Frequently Asked Questions

If you are planning on introducing an estimate or written statement from a car rental agency, it is always best to have the person who prepared the estimate or statement present at Court to testify and to be cross-examined about the estimate and its validity. If the person cannot be in Court, you can prepare an Affidavit for the records custodian (anyone in charge of the records) of the business which prepared the estimate or statement, if the estimate or statement is a business record, in accordance with Ark. Code Ann. § 16-46-108.(Small Claims Form) This Affidavit must be prepared, signed under oath in front of a Notary Public, and filed with the Court two weeks before trial. A copy must also be provided to the Defendant 

In addition, as the owner of the vehicle, Arkansas law permits you to give your opinion as to the value of your vehicle. The Judge does not have to accept your opinion but you are entitled to give the opinion. If a Judge asks you to cite him or her to authority that you can give the opinion, ask the Judge to review the case of Zhan v. Sherman, 323 Ark. 172, 913 S.W.2d 776 (1996).

The other insurance company may have the case transferred from the Small Claims Division of the District Court to the Civil Division of the District Court. Whether the case is in the Small Claims Division or Civil Division, you can still represent yourself. There are a few things to know in these circumstances.

You should fill out the Small Claims Court Claim Form accurately. In order to sue the at-fault driver, it is necessary that you show that the driver was negligent. In Arkansas, negligence is the failure to do something which a reasonably careful person would do, or the doing of something which a reasonably careful person would not do, under circumstances similar to those shown by the evidence in the case. If the other driver disobeyed a traffic law, such as following your vehicle too closely, disregarding a red light, or failing to yield, this is evidence of negligence and generally will be accepted as negligence. 

You should be aware, however, that if you were also negligent, that the amount of your negligence will reduce any judgment in your vehicle. In addition, if your negligence is equal to or greater than the negligence of the at-fault driver, you cannot recover at all.

Filing a Lawsuit. If the at-fault driver’s insurance company does not pay for your damages and you desire to pursue a claim, you must file a lawsuit against the other driver. Arkansas law does not permit you to sue the other driver’s insurance company. 

If you don’t have collision insurance coverage or desire to pursue a claim against a third party, if the amount of damage to your vehicle is $5,000 or less, you can file suit yourself, without an attorney, in an Arkansas Small Claims Court. Small Claims Courts are a division of the District Court, formerly known as Municipal Courts. When filing in the Small Claims Division, it is extremely important that the claim form that you are filing (Small Claims Form) shows that it is in the Small Claims Division and NOT in the Civil Division of the District Court. YOU CANNOT FILE A SMALL CLAIMS LAWSUIT WHICH SEEKS MORE THAN $5,000 IN DAMAGES. More Information on Small Claims Courts is available athttp://courts.arkansas.gov/documents/small_claims_info.pdf

Venue is the place where you must file your lawsuit. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-17-706 (an Arkansas statute or law) provides that small claims lawsuits for property damage must be brought in either the county where the accident occurred or where the Defendant (the other driver) resides at the time the lawsuit is filed. You must file in the Small Claims Division of the District Court in one of these locations to bring a small claims lawsuit.

If there is more than one District Court in the County, such as in Sebastian County where there is a District Court in both Fort Smith and Greenwood, you should contact the District Court to determine the Court’s geographical jurisdiction to make sure that you are filing in the correct Court. Please note:

(a) If you are suing in Sebastian County, the Small Claims Division of the Fort Smith District Court has jurisdiction over Fort Smith only. You may bring a claim in this Court only if the claim arose in the city limits of Fort Smith. You can reach the Court at this number: (479) 784-2377.

(b) If your claim arose in Sebastian County anywhere other than in Fort Smith, the claim must be brought in the Small Claims Division of the Greenwood District Court. You can reach this Court at this number: (479) 996-6501.

The at-fault driver’s insurance company may provide you with a check for repairs to your vehicle before repairs on the vehicle begin. We frequently see repair estimates that are later determined to be incomplete because not all vehicle damage can be seen until the repairs actually begin. Therefore, we strongly caution against cashing the check until all repairs are complete unless the other insurance company promises in writing that it will pay for any repairs not included in the estimate that are later determined to be necessary to repair your vehicle. 

