Two years from the date of injury, in most cases. Miss it and the court will dismiss your case no matter how strong it is.
But two years is the general rule, not the whole rule. Some claims run shorter. A few run longer. And if a government entity is involved, you may have as little as 90 days to file written notice.
Here is what actually applies.
Where the two-year rule comes from
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003 sets a two-year limitations period for personal injury and wrongful death. The clock generally starts the day you were hurt.
That word “generally” is doing real work. When an injury was not apparent at the time, such as a toxic exposure or an occupational disease, the discovery rule can move the start date to when you knew or reasonably should have known of the injury and its cause.
Texas courts apply the discovery rule narrowly. Do not plan around it.
The deadlines by claim type
| Claim | Deadline | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Personal injury (car, truck, premises, most negligence) | 2 years from injury | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 |
| Wrongful death | 2 years from date of death | § 16.003(b) |
| Survival action (the decedent’s own claim) | 2 years | § 16.003 |
| Product liability | 2 years, plus a 15-year statute of repose from date of sale | § 16.012 |
| Medical malpractice | 2 years from the occurrence, with a 10-year repose period | § 74.251 |
| Claim against a Texas governmental unit | Written notice within 6 months, and city charters can require much less | Tex. Tort Claims Act § 101.101 |
| Claim involving a minor | Generally tolled until the child turns 18 | § 16.001 |
Two rows on that table cause more lost cases than the rest combined.
The government notice trap
If your injury involves a city bus, a county vehicle, a public hospital, a defective roadway, or any government employee, the Texas Tort Claims Act requires formal written notice within six months.
Municipal charters can shorten that dramatically. Notice periods as short as 90 days are common among Texas cities, and Houston’s charter is among the shorter ones.
Read that again in practical terms. Your claim can be dead in three months while you are still in physical therapy and have not yet spoken to a lawyer.
If a government entity is involved in any way, treat your timeline as measured in weeks.
Statutes of repose are not statutes of limitations
People conflate these constantly, and the difference decides cases.
A statute of limitations starts when you are injured. A statute of repose starts when the product was sold or the healthcare was delivered, and it extinguishes the claim regardless of when the injury happened.
A defective product that injures someone 16 years after purchase may be beyond reach under section 16.012 even though the injury happened yesterday. There are narrow exceptions, including where the manufacturer represented that the product had a longer useful life.
This is a real problem in product liability claims involving durable goods, industrial equipment, and machinery that stays in service for decades.
What can stop the clock
A few things can extend a deadline:
- The injured person is a minor. Limitations are generally tolled until the child’s 18th birthday. An 18-year-old can often still bring a claim for an injury suffered at nine. Medical malpractice claims involving minors follow more restrictive rules.
- Legal incapacity. Tolling may apply where the injured person is of unsound mind.
- The defendant left the state. Absence from Texas can toll the period under section 16.063.
- Fraudulent concealment. Where a defendant actively hid the wrongdoing, limitations may be extended.
None of these are things to rely on. They are arguments made after the fact, and the burden of proving them falls on the injured person.
The real deadline is much earlier than two years
Here is the part that matters more than the statute.
The evidence that decides your case does not last two years.
Intersection and business surveillance footage typically overwrites on a 30 to 90 day cycle. A commercial truck’s engine control module holds crash data for a limited number of ignition cycles before it is overwritten. Federal regulations require motor carriers to retain electronic logging device records for six months. Driver qualification files and maintenance records follow their own retention schedules. Skid marks and debris patterns are gone within a week. Witnesses change phone numbers.
By the time a two-year deadline is approaching, the case that could have been proven often can no longer be proven.
Meanwhile the other side moved immediately. In Houston truck accident cases, the carrier’s rapid response investigator is frequently at the scene the same night, photographing, measuring, and interviewing. Preservation letters have to go out in days, not months.
Utah is different
If your injury happened in Utah, do not apply any of the above. Utah has its own limitations periods, its own notice requirements for governmental claims, and a no-fault personal injury protection system that changes how claims proceed. We handle both markets and the rules are genuinely different. See our Utah practice.
What this means for you
If you were hurt recently, the filing deadline is not your immediate problem. The evidence is. Photograph what you can, get the crash report, write down what you remember today, and get preservation letters out before the footage cycles.
If you were hurt a while ago and you think the window has closed, find out rather than assume. The interaction between limitations, repose, tolling, and notice requirements is complicated enough that people talk themselves out of viable claims regularly.
If a government entity is involved, do not wait.
Robert Law Group handles Houston personal injury claims, product defect matters, and complex multi-defendant litigation in Texas and Utah. If you are trying to work out which deadline applies to you, call 832-509-2303. There is no charge to find out.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Texas?
Two years from the date of injury in most cases, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003.
What is the deadline for a wrongful death claim in Texas?
Two years from the date of death.
How long do I have to sue a city or government agency in Texas?
The Texas Tort Claims Act requires written notice within six months. Many municipal charters require notice in as little as 90 days, so the practical deadline can be far shorter.
Can a child’s injury claim be filed after two years?
Generally yes. Limitations are typically tolled until the child turns 18, though medical malpractice claims involving minors follow more restrictive rules.
What happens if I miss the filing deadline in Texas?
The defendant will move to dismiss on limitations grounds and courts grant those motions. A narrow set of tolling doctrines may apply, but they are exceptions that must be proven.