Texas Statute of Limitations
What Is the Statute of Limitations in Texas?
In the State of Texas, there is a relatively small period of time following an incident whereby the plaintiff may file a suit or pursue other legal action against the defendant. The amount of time available is dependent on the type of case as well as several secondary factors. The deadline whereby the plaintiff loses the right to pursue legal action is known as the statute of limitations.
Generally speaking, the statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the incident. The statute of limitations applies to the following cases accordingly:
General Personal Injuries – 2 years from the date of injury;
Car Accidents — 2 years from the date of injury;
Work Accidents where Workers’ Comp is not present – 2 years from the date of injury;
Wrongful Death – 2 years from the date of death;
Product Liability Cases – 2 years;
An exception to the Statute of Limitations – Minor Child
The most common exception to the conventional statute of limitations is that of an injury sustained by a minor. Since minors are seen are not of age to make important legal decisions, The State of Texas extends the statute of limitations, regardless of the child’s age at the time of the accident, until 2 years from the date of the child’s 18th birthday. In other words, the countdown does not begin until the child becomes an adult.
For example, if a five-year-old child is injured in a car accident, they would not lose the right to pursue legal action until the date of their 20th birthday.
The same extension of the statute applies to the wrongful death benefits or claim that a child is entitled to following the death of a parent. For example, if a construction worker is killed on the job and he has a 19-year-old child and a 15-year-old child, the eldest has two years from the date of the incident to file a claim, while the younger of the two would have approximately five years to file a similar claim.
Other Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations
Lack of Common Knowledge
In some cases, the statute is said to begin on the date that a reasonable person would have become aware of the injury. A perfect example of this would be an asbestos exposure/ mesothelioma case. In most of these types of cases, the victim was exposed to asbestos years or decades prior to the discovery that such exposure results in the deadly disease mesothelioma. Most victims of mesothelioma would go many years before they were diagnosed as having this disease. The law provides a special exception and the statute is extended and starts to run, on the date that the victim is diagnosed with the disease, even though the actual exposure happened many years before.
Extenuating Circumstances
If there is some compelling force that renders the plaintiff incapable of pursuing legal action, the statute of limitations may be extended. For example, if the victim is in a coma for the normal period of the statute of limitations, they may be granted an extension because they were incapable of filing a lawsuit while they were unconscious.
Establishing a Reasonable Standard
The term “reasonable” is often used in the legal world. If there are extenuating circumstances that would keep a reasonable person from starting a legal case, the statute can be extended. In the example above, the mesothelioma victim was given a drastically extended statute of limitations because it is perfectly reasonable to assume that they were unaware they were infected. Had that person been diagnosed with mesothelioma and then waited for 3 years to contact an attorney, it would not be likely that the statute of limitations would be extended because it is not reasonable for a person to wait that long.
Furthermore, ignorance is not an excuse. For example, if an accident victim did not know that he or she could file a lawsuit, that would not be considered reasonable in the eyes of the law.
There’s Always a Catch
With most things that sound appealing in life, there is always a catch. The legal world is not immune from this phenomenon. Although you technically have two years before the statute of limitations expires, waiting until the end of that two-year period CAN RUIN YOUR CASE! The earlier a personal injury attorney gets involved in your case, the better the chances are of securing the maximum possible recovery. The longer you wait before you hire an attorney, the fewer options available to the attorney will become fewer and fewer and it will likely hurt the value of your case.
So why is that exactly?
Contrary to popular belief, a trial is usually a last resort. A trial is generally considered as the “silver bullet” to be used if other measures fail to result in a fair settlement. Ideally, your attorney will have plenty of time to fully investigate your claim and gain a thorough understanding of all of the facts and circumstances involved which they can use to determine the best course of action. When the attorney has such an abundance of time, they are able to build a strong case in your favor and they can use the threat of taking your case to trial against the defendant while attempting to use alternative methods of resolution. With any trial, there is a substantial amount of risk for both sides since the outcome is in the hands of the jury who are perfectly capable of making an irrational decision. To recap, the attorney will best be able to serve you if they have plenty of time to try alternative methods of resolution while using the threat of taking the case to trial as a motivator to keep the defendants interested in resolving the case.
By waiting until the end of the statute of limitations, you are putting the attorney in a position where they have no choice but to file a lawsuit and proceed toward a trial. It’s a bit like waiting until the last few minutes of the game to send in your star player.
What’s Happening While You Wait to Speak to an Attorney?
