Medical malpractice in Arkansas
Last checked Aug 15, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
Elements
1
Provider-patient relationship
The defendant undertook to treat the patient.
2
Standard of care
What a reasonably careful similar provider would have done under similar circumstances.
3
Breach
The care fell below that standard.
4
Causation and injury
The breach more likely than not caused a compensable injury, not merely a bad outcome.
Burden of proof
Preponderance of the evidence, usually with expert testimony on the standard of care.
A Arkansas fact pattern
Medical malpractice in arkansas.
Statute of limitations
2 years
Ark. Code § 16-114-203
Two years from the wrongful act. Arkansas is an occurrence clock on adult malpractice.
- Foreign object: one year from discovery, if it could not reasonably have been found in the two-year window.