Oklahoma's rule: barred only when you exceed the other side
Under 23 O.S. § 13, contributory negligence does not bar recovery unless the injured person's negligence is of a greater degree than the negligence of the person, firm, or corporation causing the damage, or the combined negligence of all such persons. Damages are reduced in proportion to the claimant's own degree of fault — but only once that fault actually exceeds 50% does recovery get barred entirely.
Worked example
Someone with $100,000 in damages, found 49% at fault, recovers $51,000. That same person, found exactly 50% at fault instead, still recovers $50,000. Found at 51%, that same person recovers nothing at all.
A genuinely major story: no cap on pain and suffering
Here's where Oklahoma stands apart from many states. In Beason v. I.E. Miller Services (2019), the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down the state's $350,000 statutory cap on noneconomic damages (pain and suffering) as unconstitutional. The court held the cap was an impermissible "special law" because it limited recovery for plaintiffs who survived their injuries, while the Oklahoma Constitution explicitly prohibits any limit on damages for injuries that result in death — treating two groups with substantially similar injury mechanisms differently. See our full guide to how fault and damages work together in Oklahoma for more on this.
No joint and several liability
Oklahoma abolished joint and several liability effective November 1, 2011, under 23 O.S. § 15. A defendant is now generally responsible only for their own proportional share of fault, rather than potentially being on the hook for a co-defendant's share as well.