§ 76-92. Definitions.

DEFINITIONS.  As used in the Asbestos and Silica Claims Priorities Act:

1.  "Asbestos" means all minerals defined as "asbestos" in 29 CFR 1910, as and if amended;

2.  "Asbestos claim" means any claim for damages or other civil or equitable relief presented in a civil action, arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos, including loss of consortium and any other derivative claim made by or on behalf of any exposed person or any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of any exposed person;

3.  "Asbestos-related injury" means personal injury or death allegedly caused, in whole or in part, by inhalation or ingestion of asbestos;

4.  "Asbestosis" means bilateral interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers;

5.  "Certified B-reader" means a person who has successfully completed the x-ray interpretation course sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and passed the B-reader certification examination for x-ray interpretation and whose NIOSH certification is current at the time of any readings required by this chapter;

6.  "Chest x-ray" means chest films that are taken in accordance with accepted medical standards in effect at the time the x-ray was taken;

7.  "Claimant" means an exposed person and any person who is seeking recovery of damages for or arising from the injury or death of an exposed person;

8.  "Defendant" means a person against whom a claim arising from an asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury is made;

9.  "Exposed person" means a person who is alleged to have suffered an asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury;

10.  "FEV1" means forced expiratory volume in the first second, which is the maximal volume of air expelled in one second during performance of simple spirometric tests;

11.  "FVC" means forced vital capacity, which is the maximal volume of air expired with maximum effort from a position of full inspiration;

12.  "ILO system of classification" means the radiological rating system of the International Labor Office in "Guidelines for the Use of ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses", 2000 edition, as amended from time to time by the International Labor Office;

13.  "Mesothelioma" means a rare form of cancer allegedly caused in some instances by exposure to asbestos in which the cancer invades cells in the membrane lining of the:

a.lungs and chest cavity (the pleural region),

b.abdominal cavity (the peritoneal region), or

c.heart (the pericardial region);

14.  "Nonmalignant asbestos-related injury" means an asbestos-related injury other than mesothelioma or other asbestos-related malignancy;

15.  "Physician board-certified in internal medicine" means a physician who is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine or corresponding board for doctors of osteopathy;

16.  "Physician board-certified in occupational medicine" means a physician who is certified in the subspecialty of occupational medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine or corresponding board for doctors of osteopathy;

17.  "Physician board-certified in oncology" means a physician who is certified in the subspecialty of medical oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine or corresponding board for doctors of osteopathy;

18.  "Physician board-certified in pathology" means a physician who holds primary certification in anatomic pathology or clinical pathology from the American Board of Pathology or corresponding board for doctors of osteopathy and whose professional practice:

a.is principally in the field of pathology, and

b.involves regular evaluation of pathology materials obtained from surgical or postmortem specimens;

19.  "Physician board-certified in pulmonary medicine" means a physician who is certified in the subspecialty of pulmonary medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine or corresponding board for doctors of osteopathy;

20.  "Physician board-certified in radiology" means a physician who is certified by the American Board of Radiology or corresponding board for doctors of osteopathy;

21.  "Plethysmography" means the test for determining lung volume, also known as "body plethysmography", in which the subject of the test is enclosed in a chamber that is equipped to measure pressure, flow, or volume change;

22.  "Predicted lower limit of normal" for any test means the fifth percentile of healthy populations based on age, height, and gender, as referenced in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (5th Edition) (dated November 2000);

23.  "Pulmonary function testing" means spirometry and lung volume testing performed in accordance with Section 5 of this act using equipment, methods of calibration, and techniques that materially comply with:

a.the criteria incorporated in the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment and reported in 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1, Part (A), Sections 3.00(E) and (F)(2003), as amended from time to time by the American Medical Association, and

b.the interpretative standards in the Official Statement of the American Thoracic Society entitled "Lung Function Testing: Selection of Reference Values and Interpretative Strategies", as published in 144 American Review of Respiratory Disease 1202-1218 (1991), as amended from time to time by the American Thoracic Society;

24.  "Radiological evidence" of asbestosis or pleural thickening means a chest x-ray evaluated by a certified B-reader, a radiologist, a physician board-certified in pulmonary medicine, occupational medicine, internal medicine, oncology, or pathology using the ILO System of classification.  The chest x-ray shall be a quality 1 x-ray according to that ILO System, although if the certified B-reader, board-certified pulmonologist, or board-certified radiologist confirms that a quality 2 x-ray film is of sufficient quality to render an accurate reading under the ILO System of classification and no quality 1 x-ray films are available, then the necessary radiologic findings may be made with the quality 2 x-ray film which is the subject of the confirmation above.  Also, in a death case where no pathology is available, the necessary radiologic findings may be made with a quality 2 x-ray film if a quality 1 x-ray film is not available;

25.  "Report" means a report required by Sections 6 or 7 of this act;

26.  "Respirable" with respect to silica, means particles that are less than ten (10) microns in diameter;

27.  "Serve" means to serve notice on a party in compliance with the Oklahoma Rules of Civil Procedure;

28.  "Silica" means a naturally occurring, respirable form of crystalline silicon dioxide, including quartz, cristobalite, and tridymite;

29.  "Silica claim" means any claim for damages or other civil or equitable relief presented in a civil action, arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to silica, including loss of consortium and any other derivative claim made by or on behalf of any exposed person or any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of any exposed person;

30.  "Silica-related injury" means personal injury or death allegedly caused, in whole or in part, by inhalation of silica; and

31.  "Silicosis" means fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhalation of silica, including:

a.acute silicosis, which may occur after exposure to very high levels of silica within a period of months to five (5) years after the initial exposure,

b.accelerated silicosis, and

c.chronic silicosis.

Added by Laws 2013, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 21, § 4, emerg. eff. Sept. 10, 2013.

Note

NOTE:  Text formerly resided under repealed Title 76, § 62, which was derived from Laws 2009, c. 228, § 56, 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).