Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-1-1708.1F-1: Noneconomic damages – Hard cap limit – Exception –

Applicability and termination of section.

A. Except as provided in subsection B or D of this section, in

any medical liability action not provided for in Section 1-1708.1F

of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the amount of noneconomic

damages awarded shall not exceed the hard cap amount of Three

Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00), regardless of the number of

actions brought with respect to the personal injury, provided:

1. The defendant has made an offer of judgment pursuant to

Section 1101.1 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and

2. The amount of the verdict awarded to the plaintiff is less

than one and one-half (1 1/2) times the amount of the final offer of

judgment.

B. The dollar amount prescribed by subsection A of this section

shall be adjusted annually based upon any positive increase in the

Consumer Price Index that measures the average changes in prices of

goods and services purchased by urban wage earners and clerical

workers’ families and single workers living alone (CPI-W) for the

preceding calendar year. The adjustment required by this subsection

shall be made on April 1 of each year or not later than thirty (30)

days after the date upon which the Bureau of Labor Statistics

releases the CPI-W inflationary data for the preceding calendar

year, whichever date first occurs. No adjustment to the dollar

amount prescribed by this section shall be made for any year in

which there is a decline in the Consumer Price Index.

C. As used in this section, “noneconomic damages” means only

mental pain and suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, emotional

distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium,

injury to reputation and humiliation; provided, however, noneconomic

damages do not include exemplary damages, as provided for in Section

9.1 of Title 23 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

D. If nine or more members of the jury find by clear and

convincing evidence that the defendant committed negligence or if

nine or more members of the jury find by a preponderance of the

evidence that the conduct of the defendant was willful or wanton,

the limits on noneconomic damages provided for in subsection A of

this section shall not apply; provided, however, the judge must,

before submitting such determination to the jury, make a threshold

determination that there is evidence from which the jury could

reasonably make the findings set forth in the case.

E. If the jury returns a verdict that is greater than Three

Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00) and is less than one and one-

half (1 1/2) times the amount of the final offer of judgment, the

court shall submit to the jury an additional form of verdict. The

additional form of verdict shall be substantially as follows:

“1. Do you find by a preponderance of the evidence that the

conduct of the defendant was willful or wanton? If nine or more of

you answer in the affirmative, then return this verdict form in open

court. If less than nine of you answer in the affirmative, then

answer the following question.

2. Do you find by clear and convincing evidence that the

defendant was negligent? If this question is answered

affirmatively, then return this verdict form in open court. If less

than nine of you find negligence by clear and convincing evidence,

then answer the following question.

3. Of the amount returned in the verdict, what amount of your

verdict is for economic damages and what amount is for noneconomic

damages?”

F. Nothing in this section shall apply to an action brought for

wrongful death.

G. The provisions of this section shall apply only to actions

that accrue on or after November 1, 2004.

H. This section of law shall terminate on November 1, 2010.