Oklahoma Tea Party Group Blasts Oklahoma State Senator for Tort Immunity Bills

A local tea party group called Oklahomans for Liberty has gone on the offensive against State Chamber charlatan State Senator Anthony Sykes and the Oklahoma Republican Establishment. As a conservative trial lawyer, this warms my heart to finally see constitutionalists standing up against the tyrannical State Chamber which seems to be pulling the strings of the Oklahoma Republican leadership.

Oklahomans for Liberty have an article entitled “’Conservative’ Senator Sykes Wants to Punish Personal Responsibility An Explanation of Collateral Source.”Instead of summarizing the article, I wanted to repost it on here so are readers can see the corporate welfare being played out at the Oklahoma State capitol.

I’m not a legal scholar. Heck, if you would have asked me a few months ago that I would be writing articles explaining complicated legalese, I would have laughed in your face.

But my journey into the ills of the State Chamber and the GOP leadership they control with thousands in campaign contributions made me reexamine my views in what it means to be a Constitutional Conservative.

If you haven’t read my article about Sen. Sykes’ legislative attempt to destroy our 7th Amendment rights, in SB 863, please click here.

However, when investigating that bill, I came upon an even more egregious bill that goes against everything it means to be a conservative.

Personally, I am a registered Republican. I chose the GOP because one of its core tenets is personal responsibility. Many Republicans disagree on a litany of issues, but “personal responsibility” is a universally agreed upon position.

So please tell me why Sen. Anthony Sykes, a registered Republican and professed conservative, authored SB 864, a bill that punishes people for carrying health, life, and auto insurance?

How you ask does it do that? Collateral Source. Bare with me here, but I will try to explain what this legal concept means.

You win a lawsuit for $250,000 against the doctor who botched your kid’s surgery that led to the death of your child. However, instead of being paid the full $250,000, you only get $50,000. Why? Because you had the foresight to get a $200,000 life insurance policy on your kid.

Basically, collateral source means any monies you receive in relation to the lawsuit must be counted against the final award. So, the auto, health, and life insurance that YOU pay into every month would be discounted from the final reward.

Disgusted yet? Just wait… Any SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE OR MEDICAID payments would be counted as well. So now your TAX DOLLARS would be counted on as source to pay out judgments.

OK, let’s recap. The doctor whose mistake led to the death your kid now gets to pay less in damages because you took the time and money to buy life insurance. And if you were on Medicare, he gets to let the government pay for part of his damages as well.

Yet despite this bill being everything conservative Republicans stand against, Senator Sykes, with the help of Pro-Tem Bingman was able to pass SB 864 out of committee.

We can’t let this bill become law either! We as conservative MUST take a stand and tell our Senators NO to SB 864 as well as SB 863.

Please call your Senator today and tell them that collateral source is NOT a conservative value. Click here to find the phone number of your State Senator.

And please call Senator Sykes at (405) 521-5569 and ask him why he is punishing personal responsibility by authoring SB 864.

Sincerely,

David Tackett
Oklahomans For Liberty