Oklahoma § 76-91 - Legislative findings

§ 76-91. Legislative findings

A. FINDINGS. The Legislature finds that:

1. Asbestos is a mineral that was widely used prior to the

1980s for insulation, fire-proofing, and other purposes;

2. Millions of American workers and others were exposed to

asbestos, especially during and after World War II, prior to the

advent of regulation by the United States Occupational Safety and

Health Administration in the early 1970s;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 76. Torts

3. Exposure to asbestos is associated with various types of

cancer, including mesothelioma, as well as nonmalignant conditions

such as asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening;

4. Diseases caused by asbestos exposure often have long latency

periods;

5. While the cases currently filed in Oklahoma are manageable

by the courts and the litigants, it is proper for the Legislature to

support and protect the courts of this state from the potential of

massive litigation expense and the crowding of trial dockets;

6. Silica is a naturally occurring mineral and is the second

most common constituent of the earth's crust. Crystalline silica in

the form of quartz is present in sand, gravel, soil, and rocks;

7. Silica-related illnesses, including silicosis, can develop

from the inhalation of respirable silica dust. Silicosis was widely

recognized as an occupational disease many years ago;

8. Concerns about statutes of limitations may prompt unimpaired

asbestos and silica claimants to bring lawsuits to protect their

ability to recover for their potentially progressive occupational

disease; and

9. Several states, including Texas, Georgia, Ohio, and Florida

have enacted legislation setting medical criteria governing asbestos

and silica cases and tolling statutes of limitations and requiring

persons alleging nonmalignant disease claims to demonstrate physical

impairment as a prerequisite to setting such cases for trial.

B. The purpose of this chapter is to:

1. Provide a procedural remedy allowing efficient judicial

supervision and control of asbestos and silica litigation by giving

priority for the purposes of trial and resolution to asbestos and

silica claimants with demonstrable physical impairment caused by

exposure to asbestos or silica; and

2. Preserve the legal rights of claimants who were exposed to

asbestos or silica, but have no physical impairment from asbestos or

silica exposure, until such time as the claimant can demonstrate

physical impairment.

Added by Laws 2013, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 21, § 3, emerg. eff. Sept. 10,

2013.

NOTE: Text formerly resided under repealed Title 76, § 61, which

was derived from Laws 2009, c. 228, § 55, which was held

unconstitutional by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the case of

Douglas v. Cox Retirement Properties, Inc., 2013 OK 37, 302 P.2d 789

(Okla. 2013).