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No one wants to go to court.  Period.  No one looks forward to filing a personal injury claim, but it’s the process that many are forced to take when insurance companies won’t settle for what the claim is worth.  Just because you file a lawsuit, doesn’t mean your case will go all the way to the courtroom.  Rest assured, most cases settle before making it that far.

Most Americans can simply not afford the financial expense associated with a medical emergency or auto accident.  Less than half of us even have enough money in the bank to foot a $1,000 bill, let alone cover our entire medical deductible (which average over $4,000 in the U.S.) if we’re lucky enough to be in the 91% of us that have some form of health insurance. In fact, medical emergencies are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. These medical expenses directly contribute to over 50% of the bankruptcy cases in our country.

So what can you do if you’re injured, out of work, and need money to cover even basic expenses like groceries, rent, and utilities? What do you do if those medical bills just keep climbing? If your injury was caused by someone else’s negligence or recklessness (such as a distracted driver) you could potentially file a personal injury claim in Arkansas. Such claims can help victims get financial compensation or reimbursement from legal parties that share in the liability (responsibility) for the accident in which you were injured.

What is a Personal Injury Claim?

A personal injury claim isn’t necessarily the same as a personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury claim is essentially a legal claim that an injured individual makes against an at-fault party (or that party’s insurance policy) in order to get compensation or reimbursement for expenses incurred as a result of an accident.

Claims can result in:

• Insurance payouts
• Settlements
• Court verdicts and jury awards

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There is a higher-than-average number of car accidents in Arkansas every year. The total in 2012 was 504—nearly 70% higher than the national average. That’s roughly 17 accidents per 100,000 people (compared to the national average of just 10.2 per 100,000). With the major highways and interstate traffic crisscrossing our state, the sheer number of cars on the road puts us at greater risk for collisions every time we get behind the wheel. But it’s one thing to suspect that risk and another altogether when nationally accredited agencies like the Federal Highway Administration single Arkansas out as an automobile danger zone.

So why are our roads so dangerous? Continue reading ›

Police investigators suggest that driver inexperience could have played a role in a non-fatal motorcycle accident in Arkansas on October 16^th in the town of Mena. Official reports show that a Crown Victoria sedan driven by an unnamed 16-year old crashed into a Harley Davidson motorcycle in front of the McDonald’s in Mena. The motorcycle was operated by a 63-year old male. His wife was on the back of the bike at the time. She was airlifted to Mena Regional Health System, then transported to another medical facility with an unspecified leg injury.

A police investigation into the motorcycle accident in Mena, Arkansas discovered that the individual driving the automobile made an improper right turn at the entrance to the restaurant, cutting into the motorcycle’s path of travel. The automobile driver was cited by responding police officers and has been declared at-fault for the crash.

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Police are investigating a deadly car accident in Arkansas that left one man dead and a young boy seriously injured earlier this month. The crash, like so many on Arkansas’ highways, involved an 18-wheel big rig—though an accident reconstruction specialist suspects the driver of the smaller vehicle may likely have been at fault. Indeed, certain clues—including eyewitness testimony—suggest that this may have been a tragic distracted driving accident in Arkansas.

The Details of the Fatal Car Accident in Arkansas

On October 2^nd a car driven by 27-year-old Little Rock man crossed the center line of Highway 65 near Salmon Lane in Harrison. The Toyota Corolla he was driving collided head-on with an 18-wheeler traveling in the opposite direction. The crash killed the man in the Corolla instantly and left his passenger (a 15-year-old juvenile being transported to a correctional facility in Illinois) seriously injured. The boy, who was wearing manacles and a belly chain at the time of the collision, was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Continue reading ›

A tragic chain-reaction truck accident in Texarkana left two people dead and two more injured when three big rigs and a passenger van collided on I-30 late last month. The crash happened on September 27^th when a loaded Mack truck failed to stop in time to avoid slowed traffic near I-30’s junction with I-49. The big truck slammed into another 18-wheeler that was then pushed into the back of a passenger van. The van, in turn, was sandwiched between that truck and the one in front of it.

When the dust finally settled, the driver of the Mack (a 65-year-old veteran of the road) and the driver of the van were dead. Two more people were rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.

Multiple Vehicle Crashes Involving Big Trucks

Crosswalks can be dangerous places to walk. They’re “danger areas” where foot traffic intersects with car and truck traffic and, all too often, these alleged “safe zones” are the scenes of terrible pedestrian accidents in Arkansas. A pedestrian, rightfully so, feels a sense of safety while walking within a crosswalk. My family and I walk in our neighborhood often, and I would say about 40% of the time people will stop when someone is standing on the street, waiting to cross at a crosswalk. The other 60% of the time the cars will zoom right past and expect you to wait. Not exactly how a crosswalk is intended to be used. Some pedestrians understand and follow the rules of the road when it comes to crosswalks, therefore the pedestrian doesn’t think twice that someone else wouldn’t, so the walker will walk within a crosswalk and expect the car to stop. After all, it’s the law. Right? Unfortunately sometimes a person behind the wheel of a two-ton vehicle has the mentality that they are bigger and the person will just have to wait for them to pass. This is when terrible accidents happen. In big cities, such as New York or San Francisco, pedestrians walk as soon as the “Walk” light changes, and the vehicles know they are to stop, period.

When a two-ton vehicle hits an unprotected pedestrian—even at slow speeds—the physical damage can be tremendous. Nowhere in Arkansas is that danger more concentrated than in Arkansas’ biggest college town: Fayetteville. There is no protection for the pedestrian, so any contact with a moving vehicle can result in life-changing injuries or death. Continue reading ›

Fatigued Driving Accidents in Arkansas are Crimes
Most of us have been there: our hands on the wheel, our eyelids getting heavier. But fatigued driving kills hundreds of people nationwide every year. So why do we still do it? And, more importantly, how can we prevent potential fatigued driving accidents in Arkansas before they injure innocent victims?

Is Fatigued Driving Really a Problem in Arkansas?
Is it really that dangerous to drive when you haven’t had that much sleep? After all, multiple nationwide studies have found that at least 1/3 of drivers have driven at some point in their lives when they’ve been too tired to safely operate a motor vehicle.

Turns out fatigued driving is very similar to drunk driving.

The NHTSA conducted an in-depth study that found fatigued driving is every bit as deadly and destructive as driving while under the influence of alcohol. Fatigued drivers suffer many of the same impairments as drunk drivers including:

• Delayed reaction time
• Inability to accurately judge distances
• Blurry vision
• Impaired judgement Continue reading ›