File a written Notice of Claim under the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act within 1 year of the crash. If you were hit by a City of Stillwater vehicle, that notice goes to the Stillwater City Clerk. If it was a county vehicle, it goes to the Payne County Clerk. If a state agency was involved, such as ODOT or the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, the claim is handled through the state's Office of Management and Enterprise Services Risk Management process.

That is the rule that catches people off guard. A normal Oklahoma injury case may have a 2-year filing deadline, but claims against a city, county, or state entity have a different first step and a shorter clock. If you miss the 1-year notice deadline, the case can be barred before you ever get to court.

After the notice is filed, the government has 90 days to approve or deny it. If it denies the claim, or does nothing for 90 days, the claim is treated as denied. Then you usually have 180 days to file a lawsuit.

Example: you are driving DoorDash in Stillwater during construction season, a city garbage truck swings wide near a lane shift or flagger-controlled area and hits your car. You cannot handle that like a regular insurance claim against a private driver. You need the Notice of Claim first, and it needs basic facts: date, time, place, what happened, your injuries, and the amount you are claiming.

The same problem comes up on turnpikes. If a crash involves a state-operated roadway issue or a vehicle tied to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, the government-claim rules apply, not just the usual insurance process. If trust land or a tribal vehicle is involved, that can trigger a separate sovereign immunity system entirely.