Oklahoma Mass Tort Law

In 2021, the Oklahoma Appellate Court confirmed an $8 million verdict for the family of a victim who developed mesothelioma cancer after asbestos exposure. Oklahomans with asbestos-related injuries may file personal injury lawsuits to hold those accountable for their injuries in accordance with Oklahoma Statutes Section 76.1.  

Such law states that “every person is bound, without contract, to abstain from injuring the person or property of another, or infringing upon any of his rights.” A tort occurs when this statute is violated through an act or omission. 

Some people equate tort law with personal injury law. But following the statute above, tort law broadly covers injuries to an individual’s person, property, or rights. Meanwhile, personal injury law only involves physical, emotional, or mental harm. So all personal injury cases are torts. But tort is not limited to personal injury.  

Some torts can turn into mass torts, such as cases involving asbestos-related injuries, when there are many victims filing lawsuits. Mass tort cases usually involve big companies and settlements/awards. 

The following sections in the article aim to provide information on tort law, including the types of tort, deadlines to file a tort action, and the process of litigating a mass tort. 

Basic Tort Categories in Oklahoma

As you may have learned from the previous section, a lot of actions and omissions can be considered torts under the law. Torts are classified into three general categories: negligent, intentional, and strict liability torts. 

Negligent Torts

A negligent tort is based on failure to observe “duty of care” or “reasonable care,” which is what a prudent person would do or not do in a situation. Oklahomans have a general duty of care to avoid harming others, as stipulated by Statutes Section 76.1. 

Duty of care can also be dictated by specific laws or by profession. For example, motorists are required by traffic law to observe speed limits, and surgeons have a professional duty of care to advise patients of the risks associated with a procedure. 

Negligent torts are typically committed by mistake, not with a deliberate intention to harm. A homeowner may forget to warn a guest about a broken step, causing the guest to trip and get injured. Common cases of negligent tort include medical malpractice, slips and falls, and car and truck accidents. 

Intentional Torts

An intentional tort is also founded on the breach of duty of care, but with the additional element of intention to inflict harm. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant deliberately committed the act or omission to cause injury or knew that it would result in harm. Some common intentional torts are fraud, assault, trespassing, intentional infliction of emotional distress, conversion, and defamation. 

Strict Liability Torts

Strict liability rests on the fact that the defendant’s action, product, or service caused injury. Unlike with negligent and intentional torts, there is no need to prove that the defendant intended to cause harm or did not act with reasonable care. A strict liability tort may be charged even if the defendant took all the necessary precautions to prevent injury. Claims due to defective products, dangerous drugs, and dog bite cases are usually filed as strict liability torts.

Strict liability also applies when the defendant conducts “abnormally dangerous activities.” These are activities that have inherent risks of harm no matter how carefully they are conducted, such as quarrying, oil drilling, and hazardous material transport. 

Other Tort Categories in Oklahoma

Nuisance Tort

Oklahoma Statutes Section 50.1 recognizes private and public nuisance torts, which are acts or omissions that infringe on the rights of others, offend decency, or interfere with property use. 

Public nuisance interferes with public rights or a whole community, such as unpermitted protesters blocking the city streets. Private nuisance affects an individual’s enjoyment of their private property, such as a 24/7 firing range bothering nearby residential properties with gunshot noises all day. 

Some types of nuisances include: 

• Odor.

• Noise.

• Environmental or safety hazard.

• Physical particle invasion.

Business Tort

A business tort is an aggressive act by one business that results in financial loss to another. The act may or may not be illegal, and it may be negligent or intentional. 

Common business torts include:

• Injurious false statements.

• Tortious interference with a contract.

• Restraint of trade.

• Fraudulent misrepresentation.

• Theft of trade secrets. 

Tort vs. Crime in Oklahoma

A tort is a civil wrong, meaning it is committed by an individual or entity against another individual’s person or property. On the other hand, a crime is a wrong against state/federal laws and society as a whole. 

Some of their differences will be discussed in the next sections.

Burden of Proof

Tort and crime also differ in terms of the burden of proof. A tort plaintiff must establish a “preponderance of evidence.” That is, most of the evidence simply needs to weigh in favor of the plaintiff’s claim. Meanwhile, in a criminal case, the evidence must establish the defendant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Purpose of Legal Action

The purpose of tort law is to compensate the plaintiff’s damage and loss financially. On the other hand, criminal law is meant to punish the convicted defendant and deter others from committing the same wrongdoing.

