Basic Arkansas Personal Injury Law

Personal injury occurs when someone is injured physically or mentally due to someone’s negligence. Personal injury is a blanket term that defines a broad category of incidents where someone may be liable. Some of the more common types of personal injury include:

• Car accident victims – for those who are injured in an auto accident, a personal injury attorney may help them recover damaged from the other driver. In many cases, insurance companies are going to attempt to keep the amount of a settlement as low as possible in order to protect their bottom line. A personal injury attorney can help ensure victims get the compensation they deserve. Personal injury suits will not help you pay for the damage to your vehicle, but will help pay for medical treatment over the short-term and long-term
• Medical malpractice victims – whether you have suffered because of a missed diagnosis or you have been prescribed medication that exacerbated an existing condition, you may be a victim of medical malpractice. In addition to these common claims, other medical malpractice includes loved ones who suffer nursing home abuse, surgical errors and in some cases, certain birth defects that were caused by a physician’s prescribing medications or failure to recognize warning signs of fetal distress
• Defective product victims – whether you have been administered a drug that is making you ill or you have purchased an appliance that caused you bodily injury, you may be entitled to file a defective product claim. A Arkansas personal injury attorney can help you determine your rights under the laws and make sure you get the compensation you deserve

Understanding statutes of limitations
Arkansas law is very specific about when you must file a claim for personal injury. The statutes are
clearly laid out in Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-101 et. seq. and are as follows:

• Personal injury for minors who are injured – claims must be filed by the time the minor reaches age 21
• Personal injury resulting from car accidents or product defects – claims must be filed within three years of the accident/injury
• Personal injury resulting from medical malpractice – claims must be filed within two years of the negligent act
• Wrongful death claims – if you lost a family member because of someone’s negligence, you may have up to three years to file a wrongful death suit

Victims of bodily injury, or in the case of wrongful death, their family members, may be eligible to receive compensation for medical treatment(s), lost wages, loss of consortium and pain and suffering. However, without contacting an attorney who understands the personal injury statutes, you may wind up at the mercy of an insurance company who is determined to pay as little as possible on your claim.

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