While you may be waiting to make a decision, the defense side is already forming a case against you. This is simply a normal operating procedure in the world of legal defense. Any time there is a potential for a lawsuit to be brought against them, an insurance company, or another defendant will start preemptively building a case against the plaintiff, even if the plaintiff has not indicated that they are going to file a claim or lawsuit.
In many instances, you will not be able to find an attorney that is interested in your case once too much time has passed. It is always a good idea to at least talk to an attorney and get a no-obligation consultation just to hear all of your options and make an educated decision prior to letting your statute run its course.
You’ve got nothing to lose by getting some free advice, and everything to lose by not doing so.
You are Probably Damaging Your Own Case
Additionally, most plaintiffs unknowingly say things to damage their case any time they speak with the defendants or their insurance adjusters or attorneys. The sooner you get an attorney involved, the sooner you will be insulated from the tricks and deceptive practices used by the defendants and their insurance adjusters.
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The Thin Skull Rule & Eggshell Skull Rule
The thin skull rule is invoked in personal injury cases in Texas when a person with a previously existing medical condition suffers an injury that results in greater harm to that person than if they had not had a preexisting condition. The thin skull rule, also known as the eggshell skull rule, holds that the liable party for such an injury is still liable for the full extent of a plaintiff’s injury, regardless of the defendant’s knowledge of the plaintiff’s preexisting condition. The simple phrase often used to convey the essence of the thin skull rule is “take them as they find them,” which means that a defendant must take a plaintiff as they find them.
The unique legal phrase for this rule comes from the notion that a person with a thin skull would suffer more severe injury than a person with a normal skull. It’s likely that a person causing injury to the victim would not be aware that the person had a thin skull. However, the eggshell skull rule exists so that a person’s previously existing medical condition cannot be used by a defendant in order to skirt any or all liability for the extent of the injury incurred by the victim.
Many people injured in car wrecks or through workplace accidents have contacted my office in the past, fearful that they have few legal rights to seek compensation for their injury because they’re aware of their susceptibility to injury due to a preexisting medical condition. However, the existence of the thin skull rule allows such individuals, who often experience a much greater amount of pain due to their existing medical condition compounding their injury, an avenue for legal recourse. Should you have sustained an injury due to another person’s or entity’s negligent behavior, which may have resulted in more severe injuries than normal due to a previously existing medical condition, consider contacting our personal injury lawyers. With twenty years of experience in helping injured victims just like you see fair compensation, the team at our Law Office will work with those responsible for your previous medical care so that we can show how an injury was exacerbated by your medical condition.
As you’ve likely incurred a greater amount of damages due to an injury compounded by your previous medical condition or susceptibility to injury, seeking compensation for such an injury is an important step to take in order to start the recovery process. In addition to seeking compensation for your injury, you will also be working to hold the negligent parties accountable for their behavior so that a similar accident does not have to befall another person.
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Vicarious Liability
The Texas Lawyers at our Law Office Explain the Concept of Vicarious Liability
While surprising to some, in certain instances a party can be held responsible for the negligence of others – a principle known as vicarious liability. The principle often comes into play in personal injury lawsuits.
Consider a traffic accident in which a delivery truck rams into a car, injuring the driver of the car. If the driver of the truck was at fault, not only can the trucker be held liable, but also the company that employed the trucker as well.
Most typically, vicarious liability affects traffic accidents involving commercial vehicles, but this principle can be brought into play in other types of accidents. For example, John Jones has been drinking heavily, and he asks to borrow his buddy Steve Smith’s car for the afternoon to run errands. Mr. Smith gives Mr. Jones the keys to his car despite the fact that Mr. Smith knows Mr. Jones may be legally drunk. Mr. Jones then gets into a drunken-driving accident and injures another party. Mr. Smith would be liable for giving his car keys to a drunken driver and subject to a lawsuit for vicarious liability called negligent entrustment.
Dealing with a case involving vicarious liability is an intricate undertaking that requires the expertise of a knowledgeable attorney. Separate claims must be filed for each defendant, and it takes experience to know how much damages should be assessed to each party responsible based upon their contributory negligence.
At our Law Office, our attorneys have 20 years of experience handling personal injury cases all over Texas, and our seasoned lawyers know how to handle cases involving more than one defendant. We will make sure that you and your family receive equitable restitution for the injury you have suffered. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, and you think vicarious liability might be involved, call our Law Offices today for a free consultation.
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Texas Law Firms
Searching for Texas Law Firms? Our Law Office Can Help You
Our Law Office helps injury victims, survivors of family members killed in an accident, and families of people who have incurred serious personal injuries. Our firm can help you wade through the legal process so that you can focus your energy on recovering from the accident and getting your life back on track.
