Quick answer
Southern Injury Attorneys represents injured people across Arkansas — car and truck crashes, motorcycle wrecks, slip-and-fall and premises claims, and wrongful death. Arkansas generally gives you three years from the date of injury to file suit (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105), applies modified comparative fault with a 50% bar (§ 16-64-122), and requires only 25/50/25 in liability coverage (§ 27-22-104). Arkansas is an at-fault state, not a no-fault state. Our attorneys are licensed in Arkansas and in all six states the firm serves, which matters on the I-40 and I-55 corridors where crashes routinely involve out-of-state drivers and carriers. Consultations are free and our fee is contingent on recovering money for you.
This page is general legal information about Arkansas law, not legal advice about your specific case. Every claim turns on its own facts.
| General injury deadline | 3 years from the date of injury — Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105. |
|---|---|
| Wrongful death deadline | 3 years from the date of death — Ark. Code Ann. § 16-62-102. |
| Medical injury deadline | 2 years from the wrongful act — Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-203. |
| Fault rule | Modified comparative fault, 50% bar — Ark. Code Ann. § 16-64-122. Nothing is recoverable once your fault equals or exceeds the defendant’s. |
| Insurance system | At-fault (tort) state with add-on PIP and UM/UIM that must be offered and can be rejected only in writing. [ATTORNEY REVIEW] |
| Minimum auto liability | 25/50/25 — Ark. Code Ann. § 27-22-104. |
| Interstate truck minimum | $750,000 for most for-hire carriers hauling non-hazardous freight over 10,000 lbs — 49 CFR 387.9. |
| Where cases are filed | Circuit court for the county of injury; U.S. District Court for the Eastern or Western District of Arkansas where federal jurisdiction applies. [ATTORNEY REVIEW] |
| What it costs | Free consultation. Contingency fee — no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. |
In short: Arkansas gives most injury victims three years to sue, requires only 25/50/25 in coverage, and cuts recovery off completely at 50% fault — so how quickly you act and how fault gets divided decide most Arkansas claims.
Arkansas Personal Injury Lawyers
How long do I have to file an injury claim in Arkansas?
Arkansas generally gives an injured person three years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105), and three years from the date of death for a wrongful-death claim (§ 16-62-102). Claims for medical injury run on a shorter two-year clock (§ 16-114-203), and claims involving a city, county or state entity can carry notice requirements that arrive far sooner. [ATTORNEY REVIEW] Arkansas’s three-year window is generous compared with neighboring Tennessee, where most injury claims must be filed within one year — which matters if your crash happened on a trip across state lines.
How does Arkansas decide who pays?
Arkansas is an at-fault (tort) state: the driver or business that caused the harm, and that party’s insurer, pays for it. Arkansas then applies modified comparative fault with a 50% bar under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-64-122. Your damages are reduced in proportion to your own share of fault, and if that share is equal to or greater than the defendant’s, you recover nothing at all.
That cutoff is the single most important number in an Arkansas injury case. It is stricter than Mississippi, which uses pure comparative fault and allows a reduced recovery no matter how much blame an injured person carries, and stricter than Kentucky, which does the same. It is why insurers adjusting Arkansas claims invest so heavily in building a fault narrative early — moving you from 35% to 50% does not shave a settlement, it ends the claim.
What insurance coverage is available in an Arkansas claim?
Arkansas requires only 25/50/25 in liability coverage — $25,000 per person, $50,000 per crash and $25,000 in property damage (Ark. Code Ann. § 27-22-104). A single ambulance ride, emergency imaging and one surgery can exhaust that. Arkansas is an add-on state rather than a no-fault state: insurers must offer uninsured/underinsured motorist and personal-injury-protection coverage, and a driver can decline them only in writing. [ATTORNEY REVIEW] Checking every policy in a household — and every policy that might apply to a commercial defendant — is often where the recovery actually comes from.
Commercial trucking is the exception, and it is a large one. Federal law requires most for-hire interstate carriers hauling non-hazardous freight in vehicles over 10,000 pounds to maintain at least $750,000 in liability coverage (49 CFR 387.9), roughly thirty times the Arkansas auto minimum.