Cost of Repair or Value of Your Vehicle if a Total Loss ___________

+ Value of Sales Tax, only if your vehicle is a total loss ___________

+ Loss of use $_____ * ________
(number of days until vehicle is repaired or value of vehicle is paid for if a total loss)    ____________

TOTAL DAMAGES  $___________

-If CCC Information Services is used to value your vehicle, you should ask for a copy of the CCC valuation. You should compare the CCC valuation to the NADA valuation, http://www.nada.com. Remember, CCC charges insurance companies. Unless it was saving money over NADA valuations, insurance companies wouldn’t be using CCC.

- CCC will provide a valuation based on, what it claims are, comparable vehicles. These will generally be vehicles of the same type, same year, comparably equipped, in the same geographic area.

-In many instances, we have found that the CCC valuations are well below NADA valuations. We believe that CCC, at times, may use vehicles priced for a quick sale because the seller needs money quickly. Vehicles offered for quick sale generally sell quickly. You generally cannot purchase a vehicle at a quick sale price because the vehicle sells so quickly that it is not available when you try to buy it. Using vehicles offered for quick sale in a CCC valuation is both unrealistic and unfair.

-Be prepared to challenge a CCC valuation.

-Call the listed telephone numbers on the CCC valuation to see if the comparable vehicles are available for purchase. If they are not available at the time, you should tell the insurance company that they are not comparable vehicles because they are not available for purchase.If a comparable vehicle is several hundred miles away, you should challenge the vehicle as being comparable because it is not in your geographic area. It would be unfair for you to have to travel several hundred miles to obtain the vehicle without being compensated for both your time and expense in traveling to purchase the vehicle. Therefore, be prepared to challenge vehicles that are not located close to your location.

If the vehicle is a total loss, and the insurance company uses a service other than NADA or Kelley Blue Book, you should ask how the value of your vehicle was determined. If necessary, be prepared to challenge the value of your vehicle if a method other than NADA or Kelley Blue Book is used. We believe that the best method is to obtain a written statement from an automobile dealer (preferably the dealership that sold you the automobile if it was purchased from a dealer) setting forth the value of your vehicle after the accident and the value if it had not been damaged in the accident. A copy of the statement from the dealer should be supplied to the insurance company. Some insurance companies utilize the services of CCC Information Services, http://www.cccis.com, to provide an evaluation of the value of your vehicle.

If the cost of repair of your vehicle exceeds 70% of the value of your vehicle, the vehicle should be declared a total loss. You can determine the value of your vehicle at the NADA’s web site,http://www.nada.com. While Kelley Blue Book,http://www.kbb.com, is accepted by some insurance companies, we have found that insurance companies more readily accept the NADA valuations.

Make a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company if a claim has not already been reported. You can generally obtain the name and insurance policy number of the at fault driver on the Accident Report. You can generally find a local agency for the insurance company in the local telephone directory. Call the agency to obtain the telephone number of the at-fault driver’s insurance company. If you cannot find the insurance company in the local telephone directory, perform a search from an internet search engine, such as Google or Yahoo, for the insurance company. If the company has an internet web site, you can attempt to obtain contact information from the web site. As a last resort, you can call the Arkansas Insurance Department at 1-800-282-9134 to obtain contact information.

First, if you have collision coverage on your automobile insurance policy, we recommend making a claim with your insurance company. You can help to reduce or mitigate your damages by making a claim with your own insurance company. Your insurance company, which wants to save as much money as possible, may also assist you in making a property damage claim against another insurance company.

When a personal injury case goes to trial before a judge or jury, certain rules govern the admissibility of evidence.  In state courts in Arkansas, those rules are known as the Arkansas Rules of Evidence.  These rules are freely available online at http://courts.arkansas.gov/rules/rules_of_evidence/index.cfm which is a website operated by the Arkansas Supreme Court.  In Arkansas, the Rules of Evidence are actually established and written by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Adjust the height of your vehicle's headrest. Specifically adjust the headrest up or down until the center of the headrest meets the center of the back of your head. This will help keep the head from pivoting over the top of the headrest in a rear end collision. Check to make sure that your head is not sitting too far in front of the headrest when you drive. The center of the back part of your head should be no further than the width of four fingers from the headrest. Keep your eyes on the road and your head straight while driving. Having your head or body turned during a collision can increase your chances of a significant injury.

