Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oklahoma Opioid Settlement Money Going to Cities, Counties
Jun 1 2020 // Almost $23 million in opioid settlement funds will go to municipalities and counties throughout Oklahoma that have been impacted by the crisis of opioid addiction. The funds are from settlements reached by Oklahoma...
Louisiana Lawmakers OK Bills to Limit Virus Lawsuits Against Businesses
Jun 1 2020 // Louisiana lawmakers want to give protections from most lawsuits for coronavirus deaths and injuries to businesses that never closed during the outbreak and those that are newly reopening. The Republican-led bills by Sen....
Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Medical Fee Schedule Approved
May 27 2020 // The Oklahoma Legislature has adopted a proposed new Medical Fee Schedule, the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) reported. The WCC had submitted in House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1028; it goes into effect...
Oklahoma Senate OKs Bill Limiting Coronavirus Liability for Businesses
May 14 2020 // The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation giving liability relief to essential businesses and those working to safely reopen, as well as a measure protecting manufacturers and people who make or donate materials related...
REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT on Police Immunity: For Cops Who Kill, Special Supreme Court Protection
May 12 2020 // MADILL, Oklahoma — Sick with pneumonia, agitated and confused, Johnny Leija refused to return to his hospital room. Moments later, with three police officers pinning him on the floor, Leija was dead at age 34. Staff at...
3 Workers Hurt in Shooting Over Closed Dining Room at Oklahoma McDonald’s
May 8 2020 // Three McDonald’s employees in Oklahoma City suffered gunshot wounds when a customer opened fire because she was angry that the restaurant’s dining area was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, police...
Split Okla. Supreme Court Sides with Plaintiffs in Attorney Fee Dispute
May 8 2020 // An insurer that failed to pay a claim within 60 days cannot be considered the prevailing party even if a claimant is eventually awarded less than the carrier’s settlement offer, a divided Oklahoma Supreme Court...
Oklahoma Bill Limiting Healthcare Providers’ COVID-19 Liability Heads to Governor
May 7 2020 // The Oklahoma Senate has passed legislation previously approved by the state’s House of Representatives that would limit liability for healthcare providers and facilities responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate...
At Least 116 Oklahoma Meat Plant Workers, 240 in Texas Test Positive for Virus
May 6 2020 // At least 116 employees at an Oklahoma pork processing plant have tested positive for coronavirus, Seaboard Foods spokesman David Eahart said in a statement on May 4. Meanwhile, a surge of coronavirus cases in the Texas...
Oklahoma House Passes Bill Shielding Healthcare Workers from COVID-19 Liability
May 5 2020 // The Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed legislation aimed at protecting healthcare providers from liability during the COVID-19 pandemic. The House Senate Bill 300, creating the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency...
Oklahoma AG Refiles Litigation Against Opioid Distributors
May 5 2020 // Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has refiled lawsuits against three opioid distributors in one of the state’s counties hit hardest by the opioid epidemic. The litigation previously filed as one case in Cleveland...
Oklahoma Drilling Contractor to Pay $650K in Age, Disability Discrimination Suit
Apr 30 2020 // An Oklahoma-based oil and gas drilling contractor will pay $650,000 to settle a federal age and disability discrimination lawsuit. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said Horizontal Well Drillers LLC...
Emergency Order Allows Oil Wells to Shut Down in Oklahoma
Apr 27 2020 // The Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved an emergency order on April 22 that allows oil producers to stop or reduce production without losing their leases for non-production. The three-member, all-Republican panel that...
Update: At Least 7 Dead After Storms in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana
Apr 24 2020 // Severe weather moved through the South on April 23 after killing at least seven people in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, including a worker at a factory hit by an apparent tornado, a man whose car was blown off the road...
Deadly Tornadoes Slam Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
Apr 23 2020 // At least six people were killed and dozens were injured when tornadoes swept through Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas on April 22, according to media reports. In a media release issued by the Texas governor’s office,...
PG&E’s Plan to Pay $19M from California Wildfire Victims Fund OK’d
Apr 16 2020 // The Northern California victims of catastrophic wildfires caused by Pacific Gas & Electric’s decaying electrical grid will have at least $19 million siphoned way from a $13.5 billion fund for their losses to...
Anticipated Coronavirus Claims Scenarios Across Major Coverage Lines: Viewpoint
Apr 9 2020 // As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed over the past several months, participants in the insurance industry have recognized the likelihood of a resulting increase in claims volume. Much of the early focus has been on the...
Former Oklahoma Store Owner to Pay $160K in Disability Discrimination Suit
Apr 8 2020 // The former owner of a chain of Oklahoma convenience stores will pay $160,000 to nine alleged victims of disability discrimination to resolve a federal lawsuit. According to the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment...
Oklahoma House OKs New Powers for Governor Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Apr 7 2020 // The Oklahoma House has granted sweeping new powers to the governor to respond to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The House met in special session and approved the resolution under the never-before-used Catastrophic Health...
People & Places
Apr 6 2020 // National Mark Friedlander and Kris Maccini have been appointed to senior communications positions at the Insurance Information Institute (III) to broaden the organization’s traditional and social media operations. As...
