Arkansas Personal Injury Lawyers

When you or a loved one has been injured or had property damage caused due to an accident, you may wonder what resources you have to claim reimbursement for your losses and other damages from the individual who caused the accident. There is not always an easy answer to this question, and much will depend on whether the person who caused the accident did something that meets the legal definition of “negligence.”

To maximize your compensation in a personal injury claim, you need an aggressive attorney representing you. Our Arkansas personal injury lawyers have the experience and resources to handle the most challenging cases. Every personal injury claim offers its own unique difficulties and you need a law firm that is up to the challenge.

Ken Kieklak, Attorney at Law, is an Arkansas personal injury lawyer with years of experience working with clients who have been the victims of accidents to get them reimbursed and made whole again. He will analyze the specifics of your situation and determine whether he believes a successful case can be made that your injuries were the result of the actions of a negligent party. If so, our firm will help you file a lawsuit against the negligent actor and work to settle the matter in such a way as to get you the maximum possible payout for your time and suffering. Call our office today at (479) 316-0438 for a free consultation.

Under What Circumstances Can You File a Personal Injury Claim in Arkansas?

There are numerous different situations where a person’s negligence can cause injury or damage to someone or something, and, as such, personal injury cases vary greatly in terms of their underlying facts and background. The following are just some of the most common types of situations that lead to successful personal injury lawsuits in Arkansas. The list is by no means exhaustive. Any time you or a loved one are injured or killed or your property is damaged and you believe it was caused by the negligence of a person or entity, like a corporation, you should contact one of our skilled Arkansas personal injury lawyers right away so we can assess your situation and preserve important evidence for a potential case.

Car Accidents

Car accidents often lead to serious damage to one or both of the vehicles, as well as injuries to the passengers. If you were the victim of a car accident in Arkansas where the other party was at fault, such as a situation like the one described above where someone runs a red light and blindsides you, you may have a personal injury case against them where you can be reimbursed for the damages the accident caused you.

Medical Malpractice

A doctor always has a duty of care to their patients, meaning they must behave as a reasonable doctor would be expected to in the same situation. If, for example, a doctor shows up drunk to work and botches your surgery, they are likely in breach of their duty and can be targeted for damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Slip and Fall Accidents

Owners of public places like stores and restaurants have a duty to keep their premises safe for the public. If there is a spill in a store and the owners let it go for hours without cleaning it, and you slip on the spilled juice and break your leg, there will likely be a good case for negligence on the part of the store.

Premises Liability Lawsuits

Building owners and managers are responsible for ensuring their properties are safe for their customs and guests. This responsibility extends to homeowners as well. When a property owner is aware of a dangerous condition on their property, they must address the problem or face potential liability for any injures that could occur.

Premises liability lawsuits encompass many different types of claims, including wrongful death actions. While the list of possible dangerous conditions is extensive, some typical hazardous interior and exterior conditions that often result in injuries include wet surfaces, uneven walkways, poor lighting, faulty wiring, or broken steps.

Defective Products

Sometimes, if you buy a product that breaks and causes you an injury, you may be able to sue either the seller or manufacturer in a personal injury case. For example, if a lawnmower blows up the first time you use it due to the fact that the seller did not store it in the proper temperature, you may have a negligence case against the seller.

Intentional Torts

Not every injury that occurs in Arkansas is the result of an accident or the careless behavior of another person. Unfortunately, there are instances where someone intentionally harms another person. A person who inflicts intentional harm on another is often subject to criminal charges and prosecution. However, that does not mean that the individual is free from civil liability. In many cases, because the burden of proof is substantially lower in a civil court, a person who commits an intentional tort is more likely to be held financially accountable than convicted of a criminal charge.

How to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Arkansas

Okay; so you are fairly certain that the injuries caused in your case were due to the negligence of another person or company.

In order to successfully prove a personal injury lawsuit in the state of Arkansas, you and your lawyer must demonstrate the existence in your matter of the four elements of a negligence case: a duty, a breach of that duty, the breach causing the injury, and resulting damages.