There are many benefits from getting an attorney involved in your case as early as possible. One of these benefits is that it generally reduces the possibility that a lawsuit will have to be filed to recover a fair amount for your injuries. We will work to get a fair value for your case. However, there are instances where a fair settlement cannot be reached and it becomes necessary to sue. We will only file suit after discussing all other options with you and, of course, we will keep you informed of the status of your case throughout the course of representing you.

No attorney can truthfully answer this question without knowing the nature, extent and duration of your injuries. The value of your case depends upon the damages that you will incur that result from the fault of a third party. We need to know the extent of your injury, what treatment you will require in the future, whether your injuries are permanent, whether you will have any lost income or ability to earn income in the future, and other information to be able to evaluate the value of your case. This information has been obtained, we have the experience, training, and skill to evaluate your case.

Yes. There is little, if any, correlation between the injury sustained in an accident and the extent of the property damage. Studies and testing show that injury can be predicted based upon whether the occupant of a vehicle has been subjected to certain risk factors in a collision. We can discuss these risk factors with you in person. Our attorneys are trained in recognizing and evaluating the risk factors involved in injuries in low speed rear impact collisions that result in little, if any, visible property damage.

We recommend contacting us as soon as possible after being involved in an accident. Property damage claims are generally settled within the first few weeks after an accident. Hiring us early helps to insure a fair settlement for your property damage claim (without having to pay us an attorney fee when we also represent you on a bodily injury claim). We also insure that storage fees on your damaged vehicle are kept to a minimum. Additionally, hiring us early allows us to preserve all evidence that is favorable to you. We are also able to stop insurance companies from obtaining a statement from you, while you are in pain and not thinking clearly due to the stress of the accident and injury, and to use your statement to either pay less or pay nothing at all on your claim. Early involvement also insures that all documentation necessary to pursue your claim is obtained in a timely fashion.

No, in fact it will probably shorten the amount of time but you will receive more money in most cases. Hiring us early insures that we immediately gather and preserve all evidence that is favorable to you. We will conduct a thorough investigation and make sure that all favorable evidence is secured. We work closely with your physicians to get the necessary medical documents to pursue your claim and provide these to the insurance company. We can answer your questions to help you get the best possible medical care to get back to work and recover from your injuries as quickly as possible. By hiring us early, you are less likely to have to file a lawsuit because all of the steps necessary to settle your case will be taken.

No. We invest not only the amount of time needed for handling serious injury cases but also the amount of money needed to properly handle your claim. Unlike many other lawyers, we’re not afraid to invest substantial amounts of money to hire the best possible experts that we need to pursue your serious injury claim. This may include accident reconstructionists, economic damage experts, medical experts, vocational rehabilitation experts, as well as other experts in various sciences. We have relationships with many experts in various fields and are prepared to hire experts in any area reasonably needed in any serious injury case. While we recover the cost of expert witnesses when your case is settled or a verdict is obtained, you are not expected to pay any of these expenses, no matter how large, unless and until we make a recovery for you.

Over time, you car can become almost like a member of your family. We understand that book value isn’t enough to compensate for a vehicle that has been declared a total loss in all cases. There are times that your vehicle is your baby, and you are entitled to more than book value. When there is a gap between what you say your car is worth and what the insurance company says its worth, The Law Firm can help you receive the highest compensation for your vehicle.

We charge a contingency fee for bodily injury claims. The percentage is competitive but varies with the complexity of your case. Charging a contingency fee means that we don't get paid unless and until you get paid. You don't pay us anything unless and until you get paid. In cases involving property damage (i.e., damage to a vehicle) and personal injury in an accident, we don't charge any attorney fees for handling your property damage claim. We don't believe that it is fair for an attorney to be taking some portion of the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle.