Oklahoma · Updated
Injured in Oklahoma: deadlines, rules and lawyers
Most of what to do after an injury is the same everywhere. The deadline to file, and a few other rules, are set by each state. Here are Oklahoma’s, each with the law it comes from. This is general information, not advice about your case.
Below the rules: the injury firms we list in Oklahoma, by city, in A–Z order.
Know this first
Step 1: Two years to file in court
2 yearsfor most injury lawsuits
In Oklahoma, most injury lawsuits must be filed in court within two years1.
When the clock starts, and whether an exception applies, can depend on the facts. A lawyer can tell you your exact date.
In Oklahoma, an action for injury to the rights of another not arising on contract must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues1. Wrongful death, medical negligence, legal disability and claims against the state or a political subdivision each have their own statute, listed below.
The law, as written
Personal injury2 years
In Oklahoma, “an action for injury to the rights of another, not arising on contract, and not hereinafter enumerated” must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues1.
If a family member died
Step 2: If someone died
A claim for a death can have its own deadline, and it may start on a different day. Here is the rule as the research found it.
The law, as written
Wrongful death2 years
In Oklahoma, a wrongful-death action brought by the personal representative “must be commenced within two (2) years”2.
If a government body was involved
Step 3: Claims against the state or a local government
If a government vehicle, government property or a public employee was part of what happened, a shorter notice or claim step may come first. Ask a lawyer about it early.
The law, as written
Claims against the state or a political subdivision: notice1 year after loss
Under the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act, a claim against the state or a political subdivision “shall be forever barred unless notice thereof is presented within one (1) year after the loss occurs”3.
More detail
In Oklahoma, a claim against the state is filed in writing with the Office of the Risk Management Administrator of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services3; a claim against a political subdivision is filed in writing with the office of the clerk of the governing body3.
In Oklahoma, the notice must state the date, time, place and circumstances of the claim, the amount demanded and the Medicare Secondary Payer reporting information, and a personal-injury notice must list all treating providers with a HIPAA-compliant authorization for each; omissions do not invalidate the notice unless the claimant refuses to supply the information after demand3.
In Oklahoma, the notice period does not include time the injured person is incapacitated by the injury, up to 90 days3. For a wrongful-death claim, the personal representative may present notice “within one (1) year after the death occurs”3.
Claims against the state or a political subdivision: suit180 days after denial
Under the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act, a claim is deemed denied if it is not approved in its entirety within 90 days4, and suit must be “commenced within one hundred eighty (180) days after denial of the claim”4.
More detail
In Oklahoma, settlement negotiations do not extend the date of denial unless agreed in writing, and a written extension of the time to sue may not run longer than two years from the date of the loss4.
How fault is counted
Step 4: If you were partly at fault
Barred above 50%
In Oklahoma, if you are found more than 50% at fault, you generally can’t recover. If not, what you get is cut by your share5.
In Oklahoma, a plaintiff's contributory negligence bars recovery only if it is “of greater degree” than the negligence of the defendant or the combined negligence of those causing the damage5. Otherwise the recovery is reduced in proportion to the plaintiff's negligence6, and liability among tortfeasors is several only7.
The law, as written
Bar to recoveryBarred above 50%
In Oklahoma, contributory negligence does not bar recovery “unless any negligence of the person so injured, damaged or killed, is of greater degree than any negligence of the person, firm or corporation causing such damage, or … is of greater degree than the combined negligence of any persons, firms or corporations causing such damage”5.
More detail
The current § 13 dates from Laws 1979, c. 385.
If a doctor, hospital or clinic was involved
Step 5: Medical malpractice has its own limits
Claims against a doctor, hospital or clinic often have their own deadline and extra steps before filing.
The law, as written
Medical negligence2 years from discovery
In Oklahoma, an action for injury or death against a licensed physician, health care provider or hospital arising out of patient care “shall be brought within two (2) years of the date the plaintiff knew or should have known, through the exercise of reasonable diligence, of the existence of the death, injury or condition complained of”8. Minority or incompetency when the claim arises extends the period8.
