§ 16-114-212 Tolling of the statute of limitations

Codes > Arkansas Code > Title 16 : Subtitle 7 > Chapter 114 : Subchapter 2 > 16-114-212 Tolling

§ 16-114-212. Tolling of the statute of limitations

(a) 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:

        (A) The plaintiff's full name, date of birth, present address, address at the time of treatment at issue, and social security number;

        (B) The date or dates of the treatment in question and a summary of the alleged wrongful conduct; and

        (C) The names and addresses of the known medical care providers relating to the alleged injury; and

    (3) An authorization to release medical records signed by the plaintiff, which shall authorize the medical care pro-vider alleged to be liable to obtain pertinent medical records, shall be attached to the notice.

(b) 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.

(c)(1) If the plaintiff files an action for medical injury during this tolling period without the requisite affidavit re-quired 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.

(d)(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.

    (2)(A) 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.

        (B) 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 ac-tion.