Arkansas House Passes H.B. 1204 Limiting What People Can Recover When They are Injured
On Wednesday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1204 limiting what people who are injured through no fault of their own may recover in damages for their injuries.
Right now, when people are injured through no fault of their own, they can go to court to make the guilty party pay for their injuries.
The person or business who caused the injury cannot use the injured person’s insurance to reduce the damages they owe. Courts can review evidence and award appropriate damages based on the facts of the case. This ensures injured people get fair compensation for harm that others do to them.
H.B. 1204 restricts damages awarded in all civil lawsuits in Arkansas.
The measure limits what people can recover in damages when someone injures them through no fault of their own.
Under H.B. 1204, an injured person’s insurance could be used to reduce what the person or company who caused the injury has to pay.
- A motel that aids or abets sex-trafficking could use a trafficking victim’s insurance policy to reduce what they have to pay for the victim’s injuries.
- A drunk driver who kills or injures a stay-at-home mom could use the mother’s insurance to reduce what he has to pay to her or her family.
- A church leader who abuses a child may get to pay less to the child’s family if the family has insurance.
Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) explained some of the ways H.B. 1204 could hurt Arkansans during his testimony against the bill, which you can watch below.
H.B. 1204 might increase the insurance companies’ profits, but there is no guarantee it will lead to lower premiums for customers. There is no indication that legislation like H.B. 1204 has reduced insurance rates in any other state. That is part of the reason Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry vetoed a similar measure last year.
H.B. 1204 now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration. Below is a breakdown of how each representative voted on the bill.
The Following Representatives Voted FOR H.B. 1204
- Achor
- Andrews
- Barker
- Beaty Jr.
- Beck
- Bentley
- S. Berry
- Breaux
- Brooks
- K. Brown
- M. Brown
- N. Burkes
- R. Burkes
- Joey Carr
- John Carr
- Cavenaugh
- Childress
- Cozart
- Crawford
- Duke
- Eaton
- Eaves
- Eubanks
- Evans
- Furman
- Gonzales
- Gramlich
- Hall
- Hawk
- Hollowell
- Jean
- L. Johnson
- Long
- Lundstrum
- Lynch
- Maddox
- Magie
- McAlindon
- McClure
- McCollum
- McGrew
- B. McKenzie
- McNair
- S. Meeks
- Milligan
- J. Moore
- K. Moore
- Nazarenko
- Painter
- Pearce
- Perry
- Pilkington
- Puryear
- Ray
- Richmond
- Rose
- Rye
- Schulz
- R. Scott Richardson
- M. Shepherd
- Steele
- Steimel
- Torres
- Tosh
- Underwood
- Unger
- Walker
- Warren
- Wing
- Wooldridge
- Wooten
The Following Representatives Voted AGAINST H.B. 1204
- Barnes
- Barnett
- A. Collins
- C. Cooper
- Duffield
- Ennett
- D. Garner
- Hudson
- J. Mayberry
- McCullough
- M. McElroy
- McGruder
- T. Shephard
- Springer
- Wardlaw
- D. Whitaker
- Womack
- Gonzales Worthen
The Following Representatives Voted “Present” on H.B. 1204
- A. Brown
- Clowney
- Gazaway
- Henley
- Holcomb
The Following Representatives Did Not Vote
- F. Allen
- Dalby
- K. Ferguson
- Ladyman
- J. Richardson
- Vaught
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
