Pedestrian Accident Complaint

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (PEDESTRIAN COLLISION) — ARKANSAS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. General Factual Allegations
4. Count I — Negligence (Against Defendant Driver)
5. Count II — Negligence Per Se (Against Defendant Driver)
6. Count III — Negligent Entrustment / Vicarious Liability (Against Defendant Owner)
7. Damages
8. Prayer for Relief
9. Jury Demand
10. Reservation of Rights
11. Signature and Service Blocks
12. Certificate of Service
13. Arkansas Practice Notes
14. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY, ARKANSAS

[___________] DIVISION

CASE NO. [________________]

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (PEDESTRIAN COLLISION)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, for this Complaint against Defendants, states and alleges as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an adult resident citizen of [COUNTY] County, Arkansas, and at all material times was lawfully present as a pedestrian upon or crossing the public roadways of this State.

2. Defendant [DRIVER NAME] ("Driver Defendant") is, upon information and belief, an adult resident citizen of [COUNTY / STATE] and may be served with process at [SERVICE ADDRESS] pursuant to Rule 4, Ark. R. Civ. P.

3. Defendant [OWNER / EMPLOYER NAME] ("Owner Defendant") is [an individual / a corporation / an LLC] that, at all material times, owned, controlled, and/or maintained the vehicle operated by Driver Defendant and/or employed Driver Defendant. Owner Defendant may be served at [SERVICE ADDRESS / REGISTERED AGENT].

4. Separate Defendants John Does 1–5 are persons or entities, whose identities are presently unknown to Plaintiff, who negligently caused or contributed to the collision and Plaintiff's injuries, including any additional owner, employer, lessor, or maintainer of the subject vehicle. Plaintiff will substitute their true names by amendment when ascertained.

5. This action arises under Arkansas tort law for personal injuries sustained when a motor vehicle struck Plaintiff, a pedestrian, in [COUNTY] County, Arkansas, on [__/__/____].

6. Subject-matter jurisdiction is proper in this Circuit Court pursuant to Ark. Const. amend. 80, § 6 and Ark. Code § 16-13-201, as the claims sound in tort and the amount in controversy exceeds any applicable jurisdictional minimum.

7. Venue is proper in this county under Ark. Code § 16-60-101 et seq. because the cause of action, or a substantial part thereof, arose in this county and/or one or more Defendants resides herein.

3. GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

8. On [__/__/____] at approximately [TIME], Plaintiff was lawfully crossing [ROADWAY] [within a marked crosswalk / within an unmarked crosswalk at the intersection of [CROSS STREET] / at the intersection of [CROSS STREET] with the WALK signal illuminated], in [CITY], Arkansas (the "Collision").

9. At the same time and place, Driver Defendant was operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] [passenger vehicle / pickup truck / SUV / commercial vehicle] owned by Owner Defendant, traveling [northbound / southbound / etc.] on [ROADWAY].

10. Traffic, lighting, and weather conditions were [describe — e.g., clear, dry, daylight], and Plaintiff was plainly visible to a driver keeping a proper lookout.

11. The Collision occurred when Driver Defendant [SELECT / DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF COLLISION — e.g., failed to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff in the crosswalk; turned left or right across the crosswalk into Plaintiff's path; accelerated through the intersection without looking; passed a vehicle that had stopped to allow Plaintiff to cross; was traveling at an unsafe speed and could not stop].

12. Driver Defendant "looked but failed to see" Plaintiff, failed to keep a proper and careful lookout for pedestrians, was distracted and/or inattentive, was traveling at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent for the conditions, and/or failed to yield the right-of-way and take evasive action to avoid striking Plaintiff.

13. Plaintiff was crossing in a lawful, prudent, and careful manner at all material times, had the right-of-way, and did nothing — and failed to do nothing — that proximately caused or contributed to the Collision.

14. As a direct and proximate result of the Collision, Plaintiff — an unprotected human being with no vehicle, restraint system, or crumple zone to absorb the forces of impact — was struck by Driver Defendant's vehicle, thrown to the roadway, and sustained severe, painful, and permanent bodily injuries, including but not limited to [LIST INJURIES — e.g., orthopedic fractures, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, internal organ injuries, degloving injuries, and disfiguring scarring].

15. Because a pedestrian lacks any of the protections afforded the occupants of a motor vehicle, the forces of the Collision caused Plaintiff to suffer catastrophic injuries materially more severe than those typically sustained by vehicle occupants in a comparable collision.

