Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 51-152

As used in The Governmental Tort Claims Act:

1. “Action” means a proceeding in a court of competent

jurisdiction by which one party brings a suit against another;

2. “Agency” means any board, commission, committee, department

or other instrumentality or entity designated to act in behalf of

the state or a political subdivision;

3. “Charitable health care provider” means a person who is

licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of this

state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business

or the practice of a profession and who provides care to a medically

indigent person, as defined in paragraph 9 of this section, with no

expectation of or acceptance of compensation of any kind;

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4. “Claim” means any written demand presented by a claimant or

the claimant’s authorized representative in accordance with The

Governmental Tort Claims Act to recover money from the state or

political subdivision as compensation for an act or omission of a

political subdivision or the state or an employee;

5. “Claimant” means the person or the person’s authorized

representative who files notice of a claim in accordance with The

Governmental Tort Claims Act. Only the following persons and no

others may be claimants:

a. any person holding an interest in real or personal

property which suffers a loss, provided that the claim

of the person shall be aggregated with claims of all

other persons holding an interest in the property and

the claims of all other persons which are derivative

of the loss, and that multiple claimants shall be

considered a single claimant,

b. the individual actually involved in the accident or

occurrence who suffers a loss, provided that the

individual shall aggregate in the claim the losses of

all other persons which are derivative of the loss, or

c. in the case of death, an administrator, special

administrator or a personal representative who shall

aggregate in the claim all losses of all persons which

are derivative of the death;

6. “Community health care provider” means:

a. a health care provider who volunteers services at a

community health center that has been deemed by the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a

federally qualified health center as defined by 42

U.S.C., Section 1396d(l)(2)(B),

b. a health provider who provides services to an

organization that has been deemed a federally

qualified look-alike community health center, and

c. a health care provider who provides services to a

community health center that has made application to

the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for

approval and deeming as a federally qualified look-

alike community health center in compliance with

federal application guidance, and has received

comments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services as to the status of such application with the

established intent of resubmitting a modified

application, or, if denied, a new application, no

later than six (6) months from the date of the

official notification from the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services requiring resubmission of a

new application;

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7. “Employee” means any person who is authorized to act in

behalf of a political subdivision or the state whether that person

is acting on a permanent or temporary basis, with or without being

compensated or on a full-time or part-time basis.

a. Employee also includes:

(1) all elected or appointed officers, members of

governing bodies and other persons designated to

act for an agency or political subdivision, but

the term does not mean a person or other legal

entity while acting in the capacity of an

independent contractor or an employee of an

independent contractor,
hout being

compensated or on a full-time or part-time basis.

a. Employee also includes:

(1) all elected or appointed officers, members of

governing bodies and other persons designated to

act for an agency or political subdivision, but

the term does not mean a person or other legal

entity while acting in the capacity of an

independent contractor or an employee of an

independent contractor,

(2) from September 1, 1991, through June 30, 1996,

licensed physicians, licensed osteopathic

physicians and Certified Nurse-Midwives providing

prenatal, delivery or infant care services to

State Department of Health clients pursuant to a

contract entered into with the State Department

of Health in accordance with paragraph 3 of

subsection C of Section 1-106 of Title 63 of the

Oklahoma Statutes but only insofar as services

authorized by and in conformity with the terms of

the contract and the requirements of Section 1-

233 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and

(3) any volunteer, full-time or part-time firefighter

when performing duties for a fire department

provided for in subparagraph j of paragraph 12 of

this section.

b. For the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,

the following are employees of this state, regardless

of the place in this state where duties as employees

are performed:

(1) physicians acting in an administrative capacity,

(2) resident physicians and resident interns

participating in a graduate medical education

program of the University of Oklahoma Health

Sciences Center, the Oklahoma State University

College of Osteopathic Medicine, a public trust

created pursuant to Section 3224 of Title 63 of

the Oklahoma Statutes and any sole member not-

for-profit corporation of the public trust and

any sole member not-for-profit subsidiary of such

corporation, or the Department of Mental Health

and Substance Abuse Services,

(3) faculty members and staff of the University of

Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the Oklahoma

State University College of Osteopathic Medicine,

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or a public trust created pursuant to Section

