Ark. Code Ann. » Title 16 Chapter 114
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-212 (2026)

Tolling of the statute of limitations

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaArk. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
  1. If a plaintiff serves written notice of intention to file an action for medical injury within thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations, the statute of limitations shall be tolled for ninety (90) days only if the following conditions are met:
    1. The written notice shall be served by certified mail, return receipt requested, upon the medical care provider alleged to have caused the medical injury;
    2. The written notice shall include the following:
      1. The plaintiff's full name, date of birth, present address, address at the time of treatment at issue, and Social Security number;
      2. The date or dates of the treatment in question and a summary of the alleged wrongful conduct; and
      3. The names and addresses of the known medical care providers relating to the alleged medical injury; and
    3. An authorization to release medical records signed by the plaintiff, which shall authorize the medical care provider alleged to be liable to obtain pertinent medical records, shall be attached to the notice.
  2. Failure to comply with any of the requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed to be material and shall result in the statute of limitation's not being tolled.
    1. If the plaintiff files an action for medical injury during this tolling period without the requisite affidavit required by § 16-114-209(b)(1) and (2), the complaint shall be dismissed and costs, attorney's fees, and appropriate sanctions as determined by the court shall be assessed.
    2. The provisions of § 16-114-209(b)(3) do not apply to cases filed during the tolling period.
    1. If a request for the production of copies of the medical records accompanies the written notice of intention to file an action for medical injury in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, and if copies of those medical records are not provided within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice, then the plaintiff may file an independent expedited declaratory action seeking a declaration that the medical care provider failed to produce the medical records within the thirty-day period.
      1. If the court finds that copies of the medical records were not produced as required by this subsection, the statute of limitations shall be tolled for a period of seventy-five (75) days from the date of the production of the copies of the medical records.
      2. If the court finds that the failure to produce copies of the requested medical records is without good cause, the court shall award the plaintiff his or her reasonable costs and attorney's fees for the declaratory judgment action.

History. Acts 2003, No. 649, § 22.

Case Notes

In General.

Medical malpractice complaint that was not accompanied by an expert's affidavit was properly dismissed; although plaintiffs alleged that the negligence of the doctor in allowing a sharp instrument to fall into patient's spinal cord was within a jury's comprehension as a matter of general knowledge, the court found that an expert was required for the jury to understand what a cervical diskectomy and fusion was, what instruments were used to perform the procedures, what procedures and risks were involved, and whether the doctor's actions proximately caused the injury alleged by appellants. Robbins v. Johnson, 367 Ark. 506, 241 S.W.3d 747 (2006) (decided in part under § 16-114-209, now deemed superseded).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2006–2024 · leading case: Robbins v. Johnson, 241 S.W.3d 747 (Ark. 2006).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Robbins v. Johnson, 241 S.W.3d 747 (Ark. 2006). · cites it 6× “See Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-212 (a) (Repl. 2006).”
James Andrew Williams v. St. Vincent Infirmary Med. Ctr.; Catholic Health Initiatives; First Initiatives Ins. Co., Ltd.; & Dr. Jay D. Holland, M.D., 2021 Ark. 14. · cites it 14× “See Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-212 (Repl. 2006).”
In re Special Task Force, 2014 Ark. 5. · cites it 4× “Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-212 , added by Section 22 of Act 649 of 2003, the plaintiff in an action for medical injury must file a written notice of intent to sue in order to take advantage of a provision tolling the statute of limitations for ninety days.”
In re Special Task Force- proposed amend. to Ark. R. Civ. P. 3, 2014 Ark. 343. · cites it 4× “The contents of the notice in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) are based on Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-212 , added by Section 22 of Act 649 of 2003.”
Janet Christine Galvan F/K/A Janet Christine Andrew v. St. Bernards Hosp., Inc., D/B/A St Bernards Med. Ctr., 2024 Ark. App. 256, 687 S.W.3d 864. · cites it 9× “Appellant responded, arguing that the “Notice of Intention to File an Action for Medical Injury” (the Notice) prepared and served by Michigan attorneys not licensed to practice law in Arkansas tolled the limitations period under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-212 (Repl. 2016).”
In re Ark. Rule of Civ. P. 3, 2015 Ark. 89. · cites it 4× “The contents of the notice in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) are based on Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-212 , added by Section 22 of Act 649 of 2003.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.