Most people believe they have two years to pursue a car accident claim in Texas. For a typical crash, that’s correct. But there are specific situations, some of which catch people completely off guard, where the real deadline is dramatically shorter, as little as 90 days here in Houston. Understanding which rule applies to your situation isn’t a technicality. Miss the deadline, and you can lose the right to recover anything at all, no matter how strong your case was.
The General Rule: Two Years
For most car accident and personal injury claims in Texas, you have two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. This comes from Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003.
Take that deadline seriously, because Texas courts do. If you file even a day late, the other side can ask the court to dismiss the case, and courts almost always grant it. There’s rarely any sympathy or flexibility once the deadline passes. That’s why “I have two years” can be dangerously misleading, it invites people to wait, and waiting is exactly what causes claims to die.
The Exception That Catches People Off Guard: Government Claims
Here’s the one that matters most, and the one most people have never heard of. If a government entity is involved in your crash, hit by a city vehicle or a Metro bus, injured because of a poorly maintained public road, a collision with a government employee on the job, the deadline to even notify the government of your claim is far shorter than two years.
Under the Texas Tort Claims Act, the general rule is that you must give formal written notice within six months of the incident. But cities are allowed to set their own, shorter deadlines through their charters, and many have:
- Houston requires notice within just 90 days.
- For comparison, some other Texas cities are even shorter, Austin, for example, has been as short as 45 days.
Read that again, because it’s the whole point: in Houston, if a government entity caused your injury, you may have as little as 90 days to provide proper notice, even though the general two-year lawsuit deadline is still running in the background. And here’s the trap: missing that notice deadline can bar your claim entirely, even though you’re nowhere near the two-year mark. People assume they have plenty of time, and by the time they get around to it, the government-claim window has quietly closed.
If there’s any chance a government entity was involved in your crash, this is the single most important reason not to wait.
The Exceptions That Can Extend the Deadline
Some situations work in the other direction, giving more time rather than less:
Injured children. If the injured person was under 18 at the time of the accident, the two-year clock generally doesn’t start until they turn 18. That often gives an injured minor until around their 20th birthday to file. (This does not extend a parent’s own separate claims, and it doesn’t change government notice deadlines, so it’s not a reason to delay.)
The discovery rule. In limited circumstances, where an injury genuinely couldn’t have been discovered right away, the clock may start when the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been, rather than on the accident date. Important caveat: this is a narrow exception that does not apply to most car accident cases, and courts require real proof before allowing it. It’s not something to count on.
Mental incapacity. If the injured person was mentally incapacitated, the deadline can be paused in some situations until they recover.
Wrongful death. These claims generally follow a two-year deadline, but the clock runs from the date of death, which isn’t always the same as the date of the accident.
Why This Post Can’t Give You Your Exact Deadline, and Why That Matters
Here’s the honest part. The rules above are the general framework, but your actual deadline depends on the specific facts of your situation: who was involved, whether a government entity played any role, the age and circumstances of the injured person, and more. These exceptions can be genuinely complicated, and getting one wrong, especially a short government-notice deadline, can cost you your entire claim.
So the responsible advice isn’t “you have two years, relax.” It’s this: if there’s any possibility that a government entity was involved, or that any of these exceptions might apply to you, confirm your specific deadline right away rather than assuming. This is one of the few situations where waiting even a few weeks to find out where you stand can genuinely take the decision out of your hands.
Not Sure How Much Time You Have?
If you’re unsure about your deadline, especially if a government vehicle, agency, or public road may have played a role, it’s worth confirming quickly. The call is free, and you pay nothing unless we recover for you.
For general car accident information, see our main Car Accident Lawyer page. For how long the claim process takes once it’s underway (a different question from this filing deadline), see our post on the Texas car accident settlement timeline.
Legal content reviewed by Houston attorney Monique Sparks, founder of Sparks Injury Law.