What a Serious Injury Lawsuit in Texas Involves

By Hank FasthoffSeptember 14, 2026

A serious injury claim requires evidence of responsibility, the harm the injury caused, and the money available to pay a settlement or judgment. Texas law governs filing deadlines, medical expense evidence, allocation of fault, and claims against the recovery. Understanding those requirements helps you assess a settlement proposal and the reasons a lawsuit takes time.

Investigation, treatment, negotiation, and litigation can proceed together. A physician may be assessing permanent restrictions while the parties exchange records or prepare for depositions. These procedures apply to ordinary injury litigation in Texas state court, including vehicle and premises cases. Other claims and courts can require different procedures.

Filing Deadlines and Notice

Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, a personal injury suit must be brought within two years after the claim accrues. In an ordinary vehicle or premises case, that generally means the injury date. Wrongful death claims accrue at death. Exceptions and rules suspending limitations require separate analysis, including when the injured person is a minor under § 16.001.

Timely filing must be followed by diligent service of the lawsuit. In Proulx v. Wells, the Supreme Court of Texas explained that service after limitations expires relates back to timely filing only when the claimant exercised the required diligence. Identifying defendants and arranging service therefore belong in the deadline analysis. Waiting for treatment to finish can put a claim at risk.

Governmental claims require additional attention. Section 101.101 generally requires notice within six months for claims under the Texas Tort Claims Act and recognizes qualifying local notice provisions. Houston’s charter requires a verified written notice within 90 days, with specified information. The statute contains an actual notice exception, whose application requires examining the government’s knowledge. Compliance with notice requirements also leaves the separate question of governmental immunity to be addressed.

The Engagement and Investigation

A contingent fee is a fee tied to recovery. Under Government Code § 82.065, the agreement must be written and signed by the attorney and client. You should understand the percentage, responsibility for expenses, the order in which deductions are calculated, and the consequences of ending the representation. Those terms affect the amount you receive.

The investigation must connect each proposed defendant to the injury. A crash report, video, vehicle data, witness accounts, and business records can supply different parts of that evidence. A preservation request identifies material to be retained, but obtaining it may require inspection, discovery, or a court order. Medical records, billing records, employment information, and evidence of daily limitations support the damages assessment.

A physician’s prognosis can change the evaluation of future care and earning capacity. Settlement timing also depends on disputed responsibility, available coverage, collection prospects, deadlines, and the claimant’s circumstances. You should expect an explanation of what information is missing and how it could affect the proposed settlement. Medical uncertainty requires evaluation alongside the filing deadline.

The Demand to the Insurer

A settlement demand identifies the claim, supporting evidence, proposed payment, and terms of release. In In re Farmers Texas County Mutual Insurance Co., 621 S.W.3d 261 (Tex. 2021), the Supreme Court of Texas restated the insurer’s duty to its insured under the Stowers doctrine. The claim must be covered, the demand must be within policy limits, and its terms must be ones an ordinarily prudent insurer would accept considering the insured’s potential exposure above those limits. When those conditions are met and a negligent failure to settle causes an excess judgment, the insurer is liable for the entire judgment.

A demand for policy limits requires careful attention to the release. In Trinity Universal Insurance Co. v. Bleeker, the Supreme Court rejected liability because the proposed settlement failed to offer the required full release, including resolution of hospital liens. Coverage, supporting evidence, release terms, and the opportunity to evaluate the demand must be considered together. Rejection of a demand alone doesn’t establish insurer liability above the policy limit.

Filing Suit and Exchanging Information

The petition identifies the claims and requested relief. Rules 47 and 169 connect the pleaded relief to the expedited procedure for qualifying cases seeking only monetary relief of $250,000 or less. That threshold excludes interest, statutory or punitive damages and penalties, and attorney fees and costs. Pleadings must accurately reflect the relief sought, and the rules permit removal from the expedited process when their conditions are met.

Rule 194.2 generally requires initial disclosures within 30 days after the first answer or general appearance, subject to agreements, orders, and separate timing for subsequently joined parties. Disclosures include insurance agreements, potential parties, relevant witnesses, and specified damages information. You should expect followup investigation when those disclosures are incomplete or identify additional businesses, policies, or witnesses.

A defendant can seek to allocate fault to someone outside the lawsuit through § 33.004. The usual designation deadline is 60 days before trial, subject to good cause. Timely disclosure obligations, objections, and an opportunity to correct insufficient allegations also apply. After adequate discovery, a designation must be struck on motion unless sufficient evidence supports a genuine factual dispute about that person’s responsibility. Designation alone imposes no payment obligation on the absent person.

