The general rule: three years
Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105, most personal injury actions in Arkansas must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues. That's genuinely longer than the two-year window most other states use, and it generally covers car accidents, slip and falls, premises liability, and similar negligence-based claims.
Intentional injuries: a much shorter, one-year window
This is the detail that surprises people the most, because it runs counter to what's true in most other states: an injury caused by someone's intentional misconduct — assault, battery, and similar intentional torts — carries a deadline of just one year under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-104, far shorter than the ordinary three-year rule for negligence. Someone hurt on purpose actually has less time to sue than someone hurt by carelessness.
Medical malpractice: two years
Medical malpractice claims follow their own, separate rule: generally two years from the date of the malpractice, under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-203, with the deadline potentially running longer in certain circumstances defined by that statute.
Product liability: the same three years
A lawsuit over a dangerous or defective product must generally be filed within three years from the date the product caused the injury or death, under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-116-203 — matching the general personal injury rule.
Wrongful death: three years, with a real exception
A wrongful death claim generally must be filed within three years of the date of death, under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-62-102. There's a genuinely distinctive exception, though: if the person responsible for the death is convicted of capital murder, or first- or second-degree murder, a wrongful death suit can be filed at any time, with no deadline at all.
Minors and incapacity: tolled to age 21, not 18
Arkansas is genuinely unusual here. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-116(a), someone injured before age 21 has three years after turning 21 to file — not the 18th birthday most other states use as the reference point. Someone found to be "insane" at the time of the injury gets the same three years, running from whenever they're found to no longer be insane.
When a defendant hides or leaves the state
See our guide to Arkansas's discovery rule and tolling for how the clock can pause when a defendant actively evades being sued, and for how the discovery rule applies to injuries that aren't immediately apparent.