Oklahoma City Workers' Compensation Lawyers
If you have been hurt or injured on the job, you could be entitled to compensation for your injury.
Whether you have taken a fall resulting in injury, hit your head and required medical attention, or received another type of injury, you need to file for workers’ compensation.
Contact AP Injury Lawyers (Austin S. Pieratt Esq.) in Oklahoma City, OK to build your workers’ compensation case today.
Somebody handed you a form, sent you to a doctor you did not choose, and started talking about your shoulder in terms of weeks of benefits. It is a system, and it is not designed around you.
Here is the part that changes outcomes and that almost nobody explains. Our Oklahoma City workers’ compensation lawyers look at every work injury for two claims, not one. Comp benefits come from your employer’s insurer. A second claim may exist against somebody outside your workplace who caused the injury, and that claim can pay for things comp never pays for.
AP Injury Lawyers is at 2248 NW 40th Street in Oklahoma City, a few miles from the Workers’ Compensation Commission offices on North Stiles Avenue.
Call (405) 336-3000 and describe how you got hurt. Whether a second claim exists is usually clear within a few minutes, and the call costs nothing.
Can You Sue Your Employer in Oklahoma?
Almost never. Oklahoma law makes workers’ compensation the exclusive remedy against your employer, which means comp benefits replace the right to sue your employer in court for a workplace injury. That trade is the foundation of the whole system: you get benefits without proving anyone was careless, and you give up the lawsuit.
There are two narrow statutory exceptions:
- The employer failed to carry the workers’ compensation coverage the law requires.
- The injury resulted from an intentional tort by the employer.
Do not read too much into that second one. The statutory standard is demanding, and Oklahoma courts have gone back and forth on exactly how demanding, so an employer being reckless, cutting corners on safety, or ignoring a complaint does not on its own get you into district court.
There is also a rule that catches people who guess wrong. Oklahoma follows an election of forum principle: an injured worker may proceed before the Commission or in district court, but not both. Choosing badly at the start can cost the other option. That is a decision to make with advice rather than by filing whatever form arrives first.
Important: none of this restricts a claim against someone who is not your employer. That is the next section, and it is the reason to keep reading.
The Claim Nobody Tells You About
Oklahoma law expressly preserves your right to sue a third party. The statute says that making a workers’ compensation claim “shall not affect the right of the employee, or his or her dependents, to make a claim or maintain an action in court against any third party for the injury.”
So who is a third party? Anyone at fault who is not your employer:
- The driver who hit your work truck
- The manufacturer of the machine that failed
- A subcontractor or another trade on the same job site
- The property owner where you were working
- A negligent maintenance company
Why this matters more than anything else on this page:
Workers’ compensation pays | A third party claim can also pay |
A percentage of lost wages, subject to caps | Full lost earnings and lost earning capacity |
Authorized medical treatment | Medical treatment |
A scheduled amount for permanent impairment | Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life |
Nothing for pain and suffering | Punitive damages, where the conduct supports them |
Nothing to a spouse for loss of companionship | Loss of consortium claims |
Oklahoma workers’ compensation pays no money for pain and suffering. That is the design of the statute rather than an oversight, and the Act goes further: it directs that complaints of pain are not to be considered by a physician, an administrative law judge, the Commission, or the courts. No amount of arguing with an adjuster changes it. A third party negligence claim is the only route to those damages.
Your employer’s insurer does get reimbursed out of a third party recovery, and Oklahoma caps that. After costs of collection come off, the employer or carrier receives two-thirds of the remainder or the amount of what they paid, whichever is less. So even where the comp lien is very large, you keep at least a third of the net.
If your injury involved a vehicle, a machine, or anyone from another company, call (405) 336-3000 before you settle the comp claim.
How Long Do You Have to Report and File?
Two separate clocks, and people confuse them constantly. Reporting to your employer is one deadline. Filing with the Commission is a different one.
Reporting. Tell your employer within 30 days, in writing if you can. Oklahoma law does not automatically kill a late-reported claim, but it creates a rebuttable presumption that the injury was not work-related, and you then have to overcome that presumption with evidence. That is a fight you would rather not start with.
Injuries that build up over time follow a different rule. For an occupational disease or cumulative trauma, written notice goes to the employer within six months after the first distinct manifestation.
