Understanding ‘Duty of Care’ in Arkansas Wrongful Death Law

When a loved one’s death is caused by someone else’s carelessness, the pain is often accompanied by confusion about what legal rights the family has. One of the most important concepts in a wrongful death case is the “duty of care.” This legal principle defines whether the person or organization responsible for the loss had an obligation to act safely and responsibly. Careful consideration of how this duty is established and proven under Arkansas law is essential for building a strong wrongful death claim.

If your family has lost someone because of another party’s negligence, an experienced Arkansas wrongful death lawyer can guide you through the legal process and fight for the justice your loved one deserves. At Gates Law Firm, PLLC, attorney Joseph Gates and our team of personal injury lawyers in Little Rock provide compassionate, skilled representation for grieving families. Call (501) 779-8091 today for a free consultation and learn how we can help you pursue accountability and fair compensation.

The Four Elements of a Successful Wrongful Death Claim

To win a wrongful death case based on negligence, your attorney must prove four key elements, often called the “building blocks” of a personal injury claim. These form the legal foundation for showing fault and recovering damages.

• Duty of Care: The defendant must have owed a legal duty of care to the victim. This means they were obligated to act responsibly to prevent harm. For example, drivers must obey traffic laws, and doctors must follow medical standards. Proving this duty exists is often the first and most important step.
• Breach of Duty: Next, it must be shown that the defendant breached that duty by acting carelessly or failing to act when they should have. Common examples include reckless driving or neglecting safety rules. A breach occurs when someone fails to act as a reasonable person would under similar circumstances.
• Causation: The causation element links the breach directly to the victim’s death. Your attorney must show that the defendant’s actions were both the actual cause (“but for” their conduct, the death wouldn’t have happened) and the proximate cause (the death was a foreseeable result).
• Damages: Finally, the wrongful death must have caused measurable damages to the victim’s family or estate. These can include medical and funeral expenses, loss of income, and emotional suffering such as loss of companionship or guidance.

While all four elements are essential, duty of care is often the most critical. Determining whether the defendant owed a legal duty involves complex legal analysis, which is why skilled representation is vital in wrongful death cases.

Establishing the “Duty of Care” – Arkansas’s Baseline Standard

In most negligence cases, the law defines the duty of care by applying the “reasonable person” standard. In Arkansas, this concept is known legally as “ordinary care.” While it may sound abstract, it has a clear and specific legal meaning in Arkansas courts.

The Legal Definition of Ordinary Care

“Ordinary care” is not just a general moral principle. It is a precise legal term defined by the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Model Jury Instructions (Civil). These jury instructions provide the exact language judges use to explain legal standards to jurors deciding negligence cases.

• AMI 303: Definition of “Ordinary Care”

This instruction defines the standard: “Ordinary care is the care a reasonably careful person would use under circumstances similar to those shown by the evidence in this case. It is for you [the jury] to decide how a reasonably careful person would act under those circumstances.”

• AMI 305: Duty to Use Ordinary Care

This instruction applies that duty to the parties involved: “It was the duty of (defendant), before and at the time of the occurrence, to use ordinary care for the safety of (plaintiff).”

This ordinary care standard is the baseline duty that governs most of our everyday actions. For example, drivers in Arkansas have a duty to operate their vehicles safely and follow traffic laws. Likewise, employers must provide safe working conditions and equipment, such as properly maintained ladders or machinery.

Arkansas Wrongful Death Lawyer Joseph Gates

When the Duty Changes: Specific Duties of Care Under Arkansas Law

A duty of care is not one-size-fits-all. The law recognizes that certain relationships create greater responsibilities for safety. In wrongful death cases, the specific duty owed can vary widely depending on the situation. Below are three examples that often play a central role in Arkansas wrongful death claims.

Medical Duty: The “Locality Rule” in Medical Malpractice

When a patient dies because of a medical error, a doctor is held to a professional standard of care, not the general “ordinary care” standard.