If they were a minor
Step 6: If the injured person is a child
The clock can run differently for a child’s claim.
The law, as written
Minors and other legal disability1 year after disability removed
In Oklahoma, a person under a legal disability when the cause of action accrued may bring the action “within one (1) year after such disability shall be removed”9.
More detail
In Oklahoma, a medical-malpractice claim for a minor under 12 must be brought by the parent or guardian within seven years of the injury; a minor 12 or older must sue within one year after attaining majority, but in no event less than two years from the injury9.
Next
Step 7: What to do with this
- Write down the datesThe day you were hurt, the day treatment ended, and anything a government body or hospital sent you.
- Ask a lawyer about your factsThese rules have exceptions that depend on details. Find injury law firms in Oklahoma, listed A–Z or by distance, never ranked.
- Ask each firmWhich deadline applies to me, does a notice need to go out, and by when?
How to check a lawyer’s license in Oklahoma
Each state keeps a public list of lawyers. Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up by name and read what the listing says about their license. If it isn’t clear, call the office that keeps the list.
Injury law firms in Oklahoma, by city
Case types
Each case type’s page has Oklahoma’s deadline and rules for it. Beside it: the cities where firms we list say they take it.
More about deadlines
- What to do after a car accident: learn your deadline
Plain steps after a crash: stay safe, get care, keep a record, talk to insurance companies carefully, and learn your state’s deadline to file.
- After a truck accident: your deadline to file still applies
How a crash with a big commercial truck differs from a car crash: federal safety rules, more than one company involved, larger insurance, and records that are only kept for a while.
- After a motorcycle or bike crash: your deadline to file
What’s different when you were on a motorcycle or a bicycle: keeping your helmet and gear, your rights on the road, helmet rules, fault, road hazards and insurance.
- Hit by a car while walking: your deadline to file
What to do if a car hit you while you were walking: first steps, the evidence that disappears fastest, whose insurance may pay, how fault gets argued, and your deadlines.
- After a slip and fall: your deadline to file
What to do after you fall on someone else’s property: get care, report it, keep a record, and learn the questions that decide a premises case, including falls on public property and at work.
- Wrongful death basics: the deadline often starts at the death
If someone in your family died because of another person’s carelessness: what a wrongful-death claim is, who can bring it, how it differs from a survival claim, getting records, and the deadline.
- Hurt at work: your deadlines
What to do after an injury on the job: get care, tell your employer in writing, and learn how workers’ compensation works and when a separate injury claim against someone else may exist.
- After a dog bite: your deadline to file
What to do after a dog bites you or your child: get care, find out who owns the dog, keep a record, and learn how state rules on dog bites differ.
- After a head or brain injury: deadlines keep running while you recover
What to do after a head injury from a crash, a fall or another accident: get checked, keep a record of how you feel, get help from family, and why legal deadlines keep running while you recover.
- When medical care goes wrong: deadlines are often different, and strict
What to do if you think a doctor, hospital or clinic hurt you: get care, get your records, and learn the extra steps and short deadlines that medical-malpractice claims often have, state by state.
- Deadlines in every state
The usual deadline in all 50 states and DC, side by side. Where we haven’t checked one yet, we say so.
How we list firms
How we list firms
We don’t rank firms. Listing is free and doesn’t depend on buying anything.
Firms are listed for free, in A–Z order. Every fact shows its source and date. We don’t recommend lawyers, and we don’t pass on your details.
Sources
Where the legal facts on this page come from
- Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95
- Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 1053Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 1053
- Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 156 (Governmental Tort Claims Act)Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 156 (Governmental Tort Claims Act)
- Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 157 (Governmental Tort Claims Act)Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 157 (Governmental Tort Claims Act)
- Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 13Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 13
- Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 14Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 14
- Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 15Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 15
- Okla. Stat. tit. 76, § 18Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 76, § 18
- Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 96Read the source: Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 96
This is general information, not legal advice.