A. All required filings pertaining to any case shall be sent to the Workers' Compensation Court Administrator, 1915 North Stiles Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105. After the case has been assigned, correspondence may be addressed to the assigned trial judge.
B. Parties, attorneys, mediators, case managers, vocational rehabilitation evaluators, witnesses and medical providers shall have no ex parte communications with the assigned trial judge regarding the merits of a specific matter pending before the assigned judge of the Workers' Compensation Court.
C. 1. Direct or indirect ex parte communications with court appointed professionals regarding specific cases or claimants are prohibited except as provided in this subsection.
2. For purposes of this subsection, “court appointed professionals” means independent medical examiners, vocational rehabilitation counselors, case managers, and others who have been appointed by the Court to provide services or treatment to the claimant. The term also includes the office staff of the professional and any physician who accepts a referral from a court appointed professional for treatment or evaluation of the claimant when such referral is authorized by the Court. The term excludes a Form A physician selected pursuant to 85 O.S., Section 336(E).
3. Permitted communications are the following:
a. Joint letter of the parties requesting information or opinions from the court appointed professional after approval by the assigned judge.
b. Communication with the staff of a court-appointed independent medical examiner to schedule or verify an appointment, or to authorize diagnostic testing, treatment or surgery.
c. Communications with a court appointed case manager concerning light duty issues consistent with the physician's restrictions.
d. Any communication between the claimant and the court appointed professional necessary to complete the claimant's treatment, testing or evaluation.
e. Communication between court appointed professionals.
4. Failure to comply with this subsection may, in the discretion of the assigned judge, result in imposition of costs, citation for contempt of court, or sanctions against the offending party.
5. This subsection applies to the attorneys, agents, and employees of the parties and anyone acting on their behalf.
6. Instances of prohibited communications with a court appointed professional shall be communicated by the court appointed professional to the assigned judge and all counsel, in writing.
Credits
Adopted July 12, 1990, effective November 1, 1990. Amended June 22, 1995, effective July 1, 1995; September 29, 1997, effective November 1, 1997; February 22, 2000, effective April 15, 2000; January 22, 2002, effective March 1, 2002. Corrected effective February 6, 2002. Amended effective January 30, 2006; February 7, 2008; March 6, 2012.
Workers' Compensation Rule 6, 85 O. S. A. Ch. 4, App., OK ST WORK COMP Rule 6
Current with amendments received through April 15, 2024. Some rules may be more current, see credits for details.