A duty occurs when you have a legal obligation, such as an obligation to follow traffic laws when driving. Generally, people in everyday life also have a duty to behave as a reasonable person in their shoes would so as to not cause negligent injury or property damage to others. A breach of a duty is a when you violate your obligation to be reasonable or follow certain laws or regulations, such as if you ignore a red light and speed through an intersection.

Then, you and your lawyer must work to show that the breach of this duty was the cause of the injuries or property damage. This is often the hardest part of the case to prove and requires collecting evidence from the scene, such as a traffic light video camera that clearly shows the other driver speeding through a red light and smashing into you when you had the right of way in the intersection. Finally, if causation can be proven, you must show that tangible damages resulted, such as hospital bills, the cost of physical therapy, or the cost of replacing a totaled vehicle.

An experienced Arkansas personal injury lawyer like Ken Kieklak will work to show the lawyers representing the other party or their insurance company that we will be able to prove our case at trial. If we can do so, they are likely to offer us an amenable settlement agreement to keep the matter from going to a trial where they will spend more money and possibly lose bigger. However, if the offer is not satisfactory, we are always ready and able to fight to prove your case in the courtroom.

Proving Liability in Arkansas

If you are bringing a personal injury lawsuit in Arkansas based on negligence, there are four elements that you must prove to hold the defendant liable for your injury.

Duty of Care

Before a defendant could be held liable for an injury, they must have owed the plaintiff a legal duty of care. This means that the defendant had a responsibility to act in a specific fashion. In most cases, this is illustrated by the concept of what would a reasonable person due under the same circumstances. However, the relationship between the parties and the nature of the accident also plays a role in determining if a duty of care existed.

One of the primary reasons people file personal injury claims in Arkansas is for injuries suffered in a car accident. A motorist owes every other driver and pedestrian a duty to operate their vehicle safely. This means that they must obey traffic regulations, do not drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and refrain from texting while driving. It also requires a driver to ensure their vehicle is properly maintained so it is roadworthy.

Breach of Duty

When a defendant’s conduct deviates from what a reasonable person would do under the same or similar circumstances, it is considered a breach of their duty of care. In many cases, this is one of the more difficult elements for our Arkansas personal injury attorney to prove.

The evidence necessary to prove a breach of duty depends on the facts of your case. For example, if you were involved in a car accident with a drunk driver, a toxicology test could be used to establish the defendant’s condition at the time of the accident. Furthermore, cellphone records are helpful in showing that a defendant was distracted when the crash occurred.

In a medical malpractice case, proving a breach of duty usually requires hiring a medical expert to testify that a doctor or another healthcare professional’s behavior failed to adhere to the acceptable standard of practice.

Causation

Unfortunately, proving poor conduct or decisions by the defendant is not enough to win a personal injury lawsuit in Arkansas. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s breach of duty caused the injury. In some situations, this is not difficult. However, in most personal injury litigation, a defendant will work hard to show that the injury was caused by something other than their actions – including trying to shift blame to the plaintiff.

To illustrate this issue, imagine a motorcyclist hit by a car that was changing lanes on a highway. Cellphone records indicate that the driver was talking on the phone at the time of the accident. However, the driver alleges that the motorcyclist was lane splitting, or attempting to pass two cars by traveling between them, at the time of the collision. In this case, the driver is acting carelessly but the motorcyclist could have been acting recklessly. Who caused the accident? Under these circumstances, our office would argue that the driver would be significantly more at fault for driving while distracted and failing to ensure the road was clear of traffic before changing lanes. As stated earlier, causation is often the most contested element in a personal injury lawsuit.

Damages

Without an injury, a person does not have a basis for a personal injury lawsuit. In legal terms, damages are what someone suffers after an injury. The final element necessary to show in a personal injury lawsuit based on negligence is “actual damages.” The question then is, “what constitutes damages?”

Damages include both financial losses and physical pain and suffering. If you suffered a concussion in a slip and fall accident, then you have probably incurred legal damages.

