Opinion ID: 1179380
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: state operated hospitals are immune from suit for tortious acts occurring before april 15, 1980.

Text: In Hershel v. Univ. Hosp. Found., 610 P.2d 237, 240-41 (Okla. 1980), this Court held that operation of a state hospital was a proprietary function of the state; and therefore, the doctrine of sovereign immunity did not shield the state from liability in tort. In Burns v. Rader, 723 P.2d 266, 268 (Okla. 1986), we considered the precise issue presented here  whether Hershel should operate retrospectively. After weighing the state's potential for liability, we held that Hershel should be applied prospectively. Because the negligence action in the case at bar accrued before the mandate in Hershel, the Burns case is dispositive. The doctrine of sovereign immunity shields the State from liability in tort. Summary judgment was properly entered for the State.