To establish this duty, there must first be a doctor-patient relationship. According to the Arkansas State Medical Board, this relationship exists when a doctor performs a history and physical exam, provides ongoing care, or is on-call for that patient. Simply completing an online questionnaire is not enough to create this relationship.

Once the relationship is established, the standard of care becomes more complex. Arkansas still follows the “locality rule,” meaning physicians are judged by the standard of care practiced in the same or a similar community, not a national standard. Under Arkansas Code § 16-114-206, a plaintiff must prove the doctor failed to act with the skill and learning ordinarily used by professionals in good standing practicing the same specialty in that locality or a similar one.

A “similar locality” is determined not just by population, but by factors such as available medical facilities, resources, and practices. This rule, originally designed to protect rural physicians, can make proving medical malpractice in Arkansas especially challenging.

Property Owner’s Duty: Invitee, Licensee, or Trespasser?

In premises liability cases—when a death occurs on someone else’s property—the duty of care depends on the victim’s legal status at the time of the incident. The Arkansas Model Jury Instructions (AMI 1107) classify visitors into three categories:

• Invitee: On the property for the owner’s business or mutual benefit, such as a customer in a store or a repair technician.
• Licensee: On the property with permission but for their own reasons, such as a social guest.
• Trespasser: On the property without permission.

The differences among these categories are significant. Many assume a friend invited into a home (a licensee) is owed greater protection than a paying customer (an invitee), but the law says otherwise. Property owners owe the highest duty to invitees, a lesser duty to licensees, and almost none to trespassers. This distinction can dramatically affect the outcome of a wrongful death claim.

Common Carrier’s Duty: The “Highest Degree of Care”

The strictest duty applies to common carriers: businesses that transport passengers for hire, such as buses, trains, trucking companies, or ambulances. Because passengers entrust their safety entirely to the carrier, Arkansas law holds these entities to a “highest degree of care” standard.

According to AMI 1701, a common carrier is not an insurer of passenger safety, but it must use the highest degree of care consistent with its type of transportation and business operations. This standard applies while passengers are boarding, riding, and getting off the vehicle. If the passenger is merely inside a station or depot, the duty reverts to ordinary care owed to an invitee.

Breach, Causation, and Damages

Once your attorney has established the specific duty of care that was owed, they must then prove the remaining three elements of a wrongful death claim: breach, causation, and damages.

What Is a “Breach of Duty”?

A breach is a violation of the specific duty that was established. It occurs when the defendant’s actions or inaction deviate from what a reasonable person would do, or from the professional standard required in that situation.

• Breach of Ordinary Care: A driver who is speeding, texting, or driving under the influence has breached their duty of ordinary care to others on the road.
• Breach of Medical Duty: A doctor who commits a surgical error, misdiagnoses a fatal condition, or prescribes the wrong medication that a “similar” doctor in that “locality” would not have made has breached their professional duty.
• Breach of Invitee Duty: A store owner who knows about a dangerous spill or faulty equipment and fails to fix it or warn customers has breached their duty to an invitee.
• Breach of Highest Care: A bus company that fails to provide safe and adequate service, equipment, or facilities and an accident occurs has breached its duty of highest care.

Each example shows how a defendant’s failure to act responsibly creates the foundation for a wrongful death claim.

Type of Breach	Example	Short Explanation
Breach of Ordinary Care	A driver who is speeding, texting, or driving under the influence has breached their duty of ordinary care to others on the road.	Drivers must use reasonable care. When they drive carelessly or break safety rules and cause a crash, they may be legally responsible.
Breach of Medical Duty	A doctor who commits a surgical error, misdiagnoses a fatal condition, or prescribes the wrong medication that a “similar” doctor in that “locality” would not have made has breached their professional duty.	Doctors must meet the accepted medical standard in their locality. Serious mistakes that fall below that standard can lead to a malpractice claim.
Breach of Invitee Duty	A store owner who knows about a dangerous spill or faulty equipment and fails to fix it or warn customers has breached their duty to an invitee.	Businesses must keep their property reasonably safe for customers. If they ignore known dangers and someone is hurt, they may be liable.
Breach of Highest Care	A bus company that fails to provide safe and adequate service, equipment, or facilities and an accident occurs has breached its duty of highest care.	Common carriers, like bus companies, must use the highest degree of care for passengers. Failing to do so can result in legal responsibility for injuries.

