Declarations

A Lawsuit-Driven System

“Our lawsuit-driven system provides little benefit to injured workers and devours financial resources that would otherwise be used to grow our economy and create new jobs.”

—Oklahoma State Rep. Mark McCullough says he plans a renewed push for workers’ compensation reform in his state during the coming legislative session. He maintains the current system “fails both injured workers and employers.” McCullough noted that attorney involvement is 50 percent higher in Oklahoma’s workers’ comp system than the national average, which helps explain why Oklahoma experienced the highest payout for claims in 18 years in 2006 – $270 million, a 69 percent increase since 2000. His plan “would dismantle our lawsuit-based Workers’ Compensation Court and replace it with an administrative system modeled after the successful Arkansas system,” McCullough, R-Sapulpa, said in a statement released by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He plans to file House Bill 2605, which would create a three-member Workers’ Compensation Commission to replace the current Workers’ Compensation Court, in the 2009 session, which begins in February.

Topics Workers' Compensation Oklahoma