Collins v. Excel Specialty Products

A cardinal rule of statutory construction is to give effect to the intent of the legislature. To do so we first look at the plain language of the statute and, giving the words their plain and ordinary meaning, construe the statute just as it reads. Flowers v. Norman Oaks Construction, 68 Ark. App. 239, 6 S.W.3d 118 (1999). If the language of the statute is not ambiguous and plainly states the intent of the legislature, then we will look no further. Id.

Act 796 of 1993 made sweeping changes to the Arkansas workers’ compensation law. In so doing, the legislature, with crystalline clarity,…