Filing with the Commission. A claim is barred unless it is filed within one year of the date of injury, or within six months from the date benefits were last paid if you have been receiving them. Occupational disease claims run two years from the last injurious exposure, and death claims run two years from the date of death.
The filing document is CC-Form-3, the Employee’s First Notice of Claim for Compensation, available from the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission. It is filed with the Commission at 1915 North Stiles Avenue in Oklahoma City.
One threshold point: all of this applies to injuries occurring on or after February 1, 2014, when Oklahoma moved from a workers’ compensation court to the current administrative commission. Older injuries run under the previous system.
Who Picks Your Doctor?
Your employer does, in most cases. Oklahoma law gives the employer the right to choose the treating physician or chiropractor, which is why you were sent somewhere rather than asked where you wanted to go.
There is a real exception worth knowing. If the employer fails to provide medical care within five days of learning about your injury, you may select your own physician at the employer’s expense. Document when you reported the injury and to whom, because that date is what starts the five days.
A few practical notes on treatment:
- Treatment decisions are measured against published treatment guidelines, so a denial is often a guideline argument rather than a medical one.
- If your employer uses a certified workplace medical plan, the plan’s network governs who you can see.
- Independent medical examiners exist to resolve medical disputes between the parties.
If you feel the assigned doctor is minimizing what is wrong with you, that is a common complaint and there are procedural ways to address it. Refusing to attend appointments is not one of them.
What Does Oklahoma Workers' Comp Actually Pay?
Wage replacement and medical care, calculated by formula rather than by what your injury cost you. The main categories:
Temporary total disability, while you cannot work at all, pays 70 percent of your average weekly wage, capped at the state average weekly wage, for up to 156 weeks. An additional period can be allowed where a consequential injury requires more time to reach maximum medical improvement. The first three days are not paid.
Temporary partial disability, while you are working reduced or alternative duty, pays 70 percent of the difference between your old wage and what you are earning now, for up to 52 weeks.
Permanent partial disability compensates lasting impairment at 70 percent of your average weekly wage, subject to a flat weekly dollar cap set by statute and to limits on total weeks. Because that cap is a dollar figure that the legislature adjusts, ask what the current rate is rather than relying on a number you read somewhere.
Permanent total disability, where you cannot return to any gainful employment, pays 70 percent of average weekly wages up to the state average, continuing until you reach maximum Social Security retirement age or for 15 years, whichever is longer.
Vocational rehabilitation for retraining and job placement is available to workers eligible for permanent partial disability, for up to 52 weeks, with the insurer covering tuition, books, equipment, board, lodging, and travel in addition to weekly benefits.
Death benefits include funeral expenses and lump sum plus weekly payments to a surviving spouse and children.
Mental injury is compensable only when it was caused by a physical injury, with narrow exceptions for first responders, and it carries its own caps.
If Your Claim Gets Denied, the Clock Is Brutal
You have 10 days. That is the window to appeal an administrative law judge’s decision to the full Commission, and it is far shorter than any deadline elsewhere in Oklahoma injury law.
The path from there:
- Administrative law judge to the Commission sitting en banc: 10 days. The Commission may reverse or modify only if the decision was against the clear weight of the evidence or contrary to law.
- Commission to the Oklahoma Supreme Court: 20 days from when the decision is sent to the parties.
Miss either window and the decision stands, whatever its merits. If you have received a denial or an adverse ruling, the date on that document matters more than anything else in the file.
The Commission also runs a counselor program for injured workers who are not represented, and mediation is available. Those are real resources, and they are not a substitute for someone reviewing whether a third party claim was missed.
Being Fired for Filing a Claim Is Illegal in Oklahoma
An employer may not retaliate against you for filing a workers’ compensation claim in good faith, or for hiring a lawyer to handle one. That protection is written into the statute.
A retaliation claim is different from the comp claim in an important structural way: it is brought in district court rather than before the Commission. The statute provides for punitive damages subject to a cap, and allows the prevailing party to recover costs and attorney fees.
If you are being pushed out, given impossible duty assignments, or suddenly written up after years without discipline, save the documentation. Text messages, schedule changes, and write-ups are the evidence these cases are built on.
Separately, if the underlying issue is workplace safety rather than your individual injury, OSHA protects workers who report unsafe conditions, and its retaliation complaint window is only 30 days.
