In Texas you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003. Wrongful death claims run two years from the date of death. Claims against a governmental unit require written notice far sooner: six months statewide, and shorter under some city charters.
The Two-Year Rule and When the Clock Starts
Texas gives you two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. The rule is Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and it covers car crashes, motorcycle and truck wrecks, slip and falls, dog bites and most other negligence claims.
The clock starts on the day the injury happened. It does not start when you finish treatment, when the adjuster accepts or denies the claim, or when you learn how expensive the medical bills turned out to be. If two years passes without a lawsuit on file, your right to file a lawsuit is lost.
Filing an insurance claim does not stop the clock. Neither does an adjuster telling you the file is still open, still under review, or still waiting on records. Only a lawsuit filed with the court clerk before the deadline preserves the claim.
Texas Injury Deadlines at a Glance
Which deadline applies depends on who was hurt and who you are making a claim against. The most common ones are below.
One deadline can sit inside another. A government claim still has the two-year filing deadline, but it also has a six-month notice requirementMissing the notice can end the claim before the two years are anywhere close to running out.
Type of claim
Deadline
Source
Most injury claims (auto/truck/motocycle crash, slip and fall, dog bite)
2 years from the date of injury
CPRC 16.003
Wrongful death
2 years from the date of death
CPRC 16.003
Claim of an injured child
Tolled during minority, generally until about age 20
CPRC 16.001
Written notice to any Texas governmental unit
6 months from the incident
CPRC 101.101
Notice under the Arlington city charter
180 days written notice to the City Secretary, plus a 90-day wait before suit
Arlington City Charter, Art. X, Sec. 6
Sources: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code; Arlington City Charter. Deadlines vary with the facts and the defendant. Confirm yours with a lawyer.
Children, Wrongful Death and Other Timing Rules
Minors. Section 16.001 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code pauses the limitations period while an injured person is a minor. In practice that generally means a child’s own injury claim stays open until roughly age 20, two years after the eighteenth birthday. That is a long runway, but the evidence does not wait: records, vehicles and video disappear on the ordinary schedule.
A parent’s own claim for a child’s medical expenses may run on a different schedule than the child’s claim. If a child was hurt, have both parts of the claim reviewed early rather than assuming everything is tolled.
Wrongful death. The two years run from the date of death, which is not always the date of the crash. When someone is hospitalized for weeks or months before passing away, the filing deadline is measured from the death, not the collision. However, it may be wise to file the lawsuit within two years from the date of the accident. However, it may be wise to file the lawsuit within two years from the date of the accident. However, it may be wise to file the lawsuit within two years from the date of the accident.
Claims Against Government Entities Run on a Much Shorter Clock
Texas governmental units are treated differently from private defendants. Under Section 101.101 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a claimant must give written notice within six months of the incident, describing the damage or injury, the time and place, and the incident itself. This is a statewide rule that applies to state agencies, counties, cities, school districts, transit authorities and other governmental units. The notice must include certain matters which are set forth in the statute. The notice must include certain matters which are set forth in the statute. The notice must include certain matters which are set forth in the statute.
City charters may set an even shorter notice period, and the Texas Tort Claims Act preserves those charter provisions. The Arlington City Charter, Article X, Section 6, calls for written notice to the City Secretary within 180 days and a 90-day waiting period before suit may be filed. Charter language differs from city to city, so the applicable deadline has to be checked against the specific charter.
This section is general public-interest information about Texas notice statutes. It is not a recommendation about any particular claim, and it does not describe any specific defendant.
Why the Practical Deadline Is Much Earlier Than Two Years
Two years is the outer wall, not the plan. Evidence that decides liability is usually gone long before the deadline. Store surveillance systems overwrite themselves, vehicles are repaired or sold to salvage, skid marks wash away, and witnesses change phone numbers and move, and memories fade.
Records also take time. A Texas peace officer must file a crash report with TxDOT within 10 days when there is an injury, a death, or at least $1,000 in property damage, and a report can take up to 14 days to appear in the TxDOT Crash Records Information System.
Preparing a case for filing is itself work: records ordered, bills totaled, liens identified, defendants confirmed. A lawyer contacted two weeks before the filing deadline has almost no room to do any of it.
Jim Ross Law Group, P.C. offers a free consultation at 817-275-4100, in person or by phone, and there is no fee unless we win.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I miss the two-year deadline in Texas?
The claim is almost always over. The defendant files a motion asking the court to dismiss the case as time-barred, and courts grant it regardless of how badly you were hurt or how clearly the other driver was at fault. A small number of exceptions exist, such as tolling for minors, but they are narrow. Have any older claim reviewed immediately rather than assuming it is dead.
Does the two years start on the crash date or the day I found out I was hurt?
For a typical car crash it starts on the date of the crash. Texas measures the two years from when the injury occurs, not from when symptoms appear or when a doctor names the diagnosis. Some claims involving injuries that could not reasonably have been discovered are treated differently, but that is an exception argued case by case, not a general rule you should count on.
My child was hurt in a car accident. How long do we have to file?
A minor’s own claim is tolled while the child is a minor under Section 16.001, which generally leaves it open until about age 20. That does not mean waiting is wise. Medical records, witnesses and vehicle evidence age at the normal rate, and a parent’s separate claim for the child’s medical bills may run on a shorter clock. Get both reviewed early.
Does filing an insurance claim stop the statute of limitations?
No. Reporting the crash, opening a claim number, exchanging letters with an adjuster and even receiving a settlement offer do none of that. Only a lawsuit filed with the court before the deadline preserves the claim. Adjusters are not required to warn you that the deadline is approaching, and negotiations that were friendly for eighteen months can simply stop once it passes.
How long do I have if a government vehicle or a public entity was involved?
Much less time. Section 101.101 requires written notice to the governmental unit within six months of the incident, and a city charter can shorten that further. The Arlington charter, for example, calls for written notice to the City Secretary within 180 days plus a 90-day wait before suit. The two-year filing deadline still applies on top of the notice requirement.
Do I have to file a lawsuit before two years, or just hire a lawyer?
The lawsuit has to be on file. Hiring a lawyer, sending a demand letter and negotiating a settlement do not satisfy the deadline. In practice a firm needs the case well before the two-year mark to gather records, confirm the correct defendants and prepare and file a petition, which is why most injury lawyers want claims in hand months ahead of the limitations date.
Can a Texas injury deadline ever be longer than two years?
Sometimes. The period is tolled while an injured person is a minor and may be tolled in other narrow situations, such as legal incapacity or a defendant who leaves the state. Wrongful death measures its two years from the date of death rather than the injury. None of these are safe to rely on without a lawyer confirming which deadline governs your facts.
Is the deadline different for a claim against a trucking company?
The two-year limitations period under Civ. Pr. & Rem. Code, Section 16.003, is the same. What changes is how fast the evidence moves. Federal retention periods for driver logs, inspection records and telematics data are short, and a preservation letter usually needs to go out within days of the crash, long before any lawsuit is contemplated.
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different and past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Jim Ross Law Group, P.C., 2201 E Lamar Blvd #110, Arlington, TX 76006.