With two decades of experience in handling personal injury cases, the lawyers with our Law Office have a reputation for successfully fighting for the rights of their clients and winning thousands of cases involving personal injury. There is a good chance we can help you as well.
Personal Injury Definition
The term “personal injury” means any kind of physical injury and the suffering that results, including mental trauma, that occurs because of the actions or inactions of another entity or person. The law in Texas states that the person who experiences a personal injury, otherwise known as the “plaintiff,” is eligible to try and obtain restitution from the party responsible for causing the injury, otherwise known as the “defendant.”
The Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code is the basis of Texas personal injury laws. However, it is imperative to note that, according to Texas personal injury law, defendants do not owe anything to plaintiffs. Plaintiffs are allowed, under the law, to seek fair restitution from the defendant in order to make the plaintiff whole after a personal injury has taken place. Personal injury laws in Texas do not require defendants to pay anything to plaintiffs; rather, plaintiffs have to initiate litigation, prove defendants were responsible, and prove the monetary amount of their damages in order to obtain compensation from the court. Typically, defendants are liable only for the damages they directly caused, and only to the extent the plaintiff suffered. Therefore, it is vital that the plaintiff prepare a case focused on proving not simply liability, but also damages and cause.
Can You File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Any person can sue any other person. In order for your case to have a chance to succeed, you have to prove four elements: Duty, Breach, Cause, and Damages. You must first prove that the defendant owed to you a legal duty of care. Then, you have to prove the defendant breached that duty – for example, by performing a certain action or failing to perform an action. Then you must prove the defendant’s breach of duty resulted in harm befalling you. Finally, you have to prove you were damaged – you must quantify those damages in a specific dollar amount.
The definition of “duty of care” that one person owes another person can vary depending on the situation. Drivers, for instance, are charged with the duty to drive their vehicles in such a fashion so that they do not cause an accident to occur. Careless or reckless driving that results in harm to another person is a breach of that duty not to harm another driver. The level of care varies according to the parties involved. Your doctor, for example, owes you a higher level of care than does your neighbor.
The Three Elements of Successful Personal Injury Litigation
There are three elements to a successful personal injury case: liability, damages, and a solvent defendant. The following is an explanation of these elements.
Liability
If a defendant violates a legal duty that is owed to the plaintiff, the defendant is said to be liable to that plaintiff, and therefore, the defendant is also liable for the damages incurred by the plaintiff. Typically, a defendant violates that duty through the commission of some negligent act. The term “negligence” is defined as conduct that is careless or reckless, and which leads to some kind of accident. A common form of negligence is inattention; however, defendants can also be guilty of committing an act of “gross negligence.” The standard of proof for gross negligence is significantly higher than standard negligence and usually means the defendant did something with the full knowledge that doing so will probably lead to some kind of harm. For instance, the act of driving while intoxicated is a grossly negligent act. There are other instances where a defendant will commit an intentional or willful act that will lead to liability. Both of these kinds of acts mean the deliberate infliction of harm on another person, e.g. assault. No matter what the level of the defendant’s conduct may be, however, the plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant acted negligently in some form or fashion in a manner that holds them liable for the injury suffered by the victim.
Damages
The term “damages” in the legal realm means the monetary amount of a loss suffered by the plaintiff as the result of the defendant’s gross negligence, negligence, or willful or intentional act. Damages have to be differentiated from injury. For example, if the defendant is guilty of breaking your arm, and you have to spend $5,000 at a hospital for treatment, the “injury” is the broken arm and the “damages” are $5,000.
However, it is often difficult to place a specific “price tag,” so to speak, on your personal injury damages. Therefore, damages are split into two categories: general damages and special damages. General damages are non-monetary in nature and are difficult to prove because they are subjective. Examples include loss of consortium, disfigurement, mental trauma, pain and suffering, and impairment. Because general damages are subjective, it is important you enlist the services of an experienced law firm to help you determine them. The attorneys with our Law Office have 20 years of experience identifying and proving general damages in a court of law. Legal laypeople or inexperienced law firms can have a very difficult time proving non-monetary damages. Our attorneys know how to gather proof, ask the right questions, and present the case to a judge or jury to present our clients in the best light possible. All situations are different, of course, but a seasoned and skilled lawyer can help a plaintiff formulate a proper, well-thought-out demand for general damages.
