{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-51-51-154v2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 51-154v2","heading":"Extent of liability – Wrongful criminal felony","body":"convictions resulting in imprisonment - Punitive or exemplary\n\ndamages - Joinder of parties - Several liability.\n\nA. The total liability of the state and its political\n\nsubdivisions on claims within the scope of The Governmental Tort\n\nClaims Act, arising out of an accident or occurrence happening after\n\nOctober 1, 1985, Section 151 et seq. of this title, shall not\n\nexceed:\n\n1. Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) for any claim or\n\nto any claimant who has more than one claim for loss of property\n\narising out of a single act, accident, or occurrence;\n\n2. a. Two Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($225,000.00)\n\nto any claimant for any number of claims for\n\ninconvenience, annoyance, or discomfort in nuisance\n\nclaims arising out of a single act, accident, or\n\noccurrence in a county with a population of less than\n\none hundred fifty thousand (150,000) according to the\n\nlatest Federal Decennial Census, or\n\nb. Two Hundred Seventy-five Thousand Dollars\n\n($275,000.00) to any claimant for any number of claims\n\nfor inconvenience, annoyance, or discomfort in\n\nnuisance claims arising out of a single act, accident,\n\nor occurrence in a county with a population of one\n\nhundred fifty thousand (150,000) or more according to\n\nthe latest Federal Decennial Census;\n\n3. a. In no event shall the total liability of the state and\n\nits political subdivisions for a claim for nuisance\n\nexceed Two Hundred Seventy-five Thousand Dollars\n\n($275,000.00) per occurrence.\n\nb. In no event shall the total liability of the state and\n\nits political subdivisions for a claim arising from\n\nmunicipal sewer overflow exceed Two Hundred Seventy-\n\nfive Thousand Dollars ($275,000.00) per occurrence;\n\n4. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, Two Hundred\n\nFifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) to any claimant for a claim for\n\nany other loss arising out of a single act, accident, or occurrence.\n\nThe limit of liability for the state or any city or county with a\n\npopulation of one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) or more according\n\nto the latest Federal Decennial Census, or a political subdivision\n\nas defined in subparagraph s of paragraph 12 of Section 152 of this\n\ntitle, shall not exceed Three Hundred Seventy-five Thousand Dollars\n\n($375,000.00). Except, however, the limits of liability for the\n\nUniversity Hospitals and state mental health hospitals operated by\n\nthe Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for\n\nclaims arising from medical negligence shall be Three Hundred\n\nThousand Dollars ($300,000.00). For claims arising from medical\n\nnegligence by any licensed physician, osteopathic physician or\n\nCertified Nurse-Midwife rendering prenatal, delivery or infant care\n\nservices from September 1, 1991, through June 30, 1996, pursuant to\n\na contract authorized by subsection C of Section 1-106 of Title 63\n\nof the Oklahoma Statutes and in conformity with the requirements of\n\nSection 1-233 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the limits of\n\nliability shall be Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00);\n\n5. One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) for any number of claims\n\nfor indemnification pursuant to Section 162 of this title arising\n\nout of a single occurrence or accident; or\n\n6. Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) in the aggregate for any\n\nnumber of claims arising out of a single occurrence or accident.\n\nB. 1. Beginning on May 28, 2003, claims shall be allowed for\n\nwrongful criminal felony conviction resulting in imprisonment if the\n\nclaimant has received a full pardon on the basis of a written\n\nfinding by the Governor of actual innocence for the crime for which\n\nthe claimant was sentenced or has been granted judicial relief\n\nabsolving the claimant of guilt on the basis of actual innocence of\n\nthe crime for which the claimant was sentenced. The Governor or the\n\ncourt shall specifically state, in the pardon or order, the evidence\n\nor basis on which the finding of actual innocence is based.\nfinding by the Governor of actual innocence for the crime for which\n\nthe claimant was sentenced or has been granted judicial relief\n\nabsolving the claimant of guilt on the basis of actual innocence of\n\nthe crime for which the claimant was sentenced. The Governor or the\n\ncourt shall specifically state, in the pardon or order, the evidence\n\nor basis on which the finding of actual innocence is based.\n\n2. As used in paragraph 1 of this subsection, for a claimant to\n\nrecover based on “actual innocence”, the individual must meet the\n\nfollowing criteria:\n\na. the individual was charged, by indictment or\n\ninformation, with the commission of a public offense\n\nclassified as a felony,\n\nb. the individual did not plead guilty to the offense\n\ncharged, or to any lesser included offense, but was\n\nconvicted of the offense,\n\nc. the individual was sentenced to incarceration for a\n\nterm of imprisonment as a result of the conviction,\n\nd. the individual was imprisoned solely on the basis of\n\nthe conviction for the offense, and\n\ne. (1) in the case of a pardon, a determination was made\n\nby either the Pardon and Parole Board or the\n\nGovernor that the offense for which the\n\nindividual was convicted, sentenced and\n\nimprisoned, including any lesser offenses, was\n\nnot committed by the individual, or\n\n(2) in the case of judicial relief, a court of\n\ncompetent jurisdiction found by clear and\n\nconvincing evidence that the offense for which\n\nthe individual was convicted, sentenced and\n\nimprisoned, including any lesser included\n\noffenses, was not committed by the individual and\n\nissued an order vacating, dismissing or reversing\n\nthe conviction and sentence and providing that no\n\nfurther proceedings can be or will be held\n\nagainst the individual on any facts and\n\ncircumstances alleged in the proceedings which\n\nhad resulted in the conviction.