OKPOLICY.ORG
Sovereign immunity was a common law doctrine brought to the United States from England that stood for the axiom, “the King can do no wrong,” meaning generally that a state and its political subdivisions cannot be held liable for the negligent conduct of their employees without the state’s permission.
In 1983, partially because of the passage of the Oklahoma Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act and similar laws passed in other states, the Oklahoma Supreme Court in Vanderpool v. State ruled that the doctrine of sovereign immunity no longer exists in this state.
However, the Supreme Court ceded power to the legislature to enact laws determining the extent to which the state would be held liable, and the legislature quickly reinstituted sovereign immunity, passing the current Governmental Tort Claims Act (GTCA) in 1985.
Since then, the Legislature has stayed busy amending and mainly limiting governmental tort liability by covering more entities and situations and capping the amount the state or local government will be liable to pay, regardless of the amount of actual damages.
When trying to protect state and local governments, it sometimes gets overlooked that someone must pay for the damage caused when a person is injured. The injured parties are the constituents of legislators, whom they also have a duty to protect. This year, there are still nine bills remaining active that amend the Governmental Tort Claims Act.
HB 1638 by Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, and Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, brings public trusts created to operate, administer, or oversee county jail facilities under the protection of the GTCA.
HB 3037 by Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, and Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, provides that an institution of higher education will be protected by the GTCA where a student injures someone while actively participating in an institution-sponsored curricular or co-curricular activity or event under the direct supervision of a faculty or staff member when participation is an academic requirement for a course or program.
HB 3648 by Rep. Preston Stinson, R-Edmond, and Sen. Brent Howard, R-Altus, grants GTCA protection to a public trust created pursuant to Section 3224 of Title 63 (University Hospitals Trust at OU) for injuries caused by employees’ negligence.
HB 3974 by Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Lawton, and Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, limits tort liability, in an instance of shared inmate housing facilities, to the state, city or counties responsible for placing the inmate in that facility, not the facility where the injury occurred.
HB 4430 by Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, and Sen. Paul Rosino, R-OKC, provides a physician assistant who is employed by a state agency or facility that is covered by or subject to the GTCA be deemed in compliance with statutory malpractice insurance requirements when practicing under state employment, but to the extent the physician assistant practices outside of state employment, the physician assistant must comply with the malpractice insurance requirements.
HB4431, also by Rep. Hilbert and Sen. Rosino, requires an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse who is employed by a state agency or facility that is covered by or subject to The Governmental Tort Claims Act be deemed in compliance with statutory malpractice insurance requirements when practicing under state employment, but to the extent the physician assistant practices outside of state employment, the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse shall comply with the malpractice insurance requirements.
SB1638 by Sen. Tom Woods, R-Westville, and Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, redefines a single “occurrence” as including everything that happens during an ongoing incident until the event or exposure has ceased.
SB1827 by Sen. Brent Howard, R-Altus, and Rep. Erick Harris, R-Edmond, modifies definitions used in the Governmental Tort Claims Act. Same as HB 3648 above.
SB 2084 by Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, and Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, limits damages for wrongful termination of an employee of a higher education institution to no more than two years of the employee’s base salary, compensation, or contractual benefit, as of the date of termination.
It’s not an easy task to balance the interests of the public with those of individual citizens who are injured by the negligence of state and local employees. Hopefully, thoughtful legislators are doing their best.
