The Oklahoma Bar Journal November 2022

INTRODUCTION The Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act (OGTCA) represents the efforts of the Legislature to set public policy that seeks to balance the monetary strain on the public purse from allowable tort claims with when and what level of relief will be available to injured claimants when those injuries are sustained by negligent or tortious conduct of governmental employees. Originally, the Legislature enacted the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act of 1978, which laid out the structure for how claimants who were injured by the tortious conduct of governmental employees could seek relief in certain circum stances. That 1978 act was replaced in 1985 with the Governmental Tort Claims Act. Since 1978, there have been over 20 amendments to the Oklahoma Statutes governing this area of the law. This article will explore the history and parameters of this ongoing discussion between the courts and the Legislature.

the United States through the 11th Amendment. 2 This statement of the king’s infallibility was further interpreted under Oklahoma law by Justice Lavender in Vanderpool v. Oklahoma Historical Society , 3 in which it was stated, “It is not that the king can do no wrong, but more appro priately, even if the king does some thing wrong that harms another, he cannot be sued for his wrongdoing without his permission.” 4 In Oklahoma, a state with a strong populist history, this doc trine of governmental immunity

did not set so well and was under much review and criticism in the 1970s. Originally, the Legislature enacted the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act of 1978, which laid out the structure for how claimants who were injured by the tortious conduct of governmental employees could seek relief in certain circumstances. The Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act of 1978 allowed the government to be sued in certain circumstances but embodied much of early Oklahoma jurisprudence that recognized

BACKGROUND Though its origins can be traced to Old English law, the OGTCA concerns important areas of poten tial state, county and municipal liability today. In 1765, Sir William Blackstone, the most widely read author in Revolutionary America, wrote, “The king, moreover, is not only incapable of doing wrong, but of thinking wrong. He can never mean to do an improper thing.” 1 Today, Sir Blackstone’s idea is known as sovereign immunity and was made the law of the land in

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL