The SHORT ANSWER IS:

2 years from the date the cause of action accrues. The statute of limitations determines how much time you have to file a lawsuit or arbitration in Texas. You must investigate the applicable statute of limitations in your case before it’s too late. Assume that the either of the circumstances below could apply in your non-subscriber case:

• 2 years from the date of the injury/incident.
• 6 months/1 year: (Arbitration agreement).

Although knowing what the possibilities are is important, you still have to confirm which limitations period applies by reviewing the applicable documentation.

Texas 2-year Statute of Limitation for Personal Injury

So, what is the statute of limitations for a personal injury case in Texas? 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.

Generally speaking, in Texas Personal injury cases (car wrecks, slip and falls, etc.), an injured Texan has two years from the date that the incident or injury occurred to file your lawsuit or, if not filed, the injured worker loses all rights related to that incident. Therefore, the general rule is that the statute of limitations in Texas non-subscriber cases is the same as the general rule for personal injury cases: 2 years but, there are some exceptions to be aware of!

Exceptions exist because Texas Non-subscriber employers have arbitration agreements that they require employees to sign and agree to which can reduce the amount of time an injured worker has to file to file a lawsuit or arbitration.

How Much Time Do I have to file my Non-Subscriber Work Injury Case?

There is no way to confirm unless you ask your Texas non-subscriber employer for a copy of the arbitration agreement applicable in your case, if there is one. There are some non-subscriber employers that are known to follow the general 2-year statute of limitation but, there are also some that are known to use a version of the shorter 6 month or 1 year limitations period. The best thing to do is to investigate and confirm what statute of limitations applies immediately. That can be found in either the arbitration agreement which is usually part of the ERISA Plan documents or its Summary Plan Description (SPD).

Does filing a lawsuit always protect my rights?

Most of the time, it does not! If your employer has required you to sign an arbitration agreement, then the rules of that agreement are going to apply to your case. As explained above, the arbitration agreement can control the applicable statute of limitations and also will dictate where your case must be filed, which is usually with an organization that manages arbitrations like the American Arbitration Association (AAA) or Judicial Workplace Arbitrations (JWA). This means that filing a lawsuit in State or Federal court does not protect your case when there is a signed arbitration agreement. This is why, after suffering a work injury, its very important to investigate whether there is an applicable arbitration agreement in your case before filing any lawsuits.

How do we help?

Our firm can help by requesting copies of the applicable arbitration agreement in your case and making sure your case is filed in a timely manner.

Here are some frequently asked questions about Texas Non-Subscriber Claims: