How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Texas?

The general rule

The Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires a suit for personal injury to be brought not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues. In most car accident, slip and fall and similar cases, that clock starts on the date of the incident.

Wrongful death and survival claims are also governed by a two-year period, measured from the date of death.

Filing means filing suit in court. Reporting the crash, opening an insurance claim or negotiating with an adjuster does not stop the clock.

Exceptions that can change the date

• Minors. A person under 18 is under a legal disability for limitations purposes, and the period is generally tolled until the disability ends.
• Unsound mind. A similar tolling rule applies to a person of unsound mind.
• Absence from the state. Time a defendant is absent from Texas may not count toward the period in defined circumstances.
• Discovery. In narrow categories of cases, the running of the period can be affected by when an injury was or reasonably could have been discovered. This is limited and should not be assumed.

Different deadlines apply to some specific claim types, including health care liability claims and product liability claims, which have their own statutory schemes.

Claims against a city, county or state agency are different

If the defendant is a governmental unit, the Texas Tort Claims Act requires formal notice of the claim within six months of the incident, and the notice must reasonably describe the damage or injury, the time and place, and the incident. A city charter or ordinance may impose an even shorter notice period, and those shorter periods are enforceable.

That means a claim against a city bus, a county vehicle or a state agency can be lost long before the two-year lawsuit deadline arrives.

Why waiting hurts even inside the deadline

The deadline is the outer boundary, not the target. Evidence degrades quickly: vehicles get repaired or scrapped, surveillance footage is overwritten, witnesses move, and memories fade. Medical treatment gaps also become an argument used against the injured person.

What the deadline does not control

• Insurance policy deadlines. Your own policy may require prompt notice of a claim, well before any statutory deadline.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist claims. These are contract claims against your own insurer and carry their own requirements.
• Property damage. Property damage claims are governed by their own limitations rules.

When you may want an attorney

Anyone who is unsure which deadline applies to their situation should get that question answered early, because the consequence of getting it wrong is total. Legal help is particularly worth it where a government entity is involved, where liability is disputed, where injuries required surgery or ongoing treatment, or where an insurer is pressing for a recorded statement or a quick settlement.