The state’s corporate establishment didn’t give up after behind handed a rebuke in 2019 from the Oklahoma Supreme Court over lawsuit awards to injury victims.
Rather than respect the court’s conclusion, corporations and special interests headed back to their political allies in the Oklahoma Legislature.
They wanted lawmakers to once again cap monetary awards to plaintiffs in lawsuits. This move plain and simple would boost corporate revenues and hurt people with fewer means.
For people who are seriously injured, it would mean that justice only sort of matters.
These corporate interests wanted a law that would make them money while preventing you from being fully compensated if someone else caused your injury through their negligence.
We know what it means for everyday people to suddenly realize they need the legal process to help them find justice. Harm and injury aren’t included in our plans for living.
The fight
Have you been wronged in a business dispute or injured by a corporation?
Let Joe Norwood stand for you in court.
How can you know he’ll really fight for you?
Joe has made headlines around the world for helping to free five wrongfully convicted people across four cases. These men spent decades locked up for crimes that judges later said they did not commit.
One of those clients, Glynn Simmons, became America’s longest-serving wrongfully convicted man at 48 years inside Oklahoma’s prison system for murder.
At Norwood.Law, we do more. Attorney Joe Norwood also practices business, personal injury, family law, and more.
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Call or a consultation at 918-582-6464.
Norwood.Law will use the law and tell your story.
Stop
Here’s one case study from Norwood.Law. We filed a lawsuit against the foreign maker of an electric bicycle that was powered by battery.
As our client was riding the bike, he realized it wasn’t braking as it proceeded down a hill. He was injured after being thrown from the bike. We sued the manufacturer for negligence and carelessness.
From initial petition:
“As a direct and proximate result of the negligent, careless, reckless, unlawful acts or omissions and failures of each of the aforementioned defendants as described herein, plaintiff suffered severe injuries requiring hospitalization and incurred economic damages including medical expenses.”
The suit was later settled favorably for our client.
Robot
In another of our cases, a child was harmed by an automated lawn mower. The family turned to Norwood.Law for help.
We investigated the case and later wrote this in the initial petition:
“The advertising and literature provided with, associated with, and used to promote the robotic lawn mower were deceptive, misleading, and inaccurate.”
A mother and her young son were walking on the sidewalk to a neighborhood swimming pool.
An automatic lawn mower was operating at another home. Suddenly it came off the grass and onto the sidewalk. It struck the boy and severed two of his toes.
“The robotic lawn mower’s blade did not stop or slow down at any time in its interaction with (the plaintiffs).”
As a result of the suit, we negotiated a very favorable settlement with the foreign manufacturer on behalf of our clients.
Tort deform
Now, despite the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s earlier decision on caps for injury awards, corporate interests won a new law in the form of Senate Bill 1065, which was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor in the summer of 2025.
Thereafter, the damages a victim in a lawsuit could seek for “pain and suffering” or “noneconomic” damages were capped at just $500,000.
The new 2025 law was part of a larger, ongoing movement backed by corporations known as tort reform. The goal is to evermore tightly restrict injury awards to victims stemming from legal action.
Know this
So what does this all mean?
First here’s some important terminology:
- Economic damages are medical expenses, lost wages, lost ability to earn wages, rehabilitation, and physical therapy.
- Noneconomic damages have to do with your quality of life. They can include loss of intimacy and companionship, disfigurement, mental anguish, or other intangibles.
What if you suffer severe impairment due to a permanent mental injury? You’re eligible for more under the new law, but there’s still a cap of $1 million.
There are other instances in which the cap is specially removed:
- If the responsible party was grossly negligent or fraudulent
- If the responsible party acted in reckless disregard for others
- If the responsible party caused a severe or permanent physical injury
What about economic damages? Awards for those are unlimited. That’s the case if a wrongful death occurs, too.
Also established by the law was a special process for moving lawsuits through the courts more quickly when they fall below the $250,000 threshold. The tradeoff, however, would be less time available for interviewing witnesses and obtaining evidence.
Reactions
State Senate Democrat Julia Kirt said everyday people were being left behind:
“Oklahoma senate democrats fought these bills because the economic cap puts a dollar on lives and it doesn’t look at what other pain and suffering might be there. What we know is insurance companies are making record profits. Meanwhile, we keep catering our policies to those insurance companies.”
Critics are also worried that as a result of the new law, attorneys would be less willing to represent accident victims with legitimate claims.
Another democratic state senator, Carri Kicks of Oklahoma City, told the story of one of her constituents, a little girl. She was brutally attacked by a massive Rottweiler. The extensive injuries and damages were mostly categorized as non-economic. She’ll have significant scarring for life, according to the Oklahoma Voice.
Said Sen. Kicks about the girl:
“If there was a cap on noneconomic damages like this one … it would have been difficult for any attorney to accept her as a client or litigate a case on her behalf due to how the cap would have imposed a low limit on how much a jury can award, regardless of the violent attack she suffered and all of the permanent side effects it will have on her.”
Kicks went on:
“Why would any legislators support a cap on valid and warranted damages for the benefit of such a landlord and an insurance company that never offered a fair amount to resolve the client’s case?”
Joseph M. Norwood is a Tulsa attorney with the courtroom expertise you need. Contact his office at 918-582-6464.
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