Settlement Reached in Oklahoma Earthquake Injury Lawsuit

A settlement has been reached between two Oklahoma oil and natural gas companies and a woman injured in a 2011 earthquake.

Prague resident Sandra Ladra filed the lawsuit in 2014 against New Dominion LLC, Spess Oil Co. and 25 other unnamed companies, The Oklahoman reported.

The lawsuit alleges the companies are liable because they operated wastewater disposal wells that triggered the largest earthquake in state history, a 5.7-magnitude temblor in 2011. Ladra said the quake crumbled her fireplace, causing rocks to fall on her knee.

The companies tried to get the lawsuit dismissed, saying Ladra waited too long to file it.

Lincoln County District Court Judge Cynthia Ferrell Ashwood dismissed the case in October 2014, saying the district court does not have jurisdiction and that the case should instead be handled by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. But the Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed that decision in June 2015 and sent the case back to district court.

Court records show the case was dismissed this month when Ladra reached a settlement with New Dominion. She reached a settlement with Spess Oil in July. Details of the settlements weren’t disclosed.

Ladra’s attorney, Scott Poynter, said he’s also filed a potential class-action lawsuit for Prague resident Jennifer Lin Cooper. She also seeks damages related to the earthquake.

Cooper is seeking class-action status so she can include people whose homes or home values have been damaged by the earthquakes in Lincoln County and eight other counties that surround it.