3224 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes and any

sole member not-for-profit corporation of the

public trust and any sole member not-for-profit

subsidiary of such corporation, while engaged in

teaching duties,

(4) physicians who practice medicine or act in an

administrative capacity as an employee of an

agency of this state,

(5) physicians who provide medical care to inmates

pursuant to a contract with the Department of

Corrections,

(6) any person who is licensed to practice medicine

pursuant to Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

who is under an administrative professional

services contract with the Oklahoma Health Care

Authority under the auspices of the Oklahoma

Health Care Authority Chief Medical Officer, and

who is limited to performing administrative

duties such as professional guidance for medical

reviews, reimbursement rates, service

utilization, health care delivery and benefit

design for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority,

only while acting within the scope of such

contract,

(7) licensed medical professionals under contract

with city, county, or state entities who provide

medical care to inmates or detainees in the

custody or control of law enforcement agencies,

(8) licensed mental health professionals as defined

in Sections 1-103 and 5-502 of Title 43A of the

Oklahoma Statutes, who are conducting initial

examinations of individuals for the purpose of

determining whether an individual meets the

criteria for emergency detention as part of a

contract with the Department of Mental Health and

Substance Abuse Services, and
of law enforcement agencies,

(8) licensed mental health professionals as defined

in Sections 1-103 and 5-502 of Title 43A of the

Oklahoma Statutes, who are conducting initial

examinations of individuals for the purpose of

determining whether an individual meets the

criteria for emergency detention as part of a

contract with the Department of Mental Health and

Substance Abuse Services, and

(9) licensed mental health professionals as defined

in Sections 1-103 and 5-502 of Title 43A of the

Oklahoma Statutes, who are providing mental

health or substance abuse treatment services

under a professional services contract with the

Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Services and are providing such treatment

services at a state-operated facility.

Physician faculty members and physician staff of the

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the

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Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic

Medicine, or a public trust created pursuant to

Section 3224 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes and

any sole member not-for-profit corporation of the

public trust and any sole member not-for-profit

subsidiary of such corporation not acting in an

administrative capacity or engaged in teaching duties

are not employees or agents of the state.

c. For the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,

employee shall include independent contractors and

employees of independent contractors while actively

engaged in the transport of individuals in need of

initial assessment, emergency detention, or protective

custody as authorized by Section 1-110 of Title 43A of

the Oklahoma Statutes.

d. Except as provided in subparagraph b of this

paragraph, in no event shall the state be held liable

for the tortious conduct of any physician, resident

physician or intern while practicing medicine or

providing medical treatment to patients.

e. For purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,

members of the state military forces on state active

duty orders or on Title 32 active duty orders are

employees of this state, regardless of the place,

within or outside this state, where their duties as

employees are performed;

8. “Loss” means death or injury to the body or rights of a

person or damage to real or personal property or rights therein;

9. “Medically indigent” means a person requiring medically

necessary hospital or other health care services for the person or

the dependents of the person who has no public or private third-

party coverage, and whose personal resources are insufficient to

provide for needed health care;

10. “Municipality” means any incorporated city or town, and all

institutions, agencies or instrumentalities of a municipality;

11. “Occurrence” means a loss arising out of an accident or

event or a continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same

general harmful conditions. All losses arising out of an accident

or event or a continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the

same general harmful conditions shall be deemed to have arisen out

of one occurrence;

12. “Political subdivision” means:

a. a municipality,

b. a school district, including, but not limited to, a

technology center school district established pursuant

to Section 4410, 4411, 4420 or 4420.1 of Title 70 of

the Oklahoma Statutes, or a public library as defined

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pursuant to Section 1-104 of Title 65 of the Oklahoma

Statutes,

c. a county,

d. a public trust where the sole beneficiary or

beneficiaries are a city, town, school district or

county. For purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims

Act, a public trust shall include:
0 or 4420.1 of Title 70 of

the Oklahoma Statutes, or a public library as defined

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pursuant to Section 1-104 of Title 65 of the Oklahoma

Statutes,

c. a county,

d. a public trust where the sole beneficiary or

beneficiaries are a city, town, school district or

county. For purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims

Act, a public trust shall include:

