You could be denied or awarded Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits depending on the evidence that you provide. Your eligibility will depend on three types of evidence, that you provide to the Social Security Office. Medical proof Medical evidence plays a vital role in helping… Read More
The elderly are sometimes the butt of gruesome abuse, with layers and layers of complexity that cannot be seen by the naked eye. In fact, what you see or don’t see may only be a piece of the “abuse”. Elder abuse may consist of a woman developing bed sores from… Read More
Low teacher pay and severe budget cuts are driving schools to the brink FORTY miles from Tulsa, sometimes along unpaved roads, sits Wagoner High School, with its 650 pupils, championship-caliber football team, and show barn—a seemingly ordinary small-town school. But unlike most high schools, Wagoner is closed on Mondays. The reason,… Read More
Pedestrian accidents are sometimes inevitable and can result in serious injury or death. If you are the operator of the motor vehicle that collides with a pedestrian, it can be a terrifying event. As a driver, it is vital to know what to do immediately after any such accident. You… Read More
TO TITLE 85A, THE ADMINISTRATIVE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ACT Updated February 1, 2018 Four years ago to the day, an Act became effective in Oklahoma making devastating cuts to workers’ compensation benefits. Attorneys who represent injured workers, like Brandon Burton, advised law makers at the time that at least 52 of… Read More
PRE-EXISTING CONDITION Gillispie v. Estes, 2015 OK CIV APP 93, 361 P.3d 543 Challenge: Claimant appealed ALJ order that he had no compensable injury because he had a previous injury to the same part of the body. Decision: Oklahoma Court of Appeals, Division IV, reversed ALJ’s opinion and… Read More
SUBROGATION Rogers v. Sims and UPS, Intervenor, Grady County District Court, CJ-2015-2 Challenge: UPS was trying to recover its comp payments in a death case through Section 43 subrogation. The Plaintiff argued that subrogation in a workers’ compensation death case in Oklahoma is unconstitutional. Decision: District Judge Richard… Read More
OIL AND GAS IMMUNITY Strickland v. Stephens Production Company, 2018 OK 6 Challenge: 85A O.S. Sec. 5(A) gave oil and gas operators immunity from third party negligence action. In other words, even if an oil and gas operator was negligent, it could not be sued by an employee of another… Read More
ISSUES PENDING JURISDICTION AND DEFINITION OF INJURY Lynch v. Bridgestone, Court of Existing Claims No. 2016-01031J Challenge: In a cumulative trauma injury with a date of awareness of 2013, does the Commission now have jurisdiction because more than two years passed from the effective date of the AWCA and the… Read More
Federal and state authorities are investigating the cause of the deadly explosion and fire at a natural gas drilling rig in southeastern Oklahoma on Monday. Five workers died in what appears to be one of the country’s deadliest onshore drilling accidents. The well site, located near the town of Quinton, 100… Read More