Your economic damages, or financial losses, would include any medical expenses you had to pay, including co-pays, deductibles, prescription costs, and even parking fees. Additionally, if you require any physical therapy or follow-up treatment, it would also be included under your economic damage. Your financial losses do not end with your out-of-pocket expenses. If you have lost time at work, or will be unable to work for an extended period, you are entitled to be compensated for your lost wages.

Non-economic damages include your physical pain and emotional suffering. As you can imagine, putting a dollar figure on your mental anguish is much more challenging than adding up receipts and bills. Nonetheless, you are entitled to be compensated for your pain and suffering. Non-economic damages include such things as loss of sleep, physical pain, or being compensated because you are unable to run around with your children. Our Arkansas personal injury attorney will work closely with you, your family, and your medical providers to adequately put an amount on your physical and emotional pain.

Arkansas’ Shared Negligence (Comparative Negligence) Rule

When you file a personal injury lawsuit in Arkansas, you are alleging that another person or entity caused your injury through their negligence. Some common grounds for a lawsuit include a doctor leaving a sponge in your body after a surgical procedure or a drunk driver rear-ending your car at a red light. However, not every accident or injury is as cut and dry. There are also circumstances when a plaintiff’s conduct contributes to an accident. For example, if someone slips on a spill in a hardware store that was left unattended for an unreasonable amount of time, they could have a claim against the store owner or manager. However, if the person who fell was texting at the time and not paying attention to their surroundings, their behavior could have contributed to the fall.

Arkansas follows a modified comparative negligence rule in personal injury cases. This rule requires a jury or judge to determine the percentage of blame each party shares for an accident. Therefore, using the example above, a jury would look at both the unreasonableness of not cleaning up the spill promptly and the risk of walking while texting. Given the facts of the hypothetical case, the jury could decide that the store owner was 60% at fault while the plaintiff’s conduct contributed 40% of the blame. If the jury awarded the plaintiff $100,000 in damages, it would be reduced to $60,000 due to the plaintiff’s percentage of fault.

In some instances, the percentage of fault could result in a plaintiff being prohibited from recovering any damages. If a plaintiff’s contribution is determined to be more than 50%, then they would not receive any compensation. This could occur in a car accident where both parties were driving negligently. Our experienced Arkansas personal injury lawyer is not only working to prove that another party was at fault, they are also countering any allegations that you played a significant role in an accident.

Determining the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim

The reason people file personal injury claims or accept settlement offers from insurance companies is to receive monetary compensation. These funds are used for medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs associated with an injury. Knowing when you should consider taking your case to court or accepting an insurance company’s offer requires understanding what your case is worth.

Because of the wide variety of personal injury cases, it is impossible to say what an average settlement should be. However, our knowledgeable Arkansas personal injury attorneys will be able to look at the facts of a particular case to offer an estimate.

If you are seriously injured and are facing mounting medical bills and lost hours at work, you might be tempted to take a quick settlement offer. However, once you do that, you will be prohibited from filing a personal injury claim in the future. This could become an issue if you require more medical treatment than anticipated or are out of work longer than you initially thought. Most insurance settlements also do not include compensation for intangible damages, such as pain and suffering, that are available through a personal injury lawsuit.

Our office will work with your healthcare providers and other experts to determine what your medical costs are and what treatments you will require in the future. In many cases, it could take weeks or months to thoroughly evaluate your medical condition and prognosis. While an insurance check could seem like a windfall, if you are unable to return to work, it probably is insufficient to cover the years or decades of income you are likely to lose. Ken Kieklak will work with financial experts to calculate what you would have earned if you were not hurt.

Part of evaluating your case also includes determining the strength of your legal claim. Our office will also look at the available evidence to figure out the likelihood of success at trial. Because a personal injury case is ultimately in the hands of a jury or judge, we cannot guarantee an outcome. However, we can give our professional and educated prediction. In some situations, taking a settlement offer is the best option. Sometimes, merely filing a lawsuit could result in a better offer from an insurance provider. Finally, there are times when an insurance company refuses to budge and bringing your case to trial might be necessary. In the end, the decision is yours. However, our Arkansas personal injury lawyers will turn to decades of experience to help guide you.