Note that tort and crime are not mutually exclusive. There are some wrongdoings for which both tort and criminal cases can be filed, such as assault (personal injury), homicide (wrongful death), and criminal mischief (property damage). 

In this instance, the case of O.J. Simpson comes to mind. Simpson was prosecuted for double murder, for which he was acquitted, and then sued by the victims’ families for wrongful death. This civil lawsuit resulted in a guilty verdict, and Simpson was mandated to pay $33.5 million worth of damages.

Mass Torts in Oklahoma

A mass tort is a legal action by multiple plaintiffs who have been harmed in a similar manner and are suing the same defendant, usually corporations and manufacturers. When the court sees that several individual cases have similar circumstances, these cases are consolidated into a single mass tort to streamline the litigation. 

Commonly, mass tort plaintiffs are harmed by a product, service, or event, such as: 

• Defective or dangerous products.

• Toxic conditions or substances.

• Dangerous pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices.

• Large-scale catastrophes.

Mass torts are often personal injury cases, such as the Fen-phen mass tort, where the plaintiffs suffered pulmonary hypertension and valve disease. Mass tort litigation shortens the legal process compared to pursuing individual personal injury cases.

In addition to expediting the litigation timeline, joining a mass tort offers the following benefits: 

• Reduced time for information and evidence gathering during the discovery phase.

• Decreased expenses for investigation and litigation.

• Increased chance of securing a settlement compared to a lone plaintiff, who can be intimidated by the defendant.

• Larger settlements or verdict awards since each case is boosted by evidence from the other cases. 

Some mass torts can have multiple defendants. Such is the case for the asbestos mass tort, which went after the manufacturers and facilities involved. The defendants included Johnson & Johnson (baby powder), Johns-Manville (insulation products), and United States Steel Corporation (asbestos exposure of employees). 

Mass Torts vs. Class Actions

A class action is another method of seeking compensation for a group of similar tort cases. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 23 sets the requirements for multiple tort cases to qualify for class action litigation.

Class action is commonly confused with mass tort since both actions involve multiple plaintiffs suing the same defendant for similar injuries. But these actions have the following distinctions: 

The Mass Tort Process

Below is the general process for resolving a mass tort. 

1. Distinguishing uniformity. Individual personal injury cases filed in civil courts are reviewed for similarities with other cases. Similar cases are then consolidated into a mass tort.

2. Filing of similar cases together in a federal court. This starts multidistrict litigation, which is a streamlined legal procedure for resolving similar tort cases.

3. Discovery phase. The federal judge assigns a group of attorneys to act as the plaintiffs’ steering committee. The committee manages the discovery phase, during which investigation and witness interviews are conducted, and the information gathered is shared to benefit all cases.

4. Bellwether trials. Several representative cases are selected to undergo sample jury trials. These bellwether trials help attorneys assess which claims will most likely win or lose.

5. Settlement phase. The defendant/s usually start negotiating settlements after the bellwether trials since they now have an idea of which cases would be awarded compensation and how much. The plaintiffs decide whether to accept the settlements offered or proceed with trial. 

6. Individual trials. Cases that do not settle are sent back to their original civil courts to be individually tried.

Plaintiffs of mass torts are usually from different districts, which is why centralizing legal proceedings in one location and under one judge through multidistrict litigation is practical. This cuts down on time and expenses spent by the plaintiffs and prevents local civil courts from being overloaded with individual injury cases. 

Oklahoma Tort Liability Insurance Requirements

Tort liability insurance can help the tortfeasor (person or entity who committed the tort) pay for legal expenses and the plaintiff’s damages. The state particularly requires businesses and individuals operating motor vehicles to carry liability insurance. See below for legally required as well as recommended liability insurance coverages: 

The Statute of Limitations for Tort Cases in Oklahoma

A statute of limitations is the amount of time or deadline an injured party has to file a case in court. Oklahoma’s general statute of limitations for tort actions can be found under Section 12-95. It is recommended to work with a local litigation attorney to ensure the case is filed within the correct deadline. 

