Texas Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases

What is a personal injury and what is the timeframe to bring a claim forward?

In a previous post, we talked about the steps to bring a lawsuit.  However, before a personal injury claim is made, there must be an injury. 

Black’s Law Dictionary defines personal injury as “a hurt or damage done to a man’s person, such as a cut or bruise, a broken limb, or the like.”  This really turns out to be any type of physical or mental injury to a person as a result of someone’s negligence or harmful act.  In addition, sometimes personal injuries are referred to as bodily injuries. Personal injuries may occur in a wide variety of ways.  Below is a list of the most common accidents resulting in personal injury:

• Car Accidents
• Slip & Fall Accidents
• Dangerous or Defective Product Injuries (Product Liability)
• Dog Bites
• Wrongful Death

While these only represent the most common types of accidents, there are many others.  If you’ve suffered an injury, then it’s important to know how long of a period of time you have to bring your claim.  Generally, Texas law gives you two years from the date of the accident to settle or file a lawsuit. However, there are many situations that can extend or shorten this time period.  You should consult a local attorney to see how the law views your particular situation.  Call us to learn all of your legal rights. The statute of limitation is extremely important because if you fail to bring your claim within the window of the statute of limitations, your suit may be barred forever. 

If you think you’ve been hurt or otherwise damaged from an accident, you’ll want to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to have your case evaluated.