Wrongful Death Deadline vs. Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Arkansas gives families a relatively generous 3-year window for most wrongful death claims — but there's a real exception that can cut that down to 2 years, and it's easy to miss.

The standard 3-year window

Both ordinary personal injury and most wrongful death claims in Arkansas fall under a 3-year statute of limitations, under Ark. Code §16-56-105 (also reflected at §16-116-103 for personal injury and death specifically). For a wrongful death claim, this 3-year clock runs from the date of death, not the date of the underlying injury or accident — which matters when someone is injured, survives for a period, and dies later from that injury.

The medical malpractice exception

This is where families most often get tripped up: a wrongful death claim arising from medical malpractice doesn't get the standard 3 years. Instead, it follows Arkansas's separate medical malpractice statute of limitations, Ark. Code §16-114-203(a), which runs on a shorter 2-year deadline. A family that assumes they have the full 3 years because "wrongful death is wrongful death" can lose their claim entirely if the underlying cause was medical malpractice and they wait past the 2-year mark.

The survival action may run differently

Arkansas's survival action preserves certain claims the decedent held at death, separate from the wrongful death action itself. Confirm with an attorney how any surviving claim's own deadline interacts with the wrongful death clock — don't assume both automatically run on the same timeline.

This is general information, not legal advice, and deadline rules allow little room for error. Confirm the exact deadline for your situation — especially if medical malpractice may be involved — with a licensed Arkansas attorney immediately.