Oklahoma Supreme Court Kills One Jail Death Suit, 
Threatening Settlement of Another

In a case with enormous implications for Oklahoma jail detainees, the state Supreme Court ruled on March 11, 2025, that a jail’s subcontracted medical providers are “employees” for the purposes of the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act (GTCA), O.S.Supp.2014, §152(7)(b)(7), and are therefore immune from liability.

That ruling ended an …