The 2010 Legislature is considering multiple bills currently that have varying effects upon the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Court.  Rep. Mark McCullough (Republican) from Sapulpa and Rep. Lewis Moore (Republican) from Arcadia have filed HB 2639 that simply put, would devastate an injured worker should it be passed into law.  The bill in its current form would adopt an Administrative approach to claims and almost eliminate the right of an injured worker to pay an attorney from the proceeds of the case.  By eliminating the right to counsel, the bill would make it easier for insurance companies and employers to determine on their own what benefits would be paid to an injured worker and what, if any, medical treatment they receive.  The bill also places new limitations on the types of injuries that are compensable.  In other words, certain injuries would no longer be covered at all by Workers' Compensation.  Thankfully, this bill has not been passed out of committee and may be dead for at least the current session.

HB 2652 by Rep. Dan Sullivan (Republican) from Tulsa also severely restricts the types of injuries for which a worker could receive compensation.  Like HB 2639, it also restricts workers' freedom to contract with an attorney to assist them in proving their case and it contains new statutes of limitation which only further restrict the rights of injured workers.  The current statute of limitations for filing a claim is two years from the date of the accident or the last date of medical treatment that is authorized by the insurance carrier.  HB 2652 would impose a six month statute of limitations on injured workers.  So if a worker decided to try to live with his or her injury for more than six months but then could no longer do so and wanted to pursue further benefits, the claim would be barred and dismissed.  This bill has passed out of committee and has been sent to a conference committee for further study.

The main focus this session seems to be on SB 1973 by Sen. Glenn Coffee (Republican) from Oklahoma City.  This bill changes the makeup of the current court by reducing the number of judges from ten to eight and doing away with the three-judge panel or en banc court.  SB 1973 would redefine certain injuries and to what extent the "major cause" of an injury must be proven.  In addition, the bill would allow unions to opt out of the workers' compensation court and require that workers' compensation insurance companies have at least one adjuster located within the state of Oklahoma.  The bill proposes to eliminate payments for permanent total disability (PTD) once a claimant has been approved for Medicare and requires the use of certain guidelines which will hamper a workers' ability to obtain much needed medical treatment.  New guidelines to lower payments of permanent partial disability are also proposed.  This bill has also been passed out of committee and is assigned to a conference committee.

In order to force representatives of injured workers to the negotiating table, Sen. Coffee also authored a Senate Joint Resolution which completely eliminates any attorney fee for attorneys representing injured workers.  SJR 66 has been passed by the Senate and if passed by the House will go onto the general election ballot this Fall for voters to decide on.  The resolution does nothing to limit attorneys fees charged by attorneys who represent employers or insurance companies.  It only targets claimant's representatives and if passed, would leave workers to fend for themselves against big businesses and insurance companies along with their legal representatives.  These same tactics were used by Republicans to help pass tort reform which limits the rights of citizens to recover damages in claims involving negligence.

All of the bills being considered are authored by Republicans and none of the bills will operate to increase benefits or protect the rights of injured workers.  We are working diligently with legislators in an attempt to educate them on how the bills will negatively affect their constituents.  It is evident that all of the bills are aimed at further restricting the rights of injured workers but what exactly ends up being passed onto the governor is not yet clear.