Oklahoma Reform Plan Would Phase Out Workers’ Comp Court

Oklahoma state Rep. Mark McCullough said in mid-November he plans to file legislation to overhaul the state’s workers’ compensation system. While the proposed legislation would keep the current Workers’ Compensation Court for existing claims, it would phase out the court as cases are resolved. The number of judges would be reduced from 10 to four and the court would only handle cases filed before the effective date of the proposed law. All judges would be gubernatorial appointees subject to Senate confirmation and all would be required to have at least five years of experience in workers’ comp issues in Oklahoma.

McCullough, a Sapulpa Republican, said many people devoted hundreds of man-hours to developing the proposal, including state Rep. Lewis Moore and Mike Seney, senior vice president of Operations for The State Chamber.

The bill creates a three-member “Workers’ Compensation Commission” to run Oklahoma’s workers’ comp system for all claims filed after the bill’s effective date, according to information released by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The three members would include one attorney, one physician and one industry professional. Each must have five years experience in Oklahoma workers’ compensation issues.

The three-member commission would oversee an administrative law judge (ALJ) system. Each ALJ would be assigned to handle cases in specific counties (one each in four regional quadrants and two each in Oklahoma City and Tulsa). The bill would also establish a chief medical officer under the oversight of the commission who would be charged with medical evaluation of worker injuries.

Under the bill, all hearings would be recorded and made public. The bill also enacts a value-added clause for attorney fees. If a settlement offer is rejected and a claim taken to trial, the attorney’s fees would be taken from the amount won in excess of the initial rejected settlement offer.

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