Early Expert Review
A general affidavit is not required with the petition, but qualified medical review is usually necessary to evaluate the standard of care and causation before filing.
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When doctors, hospitals, and nurses fail to meet the standard of care, patients suffer devastating injuries. LHL's trial lawyers have the medical knowledge and courtroom skill to hold healthcare providers accountable.
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Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the accepted standard of care, causing injury to a patient. In Oklahoma, proving medical malpractice requires showing four elements: a doctor-patient relationship existed, the provider breached the standard of care, the breach caused your injury, and you suffered damages as a result. These cases are among the most expensive and technically demanding in all of civil litigation. They require expert medical testimony, extensive document review, and the ability to explain complex medicine in terms a jury can understand. Our attorneys have the resources, the medical knowledge, and the trial experience to take on hospitals and their insurance companies.
Oklahoma does not currently require a medical-malpractice petition to include a general affidavit of merit. The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down 12 O.S. § 19.1 in John v. Saint Francis Hospital, 2017 OK 81, and the older provision in 63 O.S. § 1-1708.1E has been repealed. Expert medical review is still usually essential to determine the standard of care, breach, and causation before filing. Oklahoma also has no general 90-day pre-suit notice requirement for an ordinary medical-malpractice action. Under 76 O.S. § 18, the claim generally must be filed within two years after the patient knew or should have known, through reasonable diligence, of the death, injury, or condition at issue. Different rules can apply to minors and people under legal disability.
Medical malpractice cases usually require testimony from qualified physicians about the standard of care and causation. Depending on the injury, the damages evidence may also require a life-care planner, vocational expert, or economist. We obtain the medical records, consult appropriate specialists, and prepare the expert testimony and other evidence for settlement discussions or trial.
Trial Team Availability: Our core litigation attorneys are available across every personal-injury and civil-rights practice area.
Important Issues
These facts often affect responsibility, available damages, and whether the case can be resolved without trial.
A general affidavit is not required with the petition, but qualified medical review is usually necessary to evaluate the standard of care and causation before filing.
We retain board-certified physicians in the relevant specialty to review your medical records, identify the deviation from standard of care, and testify at deposition and trial.
Malpractice injuries often require lifelong medical care. We hire life-care planners to project decades of future treatment costs so your settlement covers the real price.
Under 76 O.S. § 18, the two-year period generally runs from when the patient knew or should have known, through reasonable diligence, of the death, injury, or condition at issue.
Case Types
These are common medical malpractice scenarios where early investigation and preserved records can matter.
Wrong-site surgery, retained instruments, and anesthesia complications fall below the standard of care.
Learn about Surgical Errors →Delayed or incorrect diagnosis allows treatable conditions to progress to irreversible stages.
Learn about Misdiagnosis →Oxygen deprivation, excessive force, and failure to perform timely C-sections cause lifelong neurological damage.
Learn about Birth Injuries →Wrong drug, wrong dose, and dangerous interaction errors involve pharmacy, prescriber, and nursing accountability.
Learn about Medication Errors →Systemic failures in staffing, infection control, and patient monitoring create institutional liability.
Learn about Hospital Negligence →Bedsores, falls, malnutrition, and medication mismanagement signal chronic understaffing and supervisory failures.
Learn about Nursing Home Neglect →Speak with a medical malpractice attorney today
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Oklahoma medical malpractice questions on deadlines, proof, insurance tactics, and next steps. Tap a question to expand.
No general affidavit-of-merit requirement is currently in force. The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down 12 O.S. § 19.1 in John v. Saint Francis Hospital, 2017 OK 81, and the older provision in 63 O.S. § 1-1708.1E has been repealed. Expert testimony is still often needed to prove the standard of care, breach, and causation.
Under 76 O.S. § 18, the general period is two years from when the patient knew or should have known, through reasonable diligence, of the death, injury, or condition complained of. Special rules apply to minors and people under legal disability. Oklahoma does not impose a general 90-day pre-suit notice requirement for an ordinary medical-malpractice claim.
Not every bad outcome is malpractice. Medical malpractice requires proof that the provider deviated from the accepted standard of care — meaning they failed to do what a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would have done under similar circumstances — and that deviation caused your injury.
For bodily injuries occurring on or after September 1, 2025, 23 O.S. § 61.3 leaves economic damages uncapped but generally limits noneconomic damages to $500,000. The statute provides higher or no limits for specified severe injuries and specified misconduct. Punitive damages are governed separately by the three categories and required findings in 23 O.S. § 9.1.
Medical malpractice cases can be expensive because they require expert witnesses, medical-record review, and substantial preparation. LHL generally handles accepted medical malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis, so the attorney fee is paid from a recovery rather than upfront. Responsibility for case expenses and all other terms are set by the written fee agreement.
Common examples include surgical errors (wrong-site surgery, retained surgical instruments), misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, medication errors, anesthesia mistakes, birth injuries from improper delivery management, and failure to follow up on abnormal test results. Any deviation from the standard of care that causes injury is potentially actionable.
Attorney Team
Connect with our full trial team handling personal-injury and civil-rights matters across Oklahoma.
Managing Partner available for medical malpractice and related serious litigation.
View Chris Hammons profile →Next Steps
Choose the path that best matches your situation and timing.
Local court and service information for medical malpractice claims in Oklahoma City.
Get Oklahoma City Medical Malpractice guidance →Local court and service information for medical malpractice claims in Norman.
Get Norman Medical Malpractice guidance →Local court and service information for medical malpractice claims in Edmond.
Get Edmond Medical Malpractice guidance →Local court and service information for medical malpractice claims in Moore.
Get Moore Medical Malpractice guidance →Local court and service information for medical malpractice claims in Midwest City.
Get Midwest City Medical Malpractice guidance →Local court and service information for medical malpractice claims in Del City.
Get Del City Medical Malpractice guidance →A plain-language guide to settlement timing, recoverable damages, and the evidence used to evaluate an Oklahoma injury claim.
Open Oklahoma Personal Injury Settlement Guide →Step-by-step actions to protect health, preserve evidence, and avoid avoidable claim-value mistakes after an Oklahoma motor vehicle accident.
Open What To Do After an Accident in Oklahoma →Key filing deadlines by claim type, including injury, wrongful death, government claims, and specialized actions — with Oklahoma-specific statute citations.
Open Oklahoma Statute of Limitations Guide →Oklahoma does not require a general affidavit of merit with the petition, but qualified medical review remains central to evaluating breach and causation.
Read Medical Expert Review in Oklahoma Malpractice Cases: What It Means →Read legal articles related to medical malpractice cases.
Learn about Medical Malpractice Insights →Speak with Laird Hammons Laird for a free case review. We will discuss who may be responsible, the available damages, and the next legal step.