Burgess v. Integris Health Edmond, Inc.

Summary

The court held that the Providers were immune from ordinary-negligence liability under Oklahoma's COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Limited Liability Act because their pandemic-related policies impacted Blake's treatment, leaving only gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct for the jury. It further held that the federal PREP Act did not apply because Blake's loss lacked the required causal relationship to the administration or use of covered countermeasures, and that the state court retained jurisdiction over those issues without requiring administrative exhaustion. The court upheld the directed verdict rejecting intervening or supervening causation, declined to reach the unused gross-negligence jury-instruction issue, and reversed and remanded for a new trial.