Scott County, AR Personal Injury Lawyers

To restore your financial and emotional well-being after an accident, our attorneys can help you pursue compensation by filing a legal claim against the responsible party.

Victims pursue injury lawsuits for various reasons, with auto accidents being a significant cause, whether they involve personal vehicles, pedestrians, or trucks. We can assist you by filing a claim against a negligent driver following a car accident, just as we can help if you suffer injuries from medical malpractice or other negligent behavior. For the majority of injury lawsuits, the deadline for filing a lawsuit is three years, and our attorneys can ensure you do not miss the chance to take legal action. If victims suffer fatal injuries, our team can help the victim’s family recover damages through a wrongful death lawsuit.

Call our personal injury lawyers at (479) 316-0438 for your free case review.

Time Limit to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Scott County, AR

In general, personal injury lawsuits are subject to a statute of limitations of three years according to Ark. Code. § 16-56-105. This timeframe usually begins on the date of the injury. However, victims will only have two years to file their lawsuit for cases involving medical malpractice, as per § 16-114-203(a). In instances where a victim’s injuries result from a foreign object being left in the body during surgery, the timeframe to file a lawsuit is one year from the date of discovery. If the statute of limitations is missed, though, victims will be unable to receive compensation from the responsible party, even if they could establish liability if the case had been filed on time.

Common Types of Personal Injury Victims Suffer Because of Negligence in Scott County, AR

Serious personal injuries caused by negligence can take many forms, including spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, burns, and broken bones. These types of injuries often require extensive medical treatment that can last for months or even years, leading to significant damages for those affected. Fortunately, our personal injury lawyers can help you seek compensation not only for these tangible damages but also for intangible losses you likely experienced. The following are some of the most common personal injuries we help victims recover compensation for:

Spinal Injuries

Spinal cord injuries can lead to lasting disabilities, often resulting in paralysis for some individuals. Given the serious nature of these injuries, urgent surgical intervention and extended hospital stays are often necessary. Victims often need to relearn everyday tasks and undergo extensive rehabilitation that can span several years. Unfortunately, those with spinal cord injuries are also at a higher risk of developing depression and typically endure significant pain and suffering.

To establish your right to recover non-economic damages, our attorneys can use your medical records to illustrate the gravity of your injuries. We can also call on expert witnesses, such as healthcare providers and mental health professionals, to shed more light on the emotional distress you have faced since the incident. Furthermore, after sustaining spinal cord injuries, many victims will need ongoing care for years, making them eligible for damages for future medical costs.

Head and Brain Injuries

Head and brain injuries, often termed traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), can have a profound impact on victims, affecting nearly every aspect of their lives. A TBI can hinder your ability to work at your previous earning level and often requires costly and challenging treatments, which often include evaluations and care from physical therapists and neurologists.

Brain injuries frequently occur in motor vehicle accidents, particularly when bicyclists or pedestrians are involved. Although wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle or motorcycle can lower the chances of sustaining a TBI, it does not eliminate the risk entirely. Additionally, TBIs rank among the most prevalent birth injuries linked to medical malpractice, prompting parents of affected children to pursue compensatory damages through a lawsuit.

Broken Bones

Fractures, sprains, and strains frequently occur in incidents such as slips, trips, falls, and car accidents. Individuals can experience broken bones from falls, regardless of the distance from which they fall. For instance, wrist fractures are common when people brace and try to catch themselves during a fall. Treating broken bones usually involves several steps, including rest, pain relief medications, and physical rehabilitation. These costs will likely accumulate quickly, given the costs of healthcare these days, and our attorneys can assess all your medical expenses as you heal so that your damages are calculated accurately.

Burns

Explosions and fires can happen during car accidents or construction sites, resulting in significant burn injuries. The emotional toll that follows such injuries is often overwhelming, as victims might be left with permanent scarring and disfigurements from the incident. On top of that, the physical pain associated with burns is typically immense. To help you understand the compensation you deserve for burn injuries, our attorneys will assess not only your financial losses from the accident but also your non-economic losses, which represent the incredible pain and suffering you have likely experienced.

Similar to burn injuries, road rash is a common result of vehicle collisions, particularly for motorcyclists, pedestrians, and cyclists. When struck by a moving vehicle, victims may be thrown to the ground, causing their exposed skin to scrape against the pavement, leading to painful road rash. These injuries are also associated with great pain and extensive treatment. Many victims with road rash require skin grafts, which are not only painful but often result in some type of permanent scarring.

Filing a Personal Injury Claim for a Vehicle Accident in Scott County, AR

Auto accidents can lead to some of the most severe and costly injuries for victims. Whether individuals are injured in passenger cars, trucks, or pedestrians, they have the right to file claims against those responsible for their injuries. Our lawyers are here to help you initiate and support your lawsuit by gathering the evidence needed to demonstrate how the negligent driver caused your accident and the damages it resulted in.

