Texas Personal Injury Laws
Texas Personal Injury Statute Of Limitations. In the state of Texas, if you or someone you know has become the victim of a personal injury, it’s important to note that you have a set amount of time to file a lawsuit regarding this.
Typically, the statute of limitations on a personal injury case anywhere in the state of Texas is two years from the date in which the incident occurred, according to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Section 16.003. In the event that this amount of time has passed since the incident occurred, yet you make an attempt to file a personal injury lawsuit regardless, the defendant will more than likely end up filing what’s commonly referred to as a “motion to dismiss” and make the court aware that the statute of limitations has expired. This can result in the court ultimately dismissing your case; however, if an exception ends up entitling you to an additional amount of time, this will not be the case. If your case is dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, you will not be able to ask the court to award you any amount of damages for your injuries, regardless of how serious they may be, as well as what the overall liability of the defendant may be in regards to the incident.
Exceptions to Statute of Limitations Texas
The state of Texas has identified multiple different scenarios that could either slow the countdown of the personal injury statute of limitations or stop the countdown entirely, thereby extending the deadline to file a case. Some of the most common exceptions to Texas’s personal injury statute of limitations include the following:
*Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.001 states that if an injured individual is under a legal disability according to state law – meaning that they are either of unsound mind or are under the age of 18 – at the time an incident occurred, the two-year deadline will more than likely not start running until the period involving legal disability has come to an end. This means that the affected individual will have to have either reached the age of 18 or they become mentally competent.
*According to Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.063, if the individual who caused injuries to another leaves the state of Texas prior to a lawsuit being filed by the injured individual, the overall total absence period will not be counted as part of the two-year statute of limitations deadline.
*Texas Personal Injury Statute Of Limitations. Other common exceptions to Texas’s statute of limitations include all claims that involve minors, sex-related crimes committed against adults, claims in which the injury becomes subject to the discovery rule, all claims that involve medical malpractice, all claims against first-party auto insurance, specific claims involving maritime, and all claims regarding silica and asbestos.