2 years from the date the cause of action accrues.
In simple terms, you have two years from the date of the work injury, the car crash or the slip and fall to file your lawsuit or risk losing all rights related to that incident.
How Much Time Do You Have to File A Car Wreck or Work Injury Case?
The Texas statute of limitations for personal injury is a law that sets the amount the time that an injured party has to file a personal injury lawsuit against the individual or company responsible for causing the incident and injuries. This means that the Texas State Legislature decided that, if you do not file your case within the time allowed in the statute, you lose all rights to pursue your case in the future.
Texas 2-year Statute of Limitation for Personal Injury
So, what is the statute of limitations for a car wreck or a work injury or a premises case? A person must bring a suit for personal injury not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues. The Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code section 16.003. Essentially, you have two years from the day of accident that led to your injuries to file lawsuit. If you fail to file a lawsuit, you are barred from pursing a claim for the injuries and damages that resulted from that incident.
In the context of the types of cases that Sandoval Law Firm handles, the two-year statute of limitations applies to personal injury cases like car wrecks, 18-wheeler accidents and work injuries.
There are specific laws that apply to Texas Workers’ Compensation cases under the Workers’ Compensation Act in order to protect your rights. Therefore, in those types of cases, it’s always best to consult a work injury lawyer as soon as you can following the incident.
Although you have two years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit and protect your rights, it’s not an ideal situation to wait until the last minute to consult with a personal injury lawyer about your rights. Time is of essence! The only way to stop the time from running out, is to file your lawsuit.
Are there Exceptions to the Two-Year Limitations Period?
In certain cases, an injured individual’s two-year time period may not start running until something specific happens. This does not occur in a typical personal injury case like a car wreck or a work injury. This typically is seen in cases involving a minor or, in cases where the injury is one that is not immediately apparent.
Contractual 1-Year Statute of Limitations in Non-Subscriber Work Injury Cases
One of the most disturbing issues that comes up on non-subscriber work injury cases is the alteration of the Texas two-years statute of limitations by contract or arbitration agreement.
In non-subscriber cases, employers elect to go outside of Texas Workers’ Compensation and instead, they provide benefits work on the job injuries under an ERISA Plan. One of the effects of electing non-subscriber status is that an injured employee has a right to sue the company if the injury resulted from workplace negligence. Generally, an injured employee can’t sue his employer in a Texas Workers’ Compensation case. To protect themselves against being sued in state or federal court, Texas Non-Subscribers require employees to sign an arbitration agreement. It is in this agreement that non-subscriber companies are attempting to change the two-years statute of limitations to one-year or less! Most employees don’t even realize that they’ve contractually agreed to waive or give-up some of the time they would otherwise have had to file a work injury case.
What Should You Do If Your Injury Case Occurred More Than a Year Ago?
Do not wait any longer. If you’re injured and you need a legal consultation, do not sleep on your rights. You need to seek legal advice before deciding on the best course of action. Don’t think that you’ve lost all your right just because your injury occurred more than a year ago. If you have doubt, get help. It free and it will provide you peace of mind.
How Can A Personal Injury Lawyer Help Protect Your Case?
Sandoval Law Firm, PLLC can help by filing your lawsuit or arbitration in a timely manner. That means that we will investigate your case, determine the date of the statute of limitations in your case and, we will file your lawsuit and protect your rights!
When you are ready to discuss your personal injury case, call Houston Personal Injury Attorney Hector L. Sandoval at (346) 347-7777. Call and put Sandoval to work for you!