A permanent disability can change your life. If another person or business caused an accident that left you with a permanent disability, Arkansas law allows you to bring a claim to seek financial compensation for your damages. An experienced Little Rock personal injury lawyer can review your case, investigate your accident, and help you take action to seek the maximum compensation.

If you are preparing a personal injury claim involving a permanent disability, it is imperative that you look beyond your medical bills and lost wages. While the damages you have already incurred can be significant, you will likely also have a wide range of future economic and non-economic losses to account for in any settlement or jury verdict.

How Much Compensation Can You Recover for a Permanent Disability?

Arkansas law does not assign a fixed dollar value to a permanent disability. The value of such a personal injury claim depends on a wide range of factors, including the victim’s actual damages, e.g., past and future medical care, lost current and future income, and the pain and suffering they have endured and will continue to endure.

In other words, compensation for a permanent disability claim in Arkansas varies based on the nature of the disability, its effect on the injured victim’s life, the financial losses it creates, and the strength of the evidence supporting those damages.

A permanent disability may significantly increase both economic and non-economic damages. An injured victim may need additional surgery, rehabilitation, medications, adaptive equipment, home modifications, or personal assistance for years into the future. In Arkansas, injured victims absolutely have the right to seek compensation for reasonably likely future damages.

In most cases, a permanent disability can also reduce the injured victim’s ability to earn income. Arkansas distinguishes lost wages from loss of earning capacity. To prove lost wages, you must reasonably prove the amount of wages lost and the period of the loss. Diminished earning capacity, by contrast, addresses a permanent reduction in earning power.

How Do You Prove Permanent Disabilities in an Arkansas Personal Injury Claim?

An injured victim cannot simply describe an injury as permanent and expect a jury to award damages on that basis. Arkansas courts require evidence that establishes permanency with reasonable certainty. If the evidence leaves permanence to speculation or conjecture, the court should not allow the jury to award damages for permanent injury.

Medical evidence provides the foundation for any personal injury claim in Arkansas. With permanent impairments, the medical records are going to be lengthy and complex. They must be comprehensive to support the claim. What these medical records will include depends on the facts and the case.

For example, a treating physician or appropriate specialist may explain the diagnosis, objective findings, treatment history, and prognosis. The physician may also provide an expert opinion on the patient’s remaining physical restrictions and likelihood that the condition will continue indefinitely. Other medical records matter as well. Diagnostic imaging, surgical records, functional testing, impairment evaluations, and a documented failure to improve despite treatment can provide additional support.

The Arkansas Supreme Court has made the importance of medical records extremely clear in serious injury claims. In 2006, in Volunteer Transport, Inc. v. House, the state’s highest court reversed a substantial compensation award in a personal injury case because the plaintiff failed to provide adequate expert testimony or objective evidence supporting the claimed nature, extent, and permanency of his injury. The key takeaway is that medical records matter.

How Life has Changed for the Victim is Also Important Evidence

Medical records are not the only evidence used to establish damages in a permanent disability case. A wide range of other evidence may also be used. An injured victim should be prepared to prove what the permanent disability actually changed. This may include testimony from the injured person, family members, physicians, vocational experts, and other witnesses that establishes limitations involving work, mobility, household activities, personal care, recreation, or independence.

When the claim includes diminished earning capacity, the evidence should connect the permanent impairment to a reduced ability to earn income in the future. Arkansas treats loss of earning capacity as a separate element of damages and requires proof of a permanent injury before a claimant may recover for that loss. That financial recovery can be significant. For example, our Little Rock personal injury firm recovered more than $700,000 in compensation for a client who suffered permanent harm due to hazardous conditions on someone else’s property.

FAQs: Permanent Disabilities and Personal Injury Compensation

What is the definition of a permanent disability?

There is no standard legal definition of the term “permanent disability” in Arkansas. Broadly, a permanent disability is one that causes a permanent impairment affecting a significant life function. The Arkansas Supreme Court has described a permanent injury as one that deprives an injured victim of the reasonable ability to live with the same comfort, ease, and physical vigor they had before the accident.

Who can be held liable for permanent disabilities in an accident in Arkansas?

Any party whose negligence contributed to the accident that caused your permanent disability may potentially be liable for your damages. Depending on the case, that could include a negligent driver, trucking company, property owner, employer, product manufacturer, or another responsible party. An experienced Arkansas attorney should thoroughly investigate all serious accidents.

Can I reopen a settlement if my injuries are worse than I thought?

Generally, no. Arkansas courts usually enforce settlements even when an injured victim later discovers that their condition is more serious than they understood when they settled. To reopen a settlement, you need to rely on a very narrow exception, such as proving the defendant/insurer engaged in fraud. Do not settle a case until you are confident you are getting full compensation.

Contact Our Little Rock Personal Injury Lawyer Today

At Reed Firm, our Little Rock personal injury attorney puts people and families first. If you or your loved one suffered permanent disabilities in an accident, we are more than ready to help you seek the maximum financial compensation. Call us at 501-777-7333 or connect with us online to set up a free, strictly confidential case review. Our firm fights for justice for injured victims in Little Rock, Pulaski County, and throughout the surrounding region.

Can You Recover Compensation for Permanent Disabilities?