Upon the trial of any civil case involving injury, disease or disability, the patient, a member of the patient's family or any other person responsible for the care of the patient, shall be a competent witness to identify doctor bills, hospital bills, ambulance service bills, drug bills and similar bills for expenses incurred in the treatment of the patient upon a showing by the witness that such bills were received from a licensed practicing physician, hospital, ambulance service, pharmacy, drug store, or supplier of therapeutic or orthopedic devices, and that such expenses were incurred in connection with the treatment of the injury, disease or disability involved in the subject of litigation at trial. Such items of evidence need not be identified by the person who submits the bill, and it shall not be necessary for an expert witness to testify that the charges were reasonable and necessary.
§ 3009.Medical Bills - Identification
Chapter 40: Oklahoma Evidence Code · Last amended November 1, 2002 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceMakes a patient, family member, or other person responsible for a patient's care a competent witness to identify medical, hospital, ambulance, and drug bills in a civil injury case, without needing the biller to testify or an expert to confirm the charges were reasonable and necessary.
Full Text of § 3009
Amendment History
Laws 1979, HB 1272, c. 37, § 1, eff. 10/1/1979; Amended by Laws 2002, HB 1939, c. 468, §72, eff. 11/1/2002.
Plain-English Summary
Section 3009 solves a recurring proof problem in personal injury cases: getting medical bills into evidence without calling every provider's billing office to court. The patient, a family member, or anyone else responsible for the patient's care can identify doctor, hospital, ambulance, drug, and similar bills, once the witness shows the bills came from a licensed physician, hospital, ambulance service, pharmacy, or similar supplier and were incurred treating the injury, disease, or disability at issue in the case.
Two things the section explicitly doesn't require: the bills don't need to be identified by whoever submitted them, and no expert has to testify that the charges were reasonable and necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need the doctor or hospital billing office to testify to get medical bills admitted?
No, a patient, family member, or other person responsible for the patient's care can identify the bills instead.
What does the witness have to show before the bills come in?
That the bills were received from a licensed physician, hospital, ambulance service, pharmacy, or similar supplier, and that the expenses were incurred treating the injury, disease, or disability at issue in the litigation.
Does an expert have to testify the medical charges were reasonable?
No, the statute specifically says it isn't necessary for an expert witness to testify the charges were reasonable and necessary.
Does this section apply to criminal cases?
No, it applies "upon the trial of any civil case involving injury, disease or disability."
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
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