16. Plaintiff received emergency care at [HOSPITAL / EMS PROVIDER] and has since undergone [SURGERIES / HOSPITALIZATION / REHABILITATION / ONGOING TREATMENT], and will require future medical care.

17. All injuries and damages alleged were the foreseeable, natural, and probable consequence of Defendants' conduct.

4. COUNT I — NEGLIGENCE (Against Defendant Driver)

18. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 17 as if fully set forth herein.

19. Driver Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of a motor vehicle, to obey the Arkansas Rules of the Road, to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians, to yield the right-of-way where required, to operate the vehicle at a safe and prudent speed, and to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon the roadway.

20. Driver Defendant breached that duty by, among other things:

• Failing to keep a proper and careful lookout for Plaintiff, a plainly visible pedestrian;
• Failing to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff while Plaintiff was lawfully crossing within a marked or unmarked crosswalk;
• Turning across, or proceeding into, the crosswalk occupied by Plaintiff when it was unsafe to do so;
• Overtaking and passing a vehicle that had stopped to permit Plaintiff to cross;
• Operating the vehicle at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent for the conditions then existing;
• Driving while distracted, inattentive, or impaired;
• Failing to reduce speed, sound the horn, brake, or take other evasive action to avoid striking Plaintiff; and
• Failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle.

21. Each of the foregoing acts and omissions, separately and in combination, was a direct and proximate cause of the Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

22. As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff has sustained the damages described in Section 7 below.

5. COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE PER SE (Against Defendant Driver)

23. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 22 as if fully set forth herein.

24. The Arkansas Rules of the Road impose specific statutory duties on Driver Defendant for the protection of pedestrians such as Plaintiff, including, as applicable to the manner of the Collision:

• Ark. Code § 27-51-1202(a) — where traffic control signals are not in place or in operation, the driver of a vehicle "shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection";
• Ark. Code § 27-51-1202(b) — whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear "shall not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle";
• Ark. Code § 27-51-1204(d) — "[n]otwithstanding the provisions of this section, every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway and shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary and shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child or any confused or incapacitated person upon a roadway"; and
• Ark. Code § 27-51-201 et seq. — duty to operate the vehicle at a speed that is reasonable and prudent under the conditions.

25. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the foregoing statutes were enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm those statutes were designed to prevent.

26. Driver Defendant violated [CITE THE SPECIFIC SECTION(S) APPLICABLE], and was cited for [TRAFFIC CITATION, IF ANY]. Under Arkansas law, the violation of a statute enacted for the safety of the public is evidence of negligence (negligence per se) to be considered with the other facts and circumstances, and Driver Defendant's violation was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

6. COUNT III — NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT / VICARIOUS LIABILITY (Against Defendant Owner)

27. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 26 as if fully set forth herein.

28. Owner Defendant entrusted the subject vehicle to Driver Defendant when Owner Defendant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that Driver Defendant was an incompetent, inexperienced, reckless, impaired, or otherwise unfit driver.

29. Alternatively, at the time of the Collision, Driver Defendant was operating the vehicle as the agent, servant, or employee of Owner Defendant and within the course and scope of that agency or employment, rendering Owner Defendant vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

30. Owner Defendant's negligent entrustment and/or vicarious liability was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages, for which Owner Defendant is jointly and severally liable to the extent permitted by Arkansas law.

7. DAMAGES

31. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and seeks recovery of the following:

• Past and future medical expenses — emergency, ambulance, hospital, surgical, diagnostic, rehabilitative, pharmaceutical, and physician care;
• Future medical and life care — anticipated surgeries, therapy, assistive devices, and long-term or attendant care, to be proven at trial;
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity — past lost income and the permanent impairment of Plaintiff's ability to earn;
• Physical pain, suffering, and mental anguish — past and future;
• Permanent physical impairment and disfigurement, including scarring;
• Loss of enjoyment of life; and
• Property damage to personal effects, including loss of use.

32. Plaintiff pleads each category of damage separately and in the alternative.

8. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays for judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, as follows:

• A. Compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by the trier of fact, in excess of the jurisdictional minimum and in an amount sufficient to compensate Plaintiff fully;
• B. Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as allowed by law;
• C. All costs of this action; and
• D. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

9. JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable as a matter of right.

10. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this Complaint to add or substitute parties (including the John Doe Defendants), to assert additional claims (including a claim for punitive damages and any uninsured/underinsured-motorist claim), and to conform the pleadings to the evidence as discovery proceeds. Plaintiff specifically denies any comparative fault and asserts that Plaintiff exercised due care at all relevant times.

11. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

Respectfully submitted this [____] day of [MONTH], 20[____].

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME] (Ark. Bar No. [________])

[LAW FIRM NAME]

Attorney for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

12. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this the [____] day of [_______________], 20[____], I served (or will cause to be served with the summons) a copy of the foregoing COMPLAINT upon the following by [the method of service under Rule 4, Ark. R. Civ. P. — service of summons and complaint by sheriff, certified mail with return receipt, or process server]:

[NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) OF DEFENDANT(S) / COUNSEL]

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME]

13. ARKANSAS PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Personal-injury actions in Arkansas must generally be commenced within three years of accrual. Ark. Code § 16-56-105. Confirm accrual and any tolling (e.g., minority, incapacity) before filing.
• MODIFIED COMPARATIVE FAULT — the central issue. Arkansas applies a modified comparative-fault rule with a 50% bar. Ark. Code § 16-64-122. A plaintiff whose fault is "of a lesser degree" than the defendant's recovers, with damages diminished in proportion to the plaintiff's own fault; if the plaintiff's fault is "equal to or greater" than the defendant's, the plaintiff recovers nothing. Because the defense will attempt to attribute fault to the pedestrian (darting out, crossing mid-block under § 27-51-1204(a), crossing against a signal, or being distracted), plead the plaintiff's due care affirmatively (¶¶ 12–13) and develop the driver's superior opportunity to avoid the Collision.
• Crosswalk and due-care framework. The driver's duty to yield to a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk is Ark. Code § 27-51-1202; the driver's overriding duty of due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian — even one outside a crosswalk — is § 27-51-1204(d). Note the per-state checklist's reference to "§ 27-51-1205" is incorrect: § 27-51-1205 governs soliciting rides, and § 27-51-1203 governs the right half of a crosswalk; the pedestrian's outside-crosswalk yield duty is § 27-51-1204(a)–(c).
• Negligence per se characterization. Arkansas treats the unexcused violation of a safety statute as negligence per se / evidence of negligence under the Arkansas Model Jury Instructions; it is generally not conclusive of negligence. Confirm the applicable AMI Civil instruction and case law before trial.
• UM/UIM and hit-and-run. Arkansas is a fault state. Pedestrians may recover under their own (or a resident relative's) automobile policy's uninsured/underinsured-motorist and medical-payments coverage even though they were not occupying a vehicle, and UM coverage typically reaches hit-and-run/phantom-vehicle collisions where the at-fault driver is unidentified. Promptly identify and notify any applicable UM/UIM carrier, preserve the claim, comply with consent-to-settle and subrogation requirements, and coordinate with the third-party liability claim. Verify current Arkansas UM/UIM statutory and policy requirements (Ark. Code § 23-89-403 et seq.).
• Fictitious-party / Doe practice. Confirm the current Arkansas practice and limitations consequences for naming and later substituting John Doe defendants before relying on the Doe allegations.
• Service. Service of the summons and complaint is governed by Rule 4, Ark. R. Civ. P. Strict compliance is required; defective service can defeat an otherwise timely action.

14. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Arkansas Code (Title 16 — Practice, Procedure, and Courts; Title 27 — Transportation) — https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/
• Ark. Code § 16-56-105 (three-year limitations) — https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-16/subtitle-5/chapter-56/section-16-56-105/
• Ark. Code § 16-64-122 (modified comparative fault — 50% bar) — https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-16/subtitle-5/chapter-64/section-16-64-122/
• Ark. Code § 27-51-1202 (pedestrians' right-of-way in crosswalks) — https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-4/chapter-51/subchapter-12/section-27-51-1202/
• Ark. Code § 27-51-1204 (pedestrians crossing at other than crosswalks; driver due-care duty) — https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-4/chapter-51/subchapter-12/section-27-51-1204/
• Ark. Code § 27-51-201 et seq. (speed restrictions)
• Ark. Code § 23-89-403 et seq. (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage) — verify
• Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 4, 8, 38)
• Arkansas Model Jury Instructions — Civil (AMI Civil) (Motor Vehicle; Pedestrian; Negligence Per Se; Comparative Fault)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in Arkansas must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.