{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-76-76-91","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 76, § 76-91","heading":"Legislative findings","body":"A. FINDINGS. The Legislature finds that:\n\n1. Asbestos is a mineral that was widely used prior to the\n\n1980s for insulation, fire-proofing, and other purposes;\n\n2. Millions of American workers and others were exposed to\n\nasbestos, especially during and after World War II, prior to the\n\nadvent of regulation by the United States Occupational Safety and\n\nHealth Administration in the early 1970s;\n\n3. Exposure to asbestos is associated with various types of\n\ncancer, including mesothelioma, as well as nonmalignant conditions\n\nsuch as asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening;\n\n4. Diseases caused by asbestos exposure often have long latency\n\nperiods;\n\n5. While the cases currently filed in Oklahoma are manageable\n\nby the courts and the litigants, it is proper for the Legislature to\n\nsupport and protect the courts of this state from the potential of\n\nmassive litigation expense and the crowding of trial dockets;\n\n6. Silica is a naturally occurring mineral and is the second\n\nmost common constituent of the earth's crust. Crystalline silica in\n\nthe form of quartz is present in sand, gravel, soil, and rocks;\n\n7. Silica-related illnesses, including silicosis, can develop\n\nfrom the inhalation of respirable silica dust. Silicosis was widely\n\nrecognized as an occupational disease many years ago;\n\n8. Concerns about statutes of limitations may prompt unimpaired\n\nasbestos and silica claimants to bring lawsuits to protect their\n\nability to recover for their potentially progressive occupational\n\ndisease; and\n\n9. Several states, including Texas, Georgia, Ohio, and Florida\n\nhave enacted legislation setting medical criteria governing asbestos\n\nand silica cases and tolling statutes of limitations and requiring\n\npersons alleging nonmalignant disease claims to demonstrate physical\n\nimpairment as a prerequisite to setting such cases for trial.\n\nB. The purpose of this chapter is to:\n\n1. Provide a procedural remedy allowing efficient judicial\n\nsupervision and control of asbestos and silica litigation by giving\n\npriority for the purposes of trial and resolution to asbestos and\n\nsilica claimants with demonstrable physical impairment caused by\n\nexposure to asbestos or silica; and\n\n2. Preserve the legal rights of claimants who were exposed to\n\nasbestos or silica, but have no physical impairment from asbestos or\n\nsilica exposure, until such time as the claimant can demonstrate\n\nphysical impairment.","path":["OK Code","Title 76"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os76.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"f87a668137e85ecaf7377610366fe4aca49a3825f23db665962bf2f058d0c444","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-76-76-90","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-76-76-92"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}