“Proximate Cause”: Linking the Breach to the Tragic Outcome

It is not enough to prove that a duty was breached. Your attorney must also establish that the breach was the proximate cause of your loved one’s death. This means proving a direct link between the negligent act and the fatal outcome, and showing that the death was a foreseeable result of the defendant’s conduct.

This connection is central to Arkansas negligence law. Under Arkansas Code § 16-64-122(c), “fault” includes any act, omission, or breach of legal duty that is a proximate cause of damages. In other words, fault is not just general carelessness; it is a specific breach of duty that directly leads to a specific, tragic result.

Damages for an Unspeakable Loss

When the defendant is found legally at fault for a wrongful death, Arkansas law allows recovery under two main categories of damages:

• The Family Claim: This compensates surviving family members for personal losses, including mental anguish, loss of companionship and services from a deceased spouse, and the loss of care, guidance, and support from a deceased parent.
• The Estate Claim: This compensates the estate for financial losses, including medical bills incurred before death, funeral and burial expenses, and the wages or earnings the deceased would have provided.

Unlike some other states, Arkansas does not divide a wrongful death settlement equally among family members. Instead, each person is entitled to compensation based on their individual losses and the evidence presented to the court.

The Arkansas “Modified Comparative Fault” Rule

Understanding the duty of care is essential, but it is only half the battle. In nearly every Arkansas wrongful death case, the defense will try to shift the blame. Their goal is to prove that your loved one was also negligent and therefore partially at fault for the accident.

This tactic is common because Arkansas follows a modified comparative negligence rule, established under Arkansas Code § 16-64-122. The rule is both strict and precise, and it can make or break a wrongful death claim.

How Comparative Fault Works

Under this law, a jury assigns a percentage of fault to each party involved in the accident. The outcome of your family’s claim depends entirely on that percentage:

• If your loved one was 1% to 49% at fault: Your family can still recover damages, but the total amount will be reduced in proportion to that percentage. For example, if the jury finds your loved one was 10% at fault, your family would receive 90% of the total damages awarded.
• If your loved one was 50% or more at fault: Your family cannot recover any compensation. The law completely bars recovery once the victim’s fault equals or exceeds the defendant’s.

Why the 50% Threshold Matters

This 50% cutoff is often referred to as a “brick wall” in Arkansas negligence law. Even a small increase in assigned fault can eliminate an entire claim. This is why insurance companies and defense attorneys focus heavily on proving partial fault. Their objective is simple: push the victim’s share of fault to 50% so that their liability, and your family’s compensation, becomes zero.

In these cases, every percentage point of fault counts. An experienced wrongful death attorney can challenge biased fault assessments, present strong evidence of negligence, and ensure that your loved one’s actions are not unfairly exaggerated by the defense. Having a skilled advocate is not just helpful; it is often the deciding factor between a partial recovery and no recovery at all.

Protecting Your Family’s Rights After a Wrongful Death

Establishing the duty of care in a wrongful death accident defines who is responsible, what standards apply, and how compensation is determined. But the process of proving its factors in court requires careful investigation, strong evidence, and a deep knowledge of Arkansas wrongful death statutes.

If your family is facing the devastating loss of a loved one caused by negligence, do not face the legal system alone. Our experienced attorneys at Gates Law Firm, PLLC are ready to fight for the justice and financial security your family deserves. Call (501) 779-8091 today for a free consultation and learn how we can help you hold the responsible party accountable.