Products Liability Series: Does Arkansas Recognize Market Share Liability as a Theory of Liability?
No. Arkansas has not adopted alternative or market share liability, but has retained the traditional requirement of proximate cause in all tort cases. See Woodward v. Blythe, 249 Ark. 793, 462 S.W.2d 205 (1971). To prove a products liability case in Arkansas, a plaintiff must show that a product…
Products Liability Series: Can an Expert Witness Merely Reiterate Others' Opinions?
No. An expert cannot merely reiterate, vouch for, or bolster the opinions of someone else, as this is improper and inadmissible. Ark. R. Evid. 702; Food, Inc. v. Indus. Risk Insurers, No. 5:13-CV-05204, 2015 WL 12914256, at *2 (W.D. Ark. Oct. 6, 2015) (holding that expert could not offer opinions…
Products Liability Series: Does Arkansas Law Recognize a Claim for Medical Monitoring?
No. Medical monitoring may possibly be treated as a type of damages, but is not a separate cause of action in Arkansas. The Rule. Although the case law on this topic is scant in Arkansas, in one case the Arkansas Supreme Court acknowledged that there is no standalone claim for medical monitoring…
Products Liability Series: Is the Violation of a Statute Negligence Per Se?
The answer to this question varies widely from state to state. But in Arkansas “the violation of a statute is only evidence of negligence and does not constitute negligence per se.” Cent. Oklahoma Pipeline, Inc. v. Hawk Field Servs., LLC, 2012 Ark. 157, 17, 400 S.W.3d 701, 712 (2012); Shannon v…
Arkansas' New Driverless-Vehicle Bill Makes Important Products Liability Distinction
All that remains for an updated driverless-vehicle bill in Arkansas is the signature of Governor Asa Hutchinson. House Bill 1562, which amends Arkansas’ 2019 pilot program for autonomous vehicles was approved by a unanimous vote of the Arkansas House of Representatives in March, and was approved by…