the brain injury into money the law can award. In a TBI case, this almost always includes a mix of economic (financial) and non‑economic (human) losses, and sometimes punitive damages if the conduct was particularly bad. Because brain injuries can permanently alter a person’s ability to work, think, regulate emotions, and maintain relationships, damages tend to be quite large.
As a person bringing a lawsuit, you will not be expected to understand or speak to these concepts—but your brain injury attorney will need to meet these elements to successfully resolve your brain injury case. Strong legal representation can maximize your compensation.
To learn more about how DeShaw Law can help maximize your brain injury case outcome, call (503) 227 1233.
Key Qualities to Look for in a Portland Brain Injury Lawyer
Selecting the right brain injury attorney is crucial for your case. You need someone who combines expertise with compassion. A real understanding of the profound impact of brain injuries is essential for effective representation.
Experience
Experience in brain injury cases means the lawyer has handled these claims many times before and understands both the medicine and the law that drive them. DeShaw Law regularly works with neurologists, neuropsychologists, and life‑care planners to read and challenge complex medical records. Our law firm is also known for challenging common defense arguments about pre‑existing conditions or mild injuries.
Communication
Communication is critical because brain injury clients and their families are often overwhelmed, confused, and dealing with memory, processing, or attention challenges. DeShaw Law will explain every step of your case in clear, simple language. We are happy to repeat information, or simplify into smaller pieces, whenever needed. You will receive regular updates about your case, and you will be kept in the loop about upcoming timelines, changes in case strategy, and likely outcomes.
Empathy
Empathy is not taught in law school, but it may be the most important quality in the person you hire to represent you. A lawyer with genuine empathy takes time to learn how the injury has changed daily life—things like fatigue, irritability, sensory overload, or difficulty managing basic tasks—and adapts their approach around those limitations. DeShaw Law is known for building a genuine connection beyond a simple case file. We see, and honor, the humanity behind every successful case outcome.
Questions to Ask During Your Free Legal Consultation
While this is by no means an exhaustive list, below you will find questions to ask a brain injury attorney during your initial consultation. Be sure to look for answers that are straightforward; your lawyer should never ask for money up front, or promise a specific case outcome.
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How much experience do you have specifically with traumatic brain injury cases, and how many have you handled in Oregon courts?
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Have you handled brain injury cases that started with facts similar to mine (car crash, fall, medical error, assault, etc.), and what were the outcomes?
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How familiar are you with Oregon’s laws and deadlines for brain injury claims, and are there any special time limits that apply to my case?
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Who at your firm will actually handle my case day‑to‑day, and will I work directly with you or mainly with staff?
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What do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of my potential case after hearing my story?
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What evidence do you think we will need to prove my brain injury and its impact?
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What is your general strategy for dealing with insurance companies in brain injury cases?
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What types of compensation do you think may be available in my case?
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Do you typically resolve brain injury cases through settlement, or do you take them to trial when necessary?
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If the insurance company refuses to be fair, are you prepared to file a lawsuit in Multnomah County or other Oregon courts and go to trial?
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What challenges or defenses do you expect the other side to raise in my case, and how would you address them?
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How long do you think a case like mine might take in Portland, from investigation through settlement or trial?
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If we don’t win, what happens with your fees and costs, and are there any circumstances where I could still owe money?
DeShaw Law stands ready to help you resolve your Oregon and Washington traumatic brain injury case. With more than two decades of experience, and hundreds of satisfied clients, DeShaw Law provides the support you need to get back on your feet after a serious injury. Call (503) 227-1233 for a free consultation.