How Long Do I Have to File an Injury Claim in Texas? The Two-Year Rule and Its 90-Day Trap

By Jeff McCarthy, Managing Partner — former Harris County prosecutor and former insurance-defense trial attorney. Last reviewed August 1, 2026.

Ask anyone how long you have to bring an injury claim in Texas and you will hear the same answer: two years. That answer is correct just often enough to be dangerous. For a meaningful number of Houston injury victims, the real deadline is measured in days, not years — and missing it can end a valid claim before it starts.

The general rule: two years

Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003, most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of injury. Wrongful death claims generally run two years from the date of death. If suit is not filed in time, the claim is almost always barred, no matter how strong it is.

The 90-day trap: claims against the City of Houston

If your injury involves a governmental entity — a METRO bus, a city vehicle, a dangerous condition on public property — a second, much shorter clock starts. The Texas Tort Claims Act requires formal written notice to the governmental unit within six months of the incident, and it lets cities set shorter periods by charter. The City of Houston’s charter requires notice within 90 days. The notice is not a lawsuit; it is a specific written statement describing the injury, the time and place, and the incident — and if it is not delivered correctly and on time, the claim can be barred eighteen months before the “two-year” deadline most people think they have.

Other exceptions that change the clock

• Minors — the statute is generally tolled until a child turns 18, but a parent’s claim for medical expenses is not, and evidence does not wait.
• The discovery rule — in limited situations, the clock runs from when an injury reasonably could have been discovered rather than when it occurred. Courts apply this narrowly.
• Dram shop and third-party claims — multiple defendants can mean multiple deadlines and notice requirements.
• UM/UIM claims — claims against your own insurer have their own contractual and procedural requirements on top of the statute.

Why the practical deadline is always sooner

Having spent years on the insurance-defense side, I can tell you how a late-starting claim looks from the other chair: it looks winnable — for the defense. Surveillance and traffic-camera footage is routinely overwritten within weeks. Businesses purge video on 30-day cycles. Vehicles are repaired or scrapped, and their event data with them. Witnesses move, and their memories soften in exactly the ways a defense lawyer can use. In commercial truck cases, driver logs and electronic data have retention periods that can lawfully expire while an injured person is still “waiting to see how they feel.”

The statute of limitations tells you the last day you can file. It tells you nothing about the last day your case can still be proven.

What to do now

If you were hurt in the last few weeks: get medical care documented, preserve photos and names, decline recorded statements to the other side, and talk to a lawyer — especially if there is any chance a government vehicle or entity is involved, because your 90-day window may already be running.

A consultation costs nothing and settles the deadline question for your specific facts. Request a free case review or call (713) 300-8304 — phones are answered 24 hours a day. There is no fee unless we win, and if there is no recovery you owe us nothing — no attorney’s fees and no expenses.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Every case is different and deadlines depend on specific facts — confirm yours with a lawyer promptly. Full legal notices.