Modified comparative negligence, with a strict 50% bar
Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-64-122, Arkansas compares the fault chargeable to the claimant against the fault chargeable to the party or parties the claimant seeks to recover from. If the claimant's fault is less than the defendant's, damages are reduced in proportion to the claimant's own degree of fault. But if the claimant's fault is equal to or greater than the defendant's, the claimant recovers nothing at all.
Why exactly 50% matters so much
This is the detail worth understanding precisely, because it genuinely differs from how many other modified comparative states phrase the same basic idea. In a "51% bar" state, recovery is barred only once the claimant's fault exceeds the defendant's — meaning a claimant found exactly 50% at fault can still recover something there. Arkansas's bar is set one point lower: recovery is barred the moment the claimant's fault is equal to the defendant's, at exactly 50%, not only when it exceeds it. A claimant found 50% at fault in Arkansas recovers nothing; a claimant found 49% at fault recovers 51% of their damages.
Worked example
Someone with $100,000 in damages, found 49% at fault, recovers $51,000 — reduced in proportion to their own share of fault, since 49% is less than the defendant's 51%. That same person, found exactly 50% at fault instead, recovers nothing at all under Arkansas's rule, even though their share of responsibility only shifted by a single percentage point.
Who decides the percentage
The trier of fact — typically a jury, where the case reaches trial — compares the fault of every party involved. In the much more common scenario of a negotiated settlement, this comparison is effectively worked out between the parties based on the available evidence, with each side arguing for a fault percentage that favors its position.
Why this makes the fault fight especially high-stakes in Arkansas
Because the difference between recovering a substantial amount and recovering nothing can come down to a single contested percentage point near the 50% line, the fault argument in an Arkansas claim carries genuinely higher stakes than it would in a pure comparative state, or even in a 51%-bar state. See our guide to how adjusters build a fault argument in Arkansas for what that fight actually looks like in practice.