What kinds of Arkansas injury cases do we handle?
- Arkansas truck accident claims — 18-wheelers and commercial vehicles, including the I-40 freight corridor.
- Arkansas car accident claims — rear-end, intersection, head-on and uninsured-driver crashes.
- Arkansas motorcycle accident claims — including helmet and lane-position disputes.
- Slip-and-fall and premises liability claims against property owners and businesses.
- Wrongful death claims brought under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-62-102.
Which Arkansas communities do we serve?
Our Arkansas-licensed attorneys handle claims statewide. Two areas carry most of our Arkansas volume:
- Little Rock and Pulaski County — the state’s largest metro, where I-30 and I-40 meet and where the busiest stretch of I-40 in Arkansas runs between the I-30 and US-67/167 interchanges. Local practice pages: Little Rock car accidents, Little Rock truck accidents and Little Rock motorcycle accidents.
- West Memphis and Crittenden County — where I-40 and I-55 converge at the Mississippi River crossing into Memphis, one of the densest truck interchange points in the country. See our West Memphis truck accident and West Memphis car accident pages.
Because our main office is in Memphis, the West Memphis and eastern Arkansas corridor is effectively our backyard — we are across the bridge from Crittenden County.
What does Arkansas truck crash data show?
Arkansas absorbs an outsized share of commercial-vehicle collisions for a state of roughly three million people. FMCSA records 2,696 large truck and bus crashes in Arkansas in 2024, including 78 fatal crashes that killed 95 people, plus 1,225 injuries. The annual total has declined from 3,023 in 2022 and 2,872 in 2023. Federal crash data stays preliminary for 22 months, so recent figures shift as reporting catches up.
What does it cost to hire an Arkansas injury lawyer?
Nothing up front. We handle Arkansas injury claims on a contingency fee: our fee comes out of a recovery, and there is no attorney fee if we do not recover money for you. Consultations are free and available 24 hours a day at 800-224-5546.
Frequently asked questions about Arkansas injury claims
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Arkansas?
Generally three years from the date of injury under Ark. Code Ann. section 16-56-105. Wrongful-death claims run three years from the date of death under section 16-62-102, and medical injury claims run two years under section 16-114-203. Claims against government entities can carry much shorter notice deadlines.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault for the accident in Arkansas?
Yes, as long as your share of fault is less than the defendant’s. Arkansas uses modified comparative fault with a 50 percent bar under Ark. Code Ann. section 16-64-122. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and recovery is barred entirely once your fault equals or exceeds the defendant’s.
Is Arkansas a no-fault state?
No. Arkansas is an at-fault, or tort, state. The party who caused the harm and that party’s insurer are responsible. Arkansas is an add-on state, meaning insurers must offer personal injury protection and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, which a driver may reject only in writing.
What are Arkansas’s minimum auto insurance limits?
25/50/25 under Ark. Code Ann. section 27-22-104 — $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage. Serious injuries routinely exceed those limits, which is why uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matters.
How much insurance does a commercial truck carry in Arkansas?
Most for-hire interstate carriers hauling non-hazardous freight in vehicles over 10,000 pounds must maintain at least $750,000 in liability coverage under 49 CFR 387.9, with higher limits for certain hazardous cargo. That is far above the Arkansas private auto minimum.
Where will my Arkansas injury case be filed?
State claims are generally filed in the circuit court for the county where the injury occurred — Pulaski County for Little Rock, Crittenden County for West Memphis. Cases against out-of-state defendants may proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern or Western District of Arkansas.
Do you charge anything up front?
No. We work on a contingency fee, so our fee comes out of a recovery and there is no attorney fee if we do not recover money for you. The consultation is free and available 24 hours a day.
Are your attorneys licensed in Arkansas?
Yes. Southern Injury Attorneys is licensed in Arkansas as well as Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Kentucky and Georgia, which lets us handle claims that cross state lines — a common situation on the I-40 and I-55 corridors between Arkansas and Memphis.
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