Oklahoma Allows for a Bad Faith Cause of Action in Workers Compensation Cases
The Oklahoma Supreme Court approved a direct action for bad faith against the insurer for workers’ compensation benefits by the injured worker in Sizemore v. Continental Casualty Company, 2006 OK 36, 142 P.3d 47. The bad faith action is one that can only be brought in certain instances. The claimant must have received some type of an award from the workers’ compensation court or other order entered in favor of the claimant that has remained unpaid without valid cause or justification. There must have been a certification of the award under the enforcement provision of the Workers’ Compensation Act. One of the complaints often made by claimants against the workers’ compensation court as well as the insurers that provide indemnification for the benefits is the slow time in receiving payment. The Oklahoma Supreme Court noted that once an order is in place and all procedural safeguards have been previously met, there really is no justification for refusing to pay the order entered by the court. Although the opinion does not address the respect we should all have for lawful court orders, it appears to me there is a slight undertone in which the court is attempting to say the decisions of Oklahoma workers’ compensation judges should be honored, respected, and obeyed. Whether you favor or disfavor allowing a claimant to bring an independent action for bad faith based upon a workers’ compensation award that has not been paid, it is the present law in Oklahoma.
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