Oklahoma Governor Appoints New Worker’s Compensation Judge

Gov. Mary Fallin has appointed a Tulsa judge as the new presiding judge of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court.

Fallin announced Thursday that Judge L. Brad Taylor will replace Judge Michael Harkey as the presiding judge of the court.

Taylor had been appointed to the Workers’ Compensation Court earlier this year.

A bill approved by the Legislature in 2011 requires the governor to appoint a new presiding judge to a two-year term beginning Jan. 1.

Fallin cited Taylor’s experience representing both employers and employees has made him “an effective and impartial member” of the Workers’ Compensation Court.

Before being appointed to the court, Taylor was an associate at a Tulsa law firm and primarily practiced workers’ compensation law.