Exceptions to the statutes of limitations are the following:

Minor plaintiffs have until their 20th birthday to file a lawsuit, except for medical malpractice cases, for which they must file before their 19th birthday. The parent or guardian can file the case earlier on the minor’s behalf.

 When the defendant leaves the state, the deadline is paused until they return. 

The discovery rule is applied in medical malpractice cases involving injuries that take time for symptoms to show. Under the rule, the two-year deadline only starts counting from the date the plaintiff discovers the injury. 

How Much Can Someone Sue in a Tort Case in Oklahoma?

Filing a tort case is a legal means for the plaintiff to obtain financial compensation for the harm or damage suffered. Tort plaintiffs can sue for compensatory damages (economic and non-economic). The court may also award nominal and punitive damages in rare cases. 

Economic damages are calculable losses, such as medical and personal care expenses and lost earnings.

Non-economic damages account for the injury’s intangible impacts on the plaintiff, such as pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment, and emotional trauma. 

Nominal damages are symbolic awards for the plaintiff winning the case. It is usually a trivial amount, like $1, and is more for the plaintiff’s vindication than compensation. Nominal damages are usually awarded in torts where the plaintiff's rights were violated but no damage that needed compensation was suffered. 

Punitive damages are only awarded in cases where the defendant acted recklessly or maliciously. They are meant to punish the defendant. 

Oklahoma imposes no caps on compensatory damages that can be awarded to personal injury plaintiffs. Meanwhile, for punitive damages, there is a $100,000 cap if the defendant acted recklessly and a $500,000 cap if the defendant deliberately caused harm or put the plaintiff’s life at risk.

The amount of compensation a tort or mass tort plaintiff receives is also determined by the severity or extent of injuries, supporting evidence, the litigation attorney’s skills, and the plaintiff’s comparative fault. 

Modified Comparative Negligence

Sometimes, the plaintiff is partly at fault for their injury. This can greatly affect the amount of compensation that the plaintiff can take home due to Oklahoma’s comparative negligence system. The system allows plaintiffs who were partly at fault to claim compensation as long as they are no more than 49% at fault. However, the plaintiff’s compensation will be reduced in proportion to their fault percentage. 

For example, an injured motorcycle rider’s compensation of $50,000 is reduced by 20% to $40,000 for failing to wear a helmet, which would have prevented their head injury. 

Other Legal Remedies in Tort Cases in Oklahoma

Injunction

Tort plaintiffs may request an injunction if the defendant is currently committing or may yet commit an act that will harm the plaintiff. An injunction is a court order that stops an individual or entity from performing an act. It may be ordered as part of a case’s final judgment or as a temporary remedy. 

Injunctions can be useful in tort cases with no or minimal losses, making it impractical to file a lawsuit. For example, a landowner can request an injunction ordering a trespasser to stop instead of launching a full-scale lawsuit. 

Restitution

Filing a tort case is not the only way for plaintiffs to recover compensation. When the tort is also a misdemeanor or a felony like a DUI, the victim can request restitution from the criminal court.

Guilty defendants may be ordered to pay their victims restitution if the crime resulted in economic losses. Note that restitution does not include non-economic damages. Restitution paid may be offset from the compensation the victim recovers by filing a tort case.

Resources for Tort Victims in Oklahoma

Mesothelioma Hope

This online resource provides guidance regarding filing a tort action for asbestos exposure and trust funds that offer financial assistance to victims and their families. It also contains information on mesothelioma symptoms, treatment options, and medical providers dealing with asbestos-related conditions. Mesothelioma Hope can be reached at (855) 242-6492. 

Oklahoma Free Legal Answers

Free Legal Answers is a virtual legal clinic dedicated to low-income Oklahomans. The website accepts submissions of questions regarding civil matters, such as tort. Licensed attorneys will respond to the questions via email. 

Oklahoma Lawyers for America's Heroes Program

The organization provides legal advice and representation to qualified military service members unable to afford a lawyer. Oklahoma Lawyers for America's Heroes Program caters to active, guard, reserve, and duly enlisted members, veterans, and retirees.

Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc.

This nonprofit organization offers free legal assistance to senior and low-income residents, including non-English-speaking individuals. Residents can apply for legal assistance using the online intake form or by calling 1-888-534-5243 or (918) 428-4357.