Statute of Limitations for Car Accidents in Texas – Don’t Wait

The two-year statute of limitations for car accident claims in Texas is not a suggestion — it is a hard cutoff. Miss it by one day and the right to recover compensation is gone permanently, regardless of how serious the injuries are or how clear the other driver’s fault may be. Most people do not realize how quickly that deadline arrives, particularly when they are focused on medical treatment and recovery.

Video Transcript

I’m Jamie Shaw with Carabin Shaw in San Antonio. How long do you actually have to file a car accident claim in Texas? Generally two years from the date of the crash. Miss that deadline and the court can throw your case out, no matter how strong it is. People think two years is plenty, so they wait. But evidence disappears, witnesses forget, and the insurance company uses that delay against you. And watch out — claims against a government vehicle can have deadlines as short as six months. Don’t guess. If you’ve been hurt in a San Antonio crash, call Carabin Shaw. Free consultation and you pay nothing unless we win. 210-222-2288.

The Two-Year Rule and What It Covers

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 sets a two-year deadline for personal injury claims, including car accident cases. The clock starts on the date of the crash. The San Antonio car accident attorneys at Carabin Shaw have seen cases where victims waited until month 23 to consult an attorney, leaving almost no time to investigate, gather evidence, and file properly. Two years sounds like a long time. It is not, when the work required to build a complete case is factored in.

Wrongful Death Claims

When a car accident results in a fatality, the surviving family members have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71. If the victim survived the crash but died later from their injuries, the two-year clock for the wrongful death claim runs from the date of death, not the date of the crash.

Exceptions That Can Extend the Deadline

Texas law recognizes a limited number of exceptions that can toll — pause — the statute of limitations. The most significant for car accident victims are the minority tolling rule and the discovery rule.

Minor Victims

When the injured person is a minor at the time of the crash, the two-year clock does not begin running until they turn 18. A child injured in a car accident at age 10 has until age 20 to file their own claim. However, a parent or guardian can file on the child’s behalf before that deadline, and doing so promptly preserves evidence that would otherwise be gone by the time the child reaches adulthood.

The Discovery Rule

In rare cases, an injury may not be discovered until after the crash. The discovery rule allows the statute of limitations to begin running from the date the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. This exception applies narrowly and is not a general extension — it requires that the injury was genuinely not discoverable through reasonable diligence at the time of the crash.

Government Vehicles and Shorter Deadlines

When a crash involves a government vehicle — a city bus, a county vehicle, a state agency truck — different rules apply. Texas law requires that a formal notice of claim be filed with the relevant government entity within six months of the crash under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Missing that six-month notice deadline can bar the claim entirely, even if the two-year statute of limitations has not yet expired. Crashes involving government vehicles require immediate legal attention.

Uninsured Motorist Claims

Claims against the victim’s own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage are governed by the insurance contract, not just the statute of limitations. Many policies contain their own notice requirements and deadlines that are shorter than two years. Reviewing the policy immediately after a crash involving an uninsured driver is essential to preserving those coverage options.

Why Waiting Hurts the Case Beyond the Deadline

Even well before the two-year deadline, delay damages the case. Surveillance footage is overwritten within days. Witnesses move and their memories fade. Vehicle event data recorders are reset when vehicles are repaired. The responding officer may no longer recall the details of the scene. Medical records from delayed treatment are harder to connect causally to the crash. Every week that passes without legal action makes the case harder to prove. The TxDOT crash records that document the incident are public, but the physical evidence at the scene is gone within hours.

Carabin Shaw has handled car accident cases across San Antonio and Bexar County for over three decades. The firm takes cases on a contingency basis — no fee unless the case is won. Call (800) 862-1260 to speak with an attorney about the timeline for your case.