Car Accidents

Collisions between passenger cars are the most common type of auto accident. Fortunately, we can quickly reconstruct the accident to confirm the other driver’s negligence and what happened during the accident.

Arkansas operates under a fault system for automobile accidents, allowing victims to sue negligent drivers regardless of the extent of their injuries. However, victims must actually suffer damages that justify seeking compensation, which our attorneys can evaluate and see if a lawsuit is warranted.

Right after a car accident, it is important to report the accident to the police. According to § 27-53-202(a)(1), drivers are obligated to notify local law enforcement about vehicle accidents that result in injury, death, or property damage totaling $3,000 or more without delay. The police will create a crash report, which our attorneys can assist you in obtaining, reviewing, and utilizing to strengthen your case. Failing to call 911 will lead to a lack of documentation regarding the accident, potentially harming your case.

Be sure to exchange insurance details with the driver at fault. Officers can assist in obtaining this information if you cannot talk because of injuries. Avoid going into specifics about the accident with the other driver since you might accidentally say something that suggests your own fault. In Arkansas, the law employs a modified comparative fault rule with a 50% cutoff for compensation, meaning that if you are determined to be 50% or more responsible, you will not be able to recover damages, as per § 16-64-122. Although comparative fault principles can be relevant in any injury lawsuit, they are most frequently used as a defense to liability in car accident cases.

Even if it seems minor, it is also essential to get evaluated by medical professionals. Whiplash is a common injury resulting from car collisions, but its symptoms might not be immediately apparent. Victims sometimes downplay their pain and delay seeking medical attention. This delay can worsen your injuries and complicate your efforts to hold the at-fault driver responsible for your damages.

Truck Accidents

Incidents involving commercial trucks and other large vehicles are more likely to result in severe injuries, even at low speeds. The massive size of a truck alone in relation to a passenger car can cause the smaller vehicle to roll over and get crushed upon impact, worsening the injuries sustained by the victim. These accidents also have a higher likelihood of resulting in deadly accidents. In a truck accident claim, the employer of the negligent driver can usually be held financially liable for its driver’s negligence. Our attorneys can verify if this rule applies, as it will give you additional, more lucrative defendants from which to recover compensation.

This principle is referred to as “vicarious liability,” meaning that employers may be held accountable for the actions of their employees if those actions occur within the scope of their employment. For instance, if a truck driver breaches driving laws or gets into an accident while delivering goods, both the driver and their trucking company could be subject to legal consequences.

However, this does not apply if the driver functions as an independent contractor, such as those providing services for rideshare companies like Lyft or Uber or delivering for Amazon. In these scenarios, the employer’s liability does not encompass incidents that take place during the driver’s working hours since the driver does not work directly for the company but for themselves. Nonetheless, we can still examine the insurance options typically available in these situations and whether the company exercised enough control over the employees to hold them responsible under the above rule.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrians whom negligent drivers hit often sustain severe or life-threatening injuries. Without the protection of larger structures, pedestrians might suffer spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or broken bones. Similarly, individuals riding bicycles or motorcycles can face equally debilitating injuries, with some accidents resulting in death. We are here to assist these victims in filing claims against negligent drivers promptly after the crash, as well as helping surviving family members pursue compensation for a lost loved one.

Filing an Injury Lawsuit for Wrongful Death in Scott County, AR

Severe personal injuries can become fatal quickly after an accident due to negligence, which allows the victim’s survivors to seek compensatory damages with the help of our attorneys. One of the main causes of fatal personal injuries in Arkansas involves car accidents. High-speed collisions, T-bone accidents, and head-on crashes can be devastating, leading to victims suffering from fatal spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and internal injuries.

Like other personal injury cases, the statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is three years, according to § 16-62-102(c)(1), with exceptions for situations involving defendants found guilty of murder. If a criminal trial is pending, the statute of limitations will usually be “tolled” or paused until the prosecution concludes. This could end in a trial or a plea deal, so work with our team to know exactly when the clock starts ticking again.

The victim’s family member is not the one entitled to file a wrongful death claim. Instead, a victim’s personal representative can file a claim on their behalf, and any compensation awarded will benefit victims’ surviving spouses, children, parents, or siblings. However, personal representatives can only pursue wrongful death claims if the victims would have had grounds to file personal injury claims had they survived.

Compensation in a wrongful death claim could include damages for the victim’s lost income and retirement, loss of companionship, funeral and burial costs, and medical expenses if the victim was hospitalized prior to death. You can also claim damages for your pain and suffering falling the fallout of the accident. It is crucial to establish your right to recovery as a qualifying surviving family following these tragic accidents, especially if you and your family significantly relied on your loved one for financial support.

Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyers in Scott County, AR for Help with Your Case Today

Call us at (479) 316-0438 to discuss your case with our personal injury lawyers free of charge.