Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Smith Named Executive Director of Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Commission
Apr 11 2018 // Hopper Smith has been hired as executive director of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC). Smith, a retired Brigadier General, will begin serving in the post on May 1. Smith succeeds interim Executive...
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas Facing Dual Threats: Tornadoes, Wildfires
Apr 9 2018 // Emergency officials in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas are bracing for two types of disasters as spring gets into full swing: The start of what’s historically the most active time of year for tornadoes plus wildfire...
Seeman Holtz P&C Acquires Federal Employee Insurance Business in Oklahoma
Apr 6 2018 // Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty Inc. has acquired the federal employee insurance business of Federal Employee Services LLC in Edmond, Oklahoma. Federal Employee Services provides coverages to both civil service and...
Antifraud Group Adds Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner to Executive Committee
Apr 5 2018 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak has been named to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud‘s executive committee. He was elected unanimously by the Coalition’s executive committee. Doak, who is...
3 Month-Old Oklahoma ‘Left Lane’ Law Results in Dozens of Citations
Mar 28 2018 // An Oklahoma law forbidding motorists on four-lane highways to impede traffic by traveling in the left lane has resulted in dozens of citations since going into effect last year. Records obtained by The Oklahoman show that...
Texas Oil Field Service Company Settles Oklahoma Pollution Lawsuit
Mar 27 2018 // A Texas-based oil field service company has settled a lawsuit with more than 100 southern Oklahoma residents who allege their homes and businesses were damaged by groundwater contamination caused by the...
Revamp of Kentucky Workers’ Comp System Gets OK From State Senate
Mar 26 2018 // Kentucky lawmakers are closing in on making the biggest changes to the workers’ compensation system in decades after the Senate passed the measure on Thursday. The legislation – backed by business groups but...
$250K in Stolen Property Uncovered in Oklahoma Burglary Raid
Mar 22 2018 // An investigation continues in east-central Oklahoma after deputies found about $250,000 in stolen property while raiding a burglary stash house. The Shawnee News-Star reports that some of the stolen items discovered by...
Service Insurance Holdings Acquires Oklahoma’s American Healthcare Indemnity
Mar 20 2018 // Service Insurance Holdings Inc. (SIHI), parent of Texas-based workers’ compensation insurer, Service Lloyds Insurance Co., has acquired American Healthcare Indemnity Co. (AHIC), an Oklahoma-based insurer. The new...
Oklahoma County to Pay $6M in Suit Over Killing of Unarmed Black Man
Mar 19 2018 // An Oklahoma county will pay $6 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by a white former sheriff’s reserve deputy, according to court...
3rd Wrongful Death Suit Filed Over Oklahoma Gas Rig Explosion
Mar 16 2018 // A third wrongful death lawsuit has been filed over a natural gas rig explosion in Oklahoma that killed five workers. Julie Smith of McAlester, widow of Matthew Smith, filed the lawsuit Wednesday. The widows of Roger...
Another Oklahoma Tribe Sues Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors
Mar 16 2018 // A tribe in Oklahoma has filed a lawsuit accusing 26 drug manufacturers and distributors of contributing to the tribe’s opioid epidemic by fraudulently misrepresenting the risks and benefits of addictive...
Oklahoma Gas Rig Explosion Draws 2nd Wrongful Death Suit
Mar 13 2018 // A second wrongful death lawsuit has been filed over a natural gas rig explosion in Oklahoma that killed five workers. Betty Jo Cunningham of Seminole, Oklahoma, filed the lawsuit on March 9. Cunningham is the widow of...
Nebraska Man Sues Oklahoma Pipeline Company Over Fatal 2016 Leak
Mar 13 2018 // A Tekamah, Nebraska, man is suing an Oklahoma pipeline company, which he accused of failing to properly repair an anhydrous ammonia pipeline, causing a deadly leak in 2016. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Steven Chace...
Oklahoma County Settles Suit Over Killing of Unarmed Black Man for $6M
Mar 12 2018 // An Oklahoma county will pay $6 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by a white former sheriff’s reserve deputy, according to court...
Another 4.0 Magnitude-Plus Quake Recorded in North Central Oklahoma
Mar 8 2018 // For the second time in three days, an earthquake stronger than magnitude 4.0 has been recorded in northern Oklahoma. The U.S. Geological Survey reports a 4.1 magnitude quake hit early Tuesday afternoon near the town of...
Wrongful Death Suit Filed over Oklahoma Gas Rig Explosion
Mar 8 2018 // A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed over a natural gas rig explosion in southeastern Oklahoma that killed five men — three from Oklahoma, one from Texas and one from Colorado. The lawsuit by Dianna Waldridge, the...
Damage Reported After 4.2 Magnitude Earthquakes in Oklahoma
Mar 6 2018 // Busted bricks and cracked windows were revealed Monday after some of those most powerful earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past year rattled the northern part of the state. Oklahoma residents have gotten used to feeling...
In a Switch, Live Operator Answers Phones at Oklahoma Work Comp Commission
Mar 6 2018 // The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) has replaced its automated answering service with a live operator during normal hours of operations. Announcing the switch, Commissioner Mark Liotta stated he finds...
Judge Stays Lawsuits over Oklahoma Earthquakes
Mar 5 2018 // Oklahoma residents who are suing oil and gas producers for earthquake damage to their homes and businesses must now wait for a federal judge’s decision in another case. Judge Phillip Corley granted a stay with a...