On the other hand, special (or economic) damages are typically verifiable and objective. Financial losses that occur as the result of a personal injury can be quite easy to determine. However, if an accident victim does not recover quickly from his or her injury, proving special damages, as well as calculating them, can be difficult. Should a plaintiff become partially disabled as a result of the injury, the calculation of lost wages can’t be done by simply multiplying the victim’s present income by the number of years he or she could have been expected to stay in the workforce. There are several other factors that have to be considered, such as probable raises in pay, the value of money over time, educational achievements, and inflation. Also, benefits such as retirement, dental, and medical have to be assigned a specific monetary value.
All damages have to be analyzed, developed, and accounted for in order for a personal injury lawsuit to be successful. Plaintiffs who choose to represent themselves in this kind of litigation often shortchange themselves, and as a result, defendants are able to get away with paying less than they should. Plaintiffs often fail to properly account for all components of their damages and demand payment for them. The personal injury attorneys at our law firm are very familiar with developing our clients’ cases so they can prove not just their tangible damages, but their subjective damages as well. Those damages include those that are incurred before the settlement and also those that will continue on an ongoing basis.
Solvent Defendant
The old saying, “you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip” is very appropriate when it comes to attempting to obtain compensation from a bankrupt or otherwise financially insolvent defendant. It doesn’t matter how willful or reckless a defendant’s actions may have been; if the defendant does not have the ability to pay, there is no way a plaintiff can get the fair restitution he or she deserves. There are some plaintiffs who will never get just compensation because the defendant will never be solvent.
This is one of the most vital ways in which a seasoned attorney can be of assistance to a personal injury plaintiff. There are some defendants who, in an effort to escape responsibility, will try and hide their assets. Our law firm knows how to uncover hidden assets. In fact, one of the things we do first upon being hired is to trace the defendant’s assets. By doing so, we can find hidden assets and work to keep that defendant from ever being able to hide assets again.
How a Lawyer Can Help You
There are a lot of people who have the mistaken assumption that the State of Texas has laws designed to protect their rights and provide them just restitution should they be hurt by another person or entity. This could not be farther from the truth, unfortunately. As stated before, Texas law, through the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code enables plaintiffs to try and obtain restitution for injuries caused by another. However, they have to prove all elements of their case if they are to win their case. You can’t just prove that you were injured because a defendant breached a duty of care; if you can’t prove the monetary amount of your damages, you will not win your case. On the other hand, if you can prove $5 million in damages, but you cannot prove that the defendant proximately caused those damages, you won’t win anything.
You might think that simply knowing the law as it pertains to your case will be enough for you to represent yourself and win the litigation. This is simply untrue. In order to have a chance at winning your case, you must develop the facts to support each and every one of the above-mentioned elements. You have to correctly follow court procedure. You have to prove causal links in your case. You have to present the facts in the most favorable light to yourself, and in the most negative light in regard to the defendant. You have to do all of this just to have a chance at winning.
There are some plaintiffs who wait too long before hiring a law firm, and as a result, the lawyer hired can’t help them as effectively as he or she may have had the plaintiff hired that lawyer sooner. Just because you’ve been hurt and suffered monetary damage, that doesn’t mean an insurance company and a defendant will, out of their sense of right, sign over a fat check to you. You’d be surprised how many plaintiffs actually believe this. Insurance companies are only concerned with one thing – protecting their bottom line. They are not interested in helping you recover both physically and financially from your accident. Insurance carriers will employ whatever means are possible in order to deny your claim or offer a ridiculous, insulting settlement offer that won’t even come close to covering your economic damages. And when a plaintiff chooses to represent himself or herself, the chances of winning special (or non-economic) damages from a defendant are practically zero.
When a plaintiff enlists the help of a seasoned law firm immediately following a personal injury takes place, he or she benefits greatly. Experienced law firms can take care of every piece of a personal injury case, and fight back any potentially underhanded tactics the defense may try and use. An effective attorney, for instance, can make sure an insurance company doctor conducts a thorough examination of a plaintiff, rather than simply concluding that the plaintiff isn’t injured. That attorney can also help by propounding and responding to discovery. You must get the help of a lawyer before you are faced with legal documents such as interrogatories or requests for admissions. Improper answers to these items can severely damage a plaintiff’s case. Many times, a plaintiff will answer these documents in regular English rather than legalese, and this can also hurt a case. It is imperative as well for a plaintiff to use the tools of discovery against defendants, phrasing requests in such a way as to, basically, force a defendant to answer questions, rather than using sly phrases and words that may sound impressive but fail to adequately answer questions or convey real content. There are several procedural devices such as counterclaims, cross-claims, summary judgments, motions to dismiss, motions to compel, and interlocutory appeals that can completely befuddle self-represented plaintiffs and lead to the case being thrown out.
Your Litigation is Extremely Important to Us
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