What to do after a car accident in Arkansas

The minutes after a crash are a blur, and the choices you make over the next few days quietly shape how much of your medical bills and lost income you get back. Arkansas roads are unforgiving: the state recorded 603 traffic deaths in 2024, up from 596 in 2023.¹ The universal steps (call 911, get checked by a doctor, exchange information) apply here like anywhere. What follows is the part specific to Arkansas, the deadlines, the dollar figures, and the rules that differ from the state next door.

The deadline that can quietly kill your claim

Arkansas gives you three years to file a lawsuit for a personal injury from a car crash, counted from the date of the accident. The state has no separate personal-injury limitations statute, so its courts apply the catch-all three-year period in Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105 for actions founded on any liability, express or implied.² The same statute gives you three years for damage to your vehicle or other property, under the subsection covering actions for taking or injuring goods and chattels.² Miss that window and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case, no matter how clear the other driver's fault. Settlement talks with an insurer do not pause the clock.

Fault decides the money, and 50% is the cliff

Arkansas is an at-fault (tort) state, so the driver who caused the crash, through their insurer, pays for the harm. How much you collect turns on a rule that catches a lot of people off guard: modified comparative fault with a 50% bar.

Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-64-122, the jury assigns each party a percentage of fault, and your recovery drops by your own share. But if your fault is equal to or greater than the combined fault of the party or parties you are suing, you recover nothing.³ In plain numbers, at 49% at fault you still collect (minus that 49%); at 50% you get zero. That single percentage point is the line between a check and nothing, which is why the way the crash report and the adjuster describe the wreck matters from day one.

Winter ice storms are a recurring Arkansas hazard, and "you were driving too fast for conditions" is a favorite way for an insurer to push a few points of blame onto you. Note the road and weather conditions while they are fresh.

What your own policy pays, whoever was at fault

Every Arkansas auto policy has to offer first-party benefits that pay early, before fault is sorted out. Insurers must offer at least $5,000 per person in medical and hospital benefits, plus income-disability and accidental-death benefits, for expenses incurred within 24 months of the crash. You can turn this down, but only in writing (Ark. Code Ann. § 23-89-202).⁴ It is often labeled PIP or med-pay on your policy. If you never signed a written rejection, you probably have it, so check your declarations page before paying a medical bill out of pocket.

Liability coverage is separate and required. Arkansas sets minimum limits of $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage, the 25/50/25 floor in Ark. Code Ann. § 27-22-104.⁵ Those figures are low. A single ambulance ride, ER visit, and a totaled car can blow past them, which is where your own uninsured and underinsured coverage matters.

When the other driver has no insurance, or not enough

Many Arkansas drivers carry only the minimum, or nothing at all. Your insurer must offer you uninsured-motorist (UM) coverage and underinsured-motorist (UIM) coverage, and again you can decline only in writing. A written UM rejection carries forward through every renewal until you withdraw it in writing (Ark. Code Ann. § 23-89-403).⁶ UIM is tied to UM: you cannot buy UIM without carrying UM (Ark. Code Ann. § 23-89-209).⁶ When the at-fault driver's 25/50/25 policy cannot cover your injuries, UIM on your own policy is often what closes the gap. Pull your declarations page and confirm what you actually carry.

Arkansas puts no cap on what you can recover

Some states cap non-economic or "pain and suffering" damages. Arkansas does not. Article 5, section 32 of the Arkansas Constitution bars the legislature from limiting the amount recovered for injuries to persons or property. When lawmakers capped punitive damages at the greater of $250,000 or three times compensatory damages (up to $1,000,000) in Ark. Code Ann. § 16-55-208, the Arkansas Supreme Court struck that cap down as unconstitutional in Bayer CropScience LP v. Schafer, 2011 Ark. 518.⁷ Both compensatory and punitive damages are uncapped. Punitive damages stay hard to win, since you generally need proof the other driver acted with malice or reckless disregard for others, the kind of conduct a drunk driver's choices can show.

Distracted, drunk, and two-wheel specifics

Texting is illegal for every Arkansas driver under Paul's Law, Ark. Code Ann. § 27-51-1504, which bans texting, email, and accessing social media on a handheld device. It is a primary offense, so an officer can stop you for it alone, and fines run up to $250 for a first violation and $500 after. Proof the other driver was texting is strong evidence of negligence.⁸

If a bar or store over-served the driver who hit you, Arkansas dram-shop liability is narrow. A seller is civilly liable only when it knowingly sold alcohol to a minor (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-126-103) or to someone who was clearly intoxicated at the time of the sale (§ 16-126-104).⁹ Arkansas recognizes no social-host liability for serving adult guests at a private gathering.

On a motorcycle, Arkansas requires a helmet only for operators and passengers under 21, though every rider regardless of age must wear eye protection (Ark. Code Ann. § 27-20-104).¹⁰ Riding helmetless at 30 is legal, but expect the other side to raise it if you have a head injury.

Steps that protect an Arkansas claim

Get the official crash report. The Arkansas State Police keeps the state's central crash-report repository, and reports are usually available within about ten business days.¹¹ You can request yours through the Arkansas crash report page.

Photograph the vehicles, the road, any skid marks, the weather, and your injuries, and collect names and numbers from witnesses before they leave. Because a few points of fault can wipe out your recovery, evidence gathered at the scene is your best protection later. See a doctor promptly even if you feel okay, because gaps in treatment are the first thing an adjuster points to when arguing you were not really hurt.

If your car was repaired but is now worth less on paper, that lost value is a separate claim; the Arkansas diminished value page walks through it. And when the injuries or the fault fight are serious, talk with a lawyer early. You can find one through the thatcarhitme.com legal directory.

This is general information about Arkansas law, not legal advice for your particular situation.

Sources

1. NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), Arkansas state data. https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/states/statescrashesandallvictims.aspx

2. Arkansas Code Ann. § 16-56-105 (Actions with limitation of three years). https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-16/subtitle-5/chapter-56/subchapter-1/section-16-56-105/

3. Arkansas Code Ann. § 16-64-122 (Comparative fault). https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-16/subtitle-5/chapter-64/section-16-64-122/

4. Arkansas Code Ann. § 23-89-202 (Required first-party coverage). https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-23/subtitle-3/chapter-89/subchapter-2/section-23-89-202/

5. Arkansas Code Ann. § 27-22-104 (Insurance required, minimum coverage). https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-2/chapter-22/subchapter-1/section-27-22-104/

6. Arkansas Code Ann. §§ 23-89-403 and 23-89-209 (Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage). https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-23/subtitle-3/chapter-89/subchapter-4/section-23-89-403/ ; https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-23/subtitle-3/chapter-89/subchapter-2/section-23-89-209/

7. Bayer CropScience LP v. Schafer, 2011 Ark. 518; Ark. Code Ann. § 16-55-208; Ark. Const. art. 5, § 32. https://law.justia.com/cases/arkansas/supreme-court/2011/10-1246-0.html

8. Arkansas Code Ann. § 27-51-1504, Paul's Law (Use of wireless telecommunications device when driving). https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-4/chapter-51/subchapter-15/section-27-51-1504/

9. Arkansas Code Ann. §§ 16-126-103 and 16-126-104 (Civil liability for sale of alcohol). https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-16/subtitle-7/chapter-126/section-16-126-103/

10. Arkansas Code Ann. § 27-20-104 (Standard equipment required). https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-2/chapter-20/subchapter-1/section-27-20-104/

11. Arkansas State Police Crash Report Online Purchase System. https://crashreports.ark.org/