Working With This Firm
Austin S. Pieratt leads AP Injury Lawyers and earned his law degree at Oklahoma City University School of Law. On work injuries the firm’s first question is always whether a claim exists outside the comp system, because that is where the recovery difference usually is.
Several hundred Google reviews put the firm at a 5.0 rating. The phone is answered around the clock.
We do not handle medical malpractice, nursing home, construction defect, or product liability claims. Note that a defective machine claim arising from a work injury is a product case, so if that is what happened we will tell you and point you somewhere appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions
My employer says I am an independent contractor, so I have no claim. Is that right?
Not necessarily, and it is worth challenging. Oklahoma law prevents an employer from denying employment where it counted the worker in calculating its workers’ compensation insurance premiums. The statute also defines “employee” broadly with a specific list of exclusions, so being handed a 1099 does not by itself put you outside the system. Bring your pay records and any agreement you signed.an’s account because that person was being taken to a hospital. It is not admissible as a finding of fault, and it is regularly revised or contradicted by scene evidence, vehicle damage, and witness statements gathered later. Get a copy, read it for factual errors like the location or the direction you were walking, and do not treat it as the last word.
Can I still get benefits if the accident was my own fault?
Usually yes. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, which is the trade-off for giving up the right to sue your employer. Carelessness on your part does not generally defeat a claim the way it would in a negligence case. There are specific statutory defenses involving intoxication and horseplay, so a claim can still be contested, but “I caused it” is not the disqualifier people assume.
Do I have to give a recorded statement to the comp adjuster?
You have obligations to cooperate with the claim, but that is not the same as answering every question however it is framed. Recorded statements taken early are often used later to argue a pre-existing condition or a different mechanism of injury. Ask what the statement is for, and get advice before giving one if there is any chance a third party was involved.
Is there still an opt-out option for Oklahoma employers?
No. Oklahoma briefly allowed employers to opt out of the workers’ compensation system under a separate act, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck that down as an unconstitutional special law in 2016. The relevant statutes were later repealed outright. Every covered Oklahoma employer is now in the same system.
Ask One Question Before You Settle Anything
Was anyone outside your workplace involved in how you got hurt? A driver, another contractor, a property owner, a piece of equipment somebody else built or maintained?
If the answer is yes, or even maybe, there may be a second claim sitting next to your comp file, and it is the one that pays for what comp will not. Settling the comp claim without looking at that first is the mistake we see most.
Call or text AP Injury Lawyers at (405) 336-3000. 2248 NW 40th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. Available 24 hours.
Austin Pieratt Esq., Founder & Managing Attorney
Call For A Free Consultation.
Available 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week.
Oklahoma City Office
2248 NW 40th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Reviews From Our Clients
I always felt like they genuinely cared about me and my recovery, not just my case. They took great care of me from start to finish, and I never felt like I was going through everything alone. If you’ve been in a car accident and need someone you can trust to fight for you while treating you with kindness and respect, I highly recommend them.
From start to finish, working with Austin and his team was an exceptional experience. The entire process was smooth, organized, and stress-free. They handled everything, so we never had to wonder what was happening or what came next. Communication was 10/10 — we were always kept informed and any questions we had were answered promptly.
Most importantly, the outcome exceeded our expectations. We couldn’t be happier with the level of professionalism, responsiveness, and care we received. Highly recommend AP Injury Lawyers to anyone looking for a team that truly delivers.
Austin earned my trust and my case lending me a glimpse of insight to the culture he had created for his law firm. I signed that day, and eight days later he called me to say that the insurance company had agreed to pay policy max. I’m happy with Austin and his crew for doing what I alone had failed to do: bring timely acceptable closure to a tinder issue. I highly recommend APInjury Lawyers, because Austin is at the helm, and I trust him.
Humbly, David Strickland
Also, a great outcome! I worked directly with Tripp, who was kind, supportive, and knowledgeable throughout the entire process. He consistently checked in with me, explained everything clearly, and made sure I understood each step along the way.
I had never been in a situation like this before, and they truly made the process feel easy and stress-free. They handled everything and helped bring me peace of mind during a difficult time. I’m so grateful for their help and would absolutely recommend them to anyone needing an injury attorney.