Understanding the Texas Statute of Limitations for Injury Claims

Statutes of Limitations for Various Types of Claims

Statutes of limitation vary from state to state, as well as from cause of action (or the nature of the claim you are filling).

In Texas, the statutes of limitation on personal injury-related claims are as follows: 

• Personal injury: Texas law allows you two years from the date of injury to file a general personal injury claim. This includes all sorts of claims including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability claims, and defective product claims. 

• Wrongful death: if you lost a loved one because of the negligence of another party, you have two years from the day your loved one passed to file a wrongful death claim. 

• Medical malpractice: you have two years from the date that the incident that gave rise to your injury occurred – or two years from the date the injury should have reasonably been discovered – in which to file a medical malpractice claim. 

• Injuries to minors: statutes of limitations are more lenient for minors. In most personal injury cases, the statute of limitations is two years, but it doesn’t begin running until the minor’s 18th birthday. For medical malpractice cases, if the minor is 12 years old or older, his or her parents have two years from the date the injury occurred to file. If under 12 when the injury occurred, they have until the 14th birthday to file.

Pursuing Your Claim without Delay

Failure to abide by the statutes of limitations bars your right to compensation. In other words, if you overstep the time limits, you will no longer be allowed to file a claim and you won’t be eligible for settlement funds.

This is why it’s critical to take the necessary legal steps as soon as possible after a negligence-related injury occurs or after the negligence-related death of a loved one.

Time limits can be tricky though, particularly in cases for minors or medical malpractice. If there is a delayed discovery, it might change the timeline. If you are unsure of whether or not you can file a claim, your best bet will be to discuss your case with a local injury attorney.

Injury attorneys can provide a wealth of reliable information about difficult-to-grasp legal concepts – such as statutes of limitation timetables – in a way that their clients can understand. Additionally, when someone hires an injury lawyer, he or she won’t have to keep track of these things as the attorney will do it.

Get a Free Legal Consultation in Dallas

For a free consultation about a personal injury or wrongful death case, call attorney Julie Johnson, serving Dallas and the surrounding areas. Contact us to schedule a case evaluation today: 214-290-8001.