\n\n3. A claimant shall not be entitled to compensation for any\n\npart of a sentence in prison during which the claimant was also\n\nserving a concurrent sentence for a crime not covered by this\n\nsubsection.\n\n4. The total liability of the state and its political\n\nsubdivisions on any claim within the scope of The Governmental Tort\n\nClaims Act arising out of wrongful criminal felony conviction\n\nresulting in imprisonment shall not exceed One Hundred Seventy-five\n\nThousand Dollars ($175,000.00).\n\n5. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to convictions\n\noccurring on or before May 28, 2003, as well as convictions\n\noccurring after May 28, 2003. If a court of competent jurisdiction\n\nfinds that retroactive application of this subsection is\n\nunconstitutional, the prospective application of this subsection\n\nshall remain valid.\n\nC. No award for damages in an action or any claim against the\n\nstate or a political subdivision shall include punitive or exemplary\n\ndamages.\n\nD. When the amount awarded to or settled upon multiple\n\nclaimants exceeds the limitations of this section, any party may\n\napply to the district court which has jurisdiction of the cause to\n\napportion to each claimant the claimant’s proper share of the total\n\namount as limited herein. The share apportioned to each claimant\n\nshall be in the proportion that the ratio of the award or settlement\n\nmade to each claimant bears to the aggregate awards and settlements\n\nfor all claims against the state or its political subdivisions\n\narising out of the occurrence. When the amount of the aggregate\n\nlosses presented by a single claimant exceeds the limits of\n\nparagraph 1, 2, 3, or 4 of subsection A of this section, each person\n\nsuffering a loss shall be entitled to that person’s proportionate\n\nshare.\n\nE. The total liability of resident physicians and interns while\n\nparticipating in a graduate medical education program of the\n\nUniversity of Oklahoma College of Medicine, its affiliated\n\ninstitutions and the Oklahoma State University College of\nlimits of\n\nparagraph 1, 2, 3, or 4 of subsection A of this section, each person\n\nsuffering a loss shall be entitled to that person’s proportionate\n\nshare.\n\nE. The total liability of resident physicians and interns while\n\nparticipating in a graduate medical education program of the\n\nUniversity of Oklahoma College of Medicine, its affiliated\n\ninstitutions and the Oklahoma State University College of\n\nOsteopathic Medicine shall not exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand\n\nDollars ($150,000.00).\n\nF. The total liability of a public trust hospital and physician\n\nfor the acts of a physician who provides medical services on the\n\npremises of a public trust hospital, as provided by Section 152 of\n\nthis title, that is located in a county with a population of fewer\n\nthan seventy-five thousand (75,000) according to the latest Federal\n\nDecennial Census, but who is not employed by such hospital, shall\n\nnot exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00). If the physician is\n\nemployed by another group or entity not under the sole or majority\n\ncontrol of the physician, the total limit of liability of the\n\nphysician and hospital shall be the higher coverage afforded by the\n\nliability policy, self-insurance, or assets of that group or entity.\n\nG. For claims within the scope of The Governmental Tort Claims\n\nAct, the liability limits in this section for claims on or after the\n\neffective date of this act shall be adjusted beginning January 1,\n\n2031, and every five (5) years thereafter for inflation to reflect\n\nthe lesser of the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index\n\npublished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States\n\nDepartment of Labor for such period or four percent (4%) in any\n\nfive-year period.\n\nH. The state or a political subdivision may petition the court\n\nthat all parties and actions arising out of a single accident or\n\noccurrence shall be joined as provided by law, and upon order of the\n\ncourt the proceedings upon good cause shown shall be continued for a\n\nreasonable time or until such joinder has been completed. The state\n\nor political subdivision shall be allowed to interplead in any\n\naction which may impose on it any duty or liability pursuant to The\n\nGovernmental Tort Claims Act.\n\nI. The liability of the state or political subdivision under\n\nThe Governmental Tort Claims Act shall be several from that of any\n\nother person or entity, and the state or political subdivision shall\n\nonly be liable for that percentage of total damages that corresponds\n\nto its percentage of total negligence. Nothing in this section\n\nshall be construed as increasing the liability limits imposed on the\n\nstate or political subdivision under The Governmental Tort Claims\n\nAct.","path":["OK Code","Title 51"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os51.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"1e2285b431dd6a157cb36eba12f654759adef77528e43d00fa32c407a9179c4d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-51-51-154v1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-51-51-155"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}