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★ Arkansas · fracture

Fracture settlements
in Arkansas.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

In Arkansas a store is not automatically responsible for helping customers. A shopper hurt when her overloaded cart tipped won $58,828 at trial, and the Court of Appeals took it away because the store owed no duty to assist or warn.

Facts that decide a fracture claim in Arkansas

Duty to assistA store has no general duty to help a customer take groceries to the car or to warn of the obvious risk of pushing a loaded cart.Kroger Co. v. Smith (Ark. Ct. App. 2005)
Fault ruleA claimant whose fault is equal to or greater than the fault of the parties sued recovers nothing; a smaller share reduces the award.Ark. Code Ann. § 16-64-122, as applied in Chong Sun Yu v. Metropolitan Fire Extinguisher (Ark. Ct. App. 2006)
Deadline to sueThree years for most injury actions, which must “be commenced within three (3) years after the cause of action accrues.”Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105, as quoted in Gunn v. Farmers Insurance Exchange (Ark. 2010)
Claims against public bodiesCities and counties are immune except up to their insurance; state claims go to the State Claims Commission.Ark. Code §§ 21-9-301, 21-9-303, 19-10-209, in the MyClaimWorth notice of claim chart
united states · sister site
Your fracture claim in Arkansas. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own fracture case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

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★ AR · reported fracture outcomes

What Arkansas courts have awarded.

Real Arkansas decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Kroger Co. v. Smith
    Arkansas Court of Appeals · 2005
    $58,828.53 verdict reversed

    In 1997 Sharon Smith, 23 and small in stature, bought a month of groceries at the Kroger in Helena. Taking them to her car, the fully loaded cart tilted over and injured her knee. She argued Kroger should have helped her or warned her. The jury awarded $58,828.53, but the Court of Appeals held Kroger had no such duty and reversed.

★ AR · fracture · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a fracture settlement in Arkansas.

  1. 1

    Identify a real duty. Smith lost because Arkansas does not require stores to assist customers to their cars, even when a cart is heavily loaded.

  2. 2

    Store policies do not create legal duties. The court relied on an earlier case where a shopper who climbed a shelf and fractured her ankle could not use the store’s assistance policy to prove a duty.

  3. 3

    Fall claims against cities and counties are limited to their insurance coverage, which can be as low as $25,000 per person for vehicles.

  4. 4

    A trial win is not the end. Smith persuaded the jury, but Kroger had preserved its no duty argument with a motion for directed verdict, and that let the Court of Appeals reverse.

  5. 5

    Size and circumstances rarely create a duty on their own. Smith argued that a woman of her small stature pushing a month of groceries needed help; the court still found no legal duty to assist or warn.

★ AR · statute of limitations
3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpractice

Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105

★ AR · fault rule
Modified comparative, 50% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred if claimant is 50% or more at fault.

★ AR · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a fracture settlement in Arkansas.

★ fracture · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Arkansas's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for fracture claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationFracture page
Arkansas · you are hereModified comparative, 50% bar3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpractice—
FloridaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury (was 4; reduced by HB 837)FL · fracture →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · fracture →
KentuckyPure comparative negligence1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)KY · fracture →
LouisianaModified comparative, 51% bar1 year (la prescription), extended to 2 years by Act 423 (2024) for tort claims accruing on or after July 1, 2024LA · fracture →
MississippiPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryMS · fracture →
North CarolinaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryNC · fracture →
ColoradoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicleCO · fracture →
IdahoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryID · fracture →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · fracture →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · fracture →
CaliforniaPure comparative negligence2 years for personal injury; 1 year for medical malpractice (with 3-year repose)CA · fracture →
ConnecticutModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryCT · fracture →
★ AR · fracture · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Arkansas? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of AR
Arkansas overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Arkansas as a whole.

★ national frame
Fracture in United States

Fracture band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Fracture · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of fracture bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Arkansas. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.