Your employer is hoping you never find out this: if you were hurt while working, Arkansas workers' comp can apply even if a road crew, flagger, or contractor caused it, and you may also have a separate claim against that outside company. Do not just clock out and disappear. Tell your employer in writing today, ask for medical treatment under workers' comp, and if it was serious get emergency care first. In Arkansas, most employers with 3 or more employees must carry workers' comp, and you generally have 2 years to file a workers' comp claim, but waiting even a few days can make the fight much harder. If your boss tries to push this onto your health insurance or unpaid time off, that is a red flag.

Here's why this matters right now in Bentonville construction season. If you were driving, loading, making deliveries, or crossing a lane shift for work when a paving truck, cone trailer, flagger vehicle, or other road-work equipment hit you, that is usually a work injury first. Your employer reports it to their carrier, and the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission oversees disputes.

Workers' comp can cover:

• Medical care
• Mileage reimbursement for treatment trips
• Part of lost wages through temporary total disability
• Permanent impairment benefits if you do not fully recover

Separately, if the road contractor, subcontractor, or traffic-control company caused the crash, you may have a third-party injury claim for losses workers' comp does not fully pay, including fuller wage loss and pain and suffering.

Act fast. Save photos of the work zone, lane shift, truck numbers, company names on signs, and the police report. If this happened on a state route or near a highway job, note whether ARDOT signage or contractors were present. Spring weather and sudden lane changes around Bentonville job sites can erase evidence fast.