(1) a municipal hospital created pursuant to Sections

30-101 through 30-109 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma

Statutes, a county hospital created pursuant to

Sections 781 through 796 of Title 19 of the

Oklahoma Statutes, or is created pursuant to a

joint agreement between such governing

authorities, that is operated for the public

benefit by a public trust created pursuant to

Sections 176 through 180.4 of Title 60 of the

Oklahoma Statutes and managed by a governing

board appointed or elected by the municipality,

county, or both, who exercises control of the

hospital, subject to the approval of the

governing body of the municipality, county, or

both,

(2) a public trust created pursuant to Sections 176

through 180.4 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma

Statutes after January 1, 2009, the primary

purpose of which is to own, manage, or operate a

public acute care hospital in this state that

serves as a teaching hospital for a medical

residency program provided by a college of

osteopathic medicine and provides care to

indigent persons, and

(3) a corporation in which all of the capital stock

is owned, or a limited liability company in which

all of the member interest is owned, by a public

trust,

e. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act

only, a housing authority created pursuant to the

provisions of the Oklahoma Housing Authorities Act,

f. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act

only, corporations organized not for profit pursuant

to the provisions of the Oklahoma General Corporation

Act for the primary purpose of developing and

providing rural water supply and sewage disposal

facilities to serve rural residents,

g. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act

only, districts formed pursuant to the Rural Water,

Sewer, Gas and Solid Waste Management Districts Act,

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h. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act

only, master conservancy districts formed pursuant to

the Conservancy Act of Oklahoma,

i. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act

only, a fire protection district created pursuant to

the provisions of Section 901.1 et seq. of Title 19 of

the Oklahoma Statutes,

j. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act

only, a benevolent or charitable corporate volunteer

or full-time fire department for an unincorporated

area created pursuant to the provisions of Section 592

et seq. of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

k. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

an emergency services provider rendering services

pursuant to an existing contract between the emergency

services provider and the State Department of Health.

Provided, however, that the acquisition of commercial

liability insurance covering the activities of such

emergency services provider performed within this

state shall not operate as a waiver of any of the

limitations, immunities or defenses provided for

political subdivisions pursuant to the terms of The

Governmental Tort Claims Act,

l. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

a conservation district created pursuant to the

provisions of the Conservation District Act,

m. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,

districts formed pursuant to the Oklahoma Irrigation

District Act,

n. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

any community action agency established pursuant to

Sections 5035 through 5040.1 of Title 74 of the

Oklahoma Statutes,

o. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
ons of the Conservation District Act,

m. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,

districts formed pursuant to the Oklahoma Irrigation

District Act,

n. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

any community action agency established pursuant to

Sections 5035 through 5040.1 of Title 74 of the

Oklahoma Statutes,

o. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

any organization that is designated as a youth

services agency, pursuant to Section 2-7-306 of Title

10A of the Oklahoma Statutes,

p. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

any judge presiding over a drug court, as defined by

Section 471.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

q. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

any child-placing agency licensed by this state to

place children in foster family homes,

r. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

a circuit engineering district created pursuant to

Section 687.1 of Title 69 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

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s. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

a substate planning district, regional council of

government or other entity created pursuant to Section

1001 et seq. of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and

t. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,

a regional transportation authority created pursuant

to Section 1370.7 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes

including its contract operator and any railroad

operating in interstate commerce that sells a property

interest or provides services to a regional

transportation authority or allows the authority to

use the property or tracks of the railroad for the

provision of public passenger rail service to the

extent claims against the contract operator or

railroad arise out of or are related to or in

connection with such property interest, services or

operation of the public passenger rail service.

Provided, the acquisition of commercial liability

insurance to cover the activities of the regional

transportation authority, contract operator or

railroad shall not operate as a waiver of any

liabilities, immunities or defenses provided pursuant

to the provisions of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,

and all their institutions, instrumentalities or agencies;

13. “Scope of employment” means performance by an employee

acting in good faith within the duties of the employee’s office or

employment or of tasks lawfully assigned by a competent authority

including the operation or use of an agency vehicle or equipment

with actual or implied consent of the supervisor of the employee,

but shall not include corruption or fraud;

14. “State” means the State of Oklahoma or any office,

department, agency, authority, commission, board, institution,

hospital, college, university, public trust created pursuant to

Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes of which the State of Oklahoma is

the beneficiary, or other instrumentality thereof;

15. “State active duty” shall be defined in accordance with

Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

16. “State military forces” shall be defined in accordance with

Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

17. “Title 32 active duty” shall be defined in accordance with

Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and

18. “Tort” means a legal wrong, independent of contract,

involving violation of a duty imposed by general law, statute, the

Oklahoma Constitution, or otherwise, resulting in a loss to any

person, association or corporation as the proximate result of an act

or omission of a political subdivision or the state or an employee

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acting within the scope of employment; provided, however, a tort

shall not include a claim for inverse condemnation.