Who is At Fault in a Car Accident in Arkansas

 Car accidents occur in a split second – but their effects can last a lifetime.

In a moment, your entire life can be turned upside down. You may be left wondering how you will recover from your injuries, who will pay your medical expenses, and when you will be able to work again. Unfortunately, the key to obtaining the money you need to recover depends largely on establishing fault after a car accident.

While this may seem like a simple task, nothing could be farther from the truth. Car accidents are not always cut and dry and establishing fault can be difficult. There may be multiple parties responsible for your injuries or you may share some of the blame for the crash yourself. You and the other driver may differ in how you remember the accident occurring or the police report may contain inaccuracies that jeopardize your claim. As you can see, the complexities of a car crash can make establishing fault difficult. Without the help of an experienced Arkansas car accident attorney, you could end up paying for a crash that wasn’t your fault.

Arkansas is an At Fault State

In the state of Arkansas, the person responsible for the accident is also responsible for the injuries and damages they caused. If you have suffered an injury in a car accident, you are able to collect compensation in one of three ways:

1. By filing a claim with your own insurance company
2. Filing a third party claim directly with the “at-fault” driver’s insurance carrier
3. By filing a personal injury lawsuit

Arkansas is also one of just six states that has “add-on” no fault laws. These laws allow policyholders to purchase and use their own Personal Injury Protection insurance to pay for medical expenses, etc. no matter who was at fault for the accident. It also allows them to file a personal injury lawsuit against the “at-fault” driver without restriction.

How Negligence Can Help Determine Fault

In order to establish fault, you must show that the other driver was negligent. The theory of negligence is that anyone who acts in a careless way or causes injury will be legally liable for any resulting harm. In order to win a negligence claim and show fault, your attorney must prove that the other driver owed you a legal duty and they breached this duty by driving recklessly or carelessly. They must also establish that the resulting breach directly caused injuries and damages to you and/or your property.

There are numerous types of negligence, including:

• Comparative Negligence – this occurs when you are partly responsible for the injuries to yourself and your property. If you are found to be partly to blame for the crash, you may be required to pay a percentage of the damages.
  • Pure Comparative Negligence – the driver’s damages are totaled and effectively reduced to reflect their portion of the crash. For instance, if you were awarded $100,000 after an accident, but found to be 10% responsible for the crash, then you would only receive $90,000 of that award.
  • Modified Comparative Negligence – the driver would not recover any damages if they’re found to be at least 50% or more responsible for the crash. Arkansas courts use a modified comparative fault rule.
• Contributory Negligence – this occurs when you caused your own injuries but cannot collect any damages. Most states are doing away with this type of negligence.

Because your damages will be reduced by the amount you are determined to be “at fault,” the insurance company will try to pin some of the blame on you. After all, reducing the amount they must pay is their primary goal. They may claim that you were speeding at the time of the crash or that you were operating recklessly as well. This is an important part of the legal process and why it is so important to have a car accident attorney on your side fighting for you during this time.

Determining Fault for Different Types of Accidents

Different types of accidents may require a different type of investigation in order to determine fault, such as:

• Single car accidents – the majority of single car accidents are the fault of the single car driver. Police reports often assign blame quickly and without a thorough investigation. But there are times when other drivers caused your single car accident or when poorly maintained roads or traffic lights led to your crash. If you believe that your single car accident was someone else’s fault, your attorney can lead a full investigation into the matter to clearly establish who is to blame.
• Parked car accidents – parked car accidents are always the fault of the driver who was moving into traffic. When both cars are moving into traffic, determining fault can be trickier. Examining the damage to the cars and gathering eyewitness accounts become critical.
• Multi-car accidents – multi-car accidents need to be investigated closely to determine who is at fault. Police reports are critical after a multi-car crash because the police are trained to examine crash damage and take witness statements into account when assessing blame. However, they are not infallible. An experienced attorney can examine the crash site, the damage to the vehicle, and perform a more extensive investigation in order to determine fault. In many cases, accident reconstruction experts may need to be called in order to fully establish the cause of the crash and who is to blame.

What to Do if You’re At Fault

If you caused the accident and you believe you are to blame, take the following steps:

Learn More About What to Do After an Accident