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Okla. Stat. tit. 85A, § 85A-65

This is the official text of Okla. Stat. tit. 85A, § 85A-65, part of Oklahoma’s Stat. tit. 85A, — part of the compiled statutory law of Oklahoma, published by the state as "Stat. tit. 85A,." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Occupational disease

Official statutory text

A. If an employee suffers from an occupational disease as

defined in this section and is disabled or dies as a result of the

disease, the employee, or, in case of death, his or her dependents,

shall be entitled to compensation as if the disability or death were

caused by injury arising out of work activities within the scope of

employment, except as otherwise provided in this section.

B. No compensation shall be payable for an occupational disease

if the employee, at the time of entering into the employment of the

employer by whom the compensation would otherwise be payable,

falsely represented himself or herself in writing as not having

previously been disabled, laid off, or compensated in damages or

otherwise, because of the disease.

C. 1. If an occupational disease is aggravated by any other

disease or infirmity, not itself compensable, or if disability or

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 85A. Workers' Compensation Page 96

death from any other cause, not itself compensable, is aggravated,

prolonged, accelerated, or in any way contributed to by an

occupational disease, the compensation payable shall be reduced and

limited to the proportion only of the compensation that would be

payable if the occupational disease were the major cause of the

disability or death as the occupational disease, as a causative

factor, bears to all the causes of the disability or death.

2. The reduction in compensation is to be effected by reducing

the number of weekly or monthly payments or the amounts of the

payments, as under the circumstances of the particular case may be

for the best interest of the claimant.

D. 1. "Occupational disease", as used in this act, unless the

context otherwise requires, means any disease that results in

disability or death and arises out of and in the course of the

occupation or employment of the employee or naturally follows or

unavoidably results from an injury as that term is defined in this

act. A causal connection between the occupation or employment and

the occupational disease shall be established by a preponderance of

the evidence.

2. No compensation shall be payable for any contagious or

infectious disease unless contracted in the course and scope of

employment.

3. No compensation shall be payable for any ordinary disease of

life to which the general public is exposed.

E. 1. When compensation is payable for an occupational

disease, the employer in whose employment the employee was last

injuriously exposed to the hazards of the disease and the carrier,

if any, on the risk when the employee was last injuriously exposed

under the employer shall be liable.

2. The amount of the compensation shall be based on the average

weekly wage of the employee when last injuriously exposed under the

employer, and the notice of injury and claim for compensation shall

be given and made to that employer.

F. 1. An employer shall not be liable for any compensation for

an occupational disease unless:

a. the disease is due to the nature of an employment in

which the hazards of the disease actually exist and is

actually incurred in the course and scope of his or

her employment. This includes any disease due to or

attributable to exposure to or contact with any

radioactive material by an employee in the course and

scope of his or her employment,

b. disablement or death results within three (3) years in

case of silicosis or asbestosis, or one (1) year in

case of any other occupational disease, except a

diseased condition caused by exposure to X-rays,

radioactive substances, or ionizing radiation, after

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 85A. Workers' Compensation Page 97

the last injurious exposure to the disease in the

employment, or

c. in case of death, death follows continuous disability

from the disease, commencing within the period, for

which compensation has been paid or awarded or timely

claim made as provided in subparagraph b of this
,

radioactive substances, or ionizing radiation, after

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 85A. Workers' Compensation Page 97

the last injurious exposure to the disease in the

employment, or

c. in case of death, death follows continuous disability

from the disease, commencing within the period, for

which compensation has been paid or awarded or timely

claim made as provided in subparagraph b of this

paragraph and results within seven (7) years after the

last exposure.

2. However, in case of a diseased condition caused by exposure

to X-rays, radioactive substances, or ionizing radiation only, the

limitations expressed do not apply.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.