Type of Damages You Can Recover in an Arkansas Personal Injury Lawsuit

When dealing with an insurance company or fighting for compensation in court, knowing what your claim is worth is vital information. However, if you are injured, your primary concern is what you could recover – either through a settlement or a jury award.

Typically, compensatory damages are designed to put an injured victim back into the position they were if the injury never occurred. Some damages are obvious, such as hospital bills, diagnostic tests, and other medical expenses. However, these damages also include any co-pays you have incurred, parking fees for appointments, and the cost of incidental items such as crutches, bandages, or even over-the-counter pain medication. Our Arkansas personal injury lawyers will work closely with you so that every expense, no matter how small, is included in your claim.

Lost wages are another substantial part of your potential compensation. As discussed above, you are entitled to the money you lost while recovering from your injury. Additionally, if your injury has diminished your ability to perform your job, you should be compensated for the income you will lose in the future. If you need additional training or specialized equipment to do your job, you could recover those expenses as well.

In addition to recovering your monetary damages, you are entitled to be compensated for more subjective harm, such as pain and suffering. While it is more challenging to calculate a figure, you could receive a significant award because you experienced depression, anxiety, or other adverse emotional or mental conditions. If you were an avid runner and are no longer capable of running because of your injuries, you deserve to be compensated for your loss of enjoyment. A negligent defendant could be held liable for intangible harm as much as financial losses.

In some cases, you could be awarded punitive damages. Unlike compensatory damages, punitive damages are awarded to punish a defendant when their conduct was grossly negligent, malicious, or intentional. These types of damages are rare. However, our Arkansas attorneys will pursue them if the facts of your case warrant it.

How Our Experienced Arkansas Attorneys Can Help You

Personal injury lawsuits can be extremely complicated. Depending on your case, eyewitnesses might have to be questioned and cross-examined. This requires a complicated analysis of the facts and records and, in some situations, having an expert witness testify.

A personal injury case takes time to build and requires careful attention to detail. Our office has the attorneys, staff, and resources to evaluate and examine the evidence in your case, including medical records, statements, documents, and other information necessary to prove your claim.

An experienced personal injury attorney will fight to protect your rights, help you recover the compensation you deserve, and offer your guidance and advice so you could make informed decisions on how you want your case to proceed.

Our attorneys and staff provide more services than preparing your legal case. We assist with filling out complicated insurance forms and will communicate with any insurance companies, allowing you to take the time to focus on your health.

Our office also has access to a network of medical professionals, investigators, accident reconstructionists, and expert witnesses. No two lawsuits are the same and each one is liable to present unique challenges and difficulties around each corner. By having our knowledgeable and seasoned Arkansas personal injury lawyers at your side, you can ensure that you are prepared for whatever hurdle could come your way.

Maximizing your compensation requires an understanding of the law and the likelihood of success. Some cases must go to court, especially when a defendant is being unreasonable and refusing to offer a fair settlement. However, other lawsuits are settled before going to court. This could be beneficial because you will receive your compensation faster and there will be expenses and costs.

Remember, our firm works on a contingency fee. That means we get paid when you get paid. While there are expenses involved with building and filing a case, you should not think of the attorney fees as one. Our goal is to maximize your recovery.

Contact Our Arkansas Personal Injury Lawyers to Discuss Your Case

Anytime you are the victim of an accident due to someone else’s actions, there is a chance that you may be able to successfully prove a personal injury case against them. Ken Kieklak, Attorney at Law, has the years of experience and institutional knowledge to advise you on the best steps that can be taken after an accident to make you whole again. If we believe filing a personal injury lawsuit is the right move, our Arkansas personal injury attorneys will help you do so and fight for the best possible outcome for you and your future. For a free consultation, call us today at (479) 316-0438.