Pain & Suffering: Medical Malpractice vs. Ordinary Injury

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

In most states, medical malpractice pain and suffering plays by different rules than an ordinary car accident claim. Arkansas's constitution erases that distinction entirely.

The usual pattern nationally

Across the country, medical malpractice is by far the most commonly capped category of personal injury claim. Ordinary injury claims — car accidents, slip-and-falls — are capped in only a small minority of states.

Arkansas doesn't follow that pattern

Arkansas Constitution Article 5, Section 32 bans any law capping damages for causing injury — full stop, with no carve-out for malpractice. A 2016 attempt to create exactly such a carve-out, via a proposed constitutional amendment allowing a $250,000 cap on medical-injury noneconomic damages, did not become law. The result: Arkansas applies the exact same no-cap rule to both ordinary injury and medical malpractice pain and suffering.

Where malpractice cases still differ

Even though the damages rule is identical, malpractice cases aren't procedurally identical to ordinary injury claims. Ark. Code §16-114-206 governs the specific proof required in a medical-injury case, generally requiring expert testimony establishing the standard of care and how the defendant's conduct fell below it. Arkansas does recognize res ipsa loquitur — allowing an inference of negligence from the nature of certain injuries — in limited malpractice circumstances, an additional tool not typically relevant in an ordinary car accident claim.

One thing that stays consistent either way: Arkansas's modified comparative fault rule applies to both case types equally. The 50% bar works the same way in a malpractice case as in any other injury claim — see our Comparative Negligence Calculator for Arkansas for how that works.

This is general information, not legal advice. Medical malpractice claims involve procedural requirements beyond what's described here. Confirm how Arkansas's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed attorney.