Discovery, Depositions, and Experts

Discovery is the exchange and examination of evidence during the lawsuit. Under Rule 190, the ordinary Level 2 discovery period ends at the earlier of 30 days before trial or nine months after initial disclosures are first due. A Level 3 court order can tailor the schedule and limits. Your case schedule should identify the dates that govern the particular lawsuit.

A deposition is questioning under oath before trial. Rule 199.5 generally limits each side to six hours per witness. A compelled medical examination requires a court order and the conditions in Rule 204.1, including good cause. Preparation should address the records, disputed facts, and the scope of any examination.

Experts address questions requiring specialized knowledge, such as future care, earning capacity, or how a collision occurred. Rule 195 governs their disclosure and discovery. The rules distinguish retained experts from other witnesses, permit depositions and court ordered reports, and protect draft reports and specified attorney communications. Expert assignments depend on the disputed issues.

Establishing Medical Expenses

Section 18.001 permits a compliant affidavit to support findings that medical charges were reasonable and services necessary without live expert testimony on those questions when no compliant counteraffidavit is served. It doesn’t establish that the defendant caused the condition requiring treatment. Causation requires separate evidence.

The ordinary affidavit deadline is the earliest of 90 days after the defendant answers, the applicable expert deadline under a court order, or the deadline under the rules. The corresponding counteraffidavit calculation uses 120 days and the responding party’s expert deadlines. Special provisions govern new providers and continuing treatment, and agreements or court permission can alter deadlines. Those provisions require a provider by provider assessment.

In In re Allstate Indemnity Co., 622 S.W.3d 870 (Tex. 2021), the Supreme Court upheld a counteraffidavit from a nurse with medical billing experience. It also held that failure to serve a compliant counteraffidavit doesn’t prevent a defendant from challenging reasonableness or necessity through otherwise admissible evidence and argument. An uncontroverted affidavit is sufficient evidence, but the factfinder need not accept it as conclusive.

Section 41.0105 limits recovery of incurred medical expenses to amounts paid or incurred by or for the claimant. In Haygood v. De Escabedo, 356 S.W.3d 390 (Tex. 2011), the Supreme Court excluded amounts providers had no legal right to collect after required adjustments. The permitted figure can include payments by an insurer and amounts legally owed by the patient. Future care, lost earning capacity, and noneconomic losses require their respective supporting evidence; a larger billed amount doesn’t establish those damages.

Allocation of Fault

Under § 33.003, responsibility can be allocated among claimants, defendants, settling persons, and designated responsible third parties when sufficient evidence supports submission. Section 33.001 bars recovery when the claimant’s responsibility exceeds 50%. Otherwise, § 33.012 reduces recovery by the claimant’s percentage and, in ordinary injury cases, applicable settlement credits.

Section 33.013 generally limits a liable defendant to its assigned share. A defendant more than 50% responsible is jointly and severally liable, meaning it can be required to pay the recoverable damages beyond its percentage. The statute also contains an exception for specified intentional criminal conduct committed with another person. Responsibility for an employee’s conduct requires separate consideration. Fault allocation, coverage, and assets can therefore produce different collection results from the same damages finding.

Mediation and Trial

Under § 154.021, a court can refer a pending dispute to mediation. The mediator assists negotiations and cannot impose a decision under § 154.023. Timing depends on the order and the information needed for useful negotiations. Settlement can occur before mediation, during it, or after additional evidence develops.

For an ordinary verdict from a 12 person jury, Rules 226a and 292 generally require agreement by the same 10 jurors. Exemplary damages require unanimous findings on supporting liability, qualifying conduct, and the exemplary amount. The exemplary damages article explains those requirements and the separate trial phases that can apply.

Interest and Payment After Judgment

A personal injury judgment earns prejudgment interest under Finance Code § 304.102. Under § 304.104, accrual generally begins on the earlier of the 180th day after the defendant receives written notice of the claim or the filing date. Interest is simple and ends the day before judgment. Early notice can advance accrual when suit is filed more than 180 days after receipt.

Section 304.1045 excludes future damages from prejudgment interest, and § 41.007 excludes exemplary damages. Postjudgment interest follows § 304.003, using the applicable published rate derived from prime, with a 5% floor and 15% ceiling. Posttrial proceedings, an appeal, and collection arrangements can affect payment timing. A verdict therefore requires further evaluation before it can be treated as money available to the claimant.

Liens, Reimbursement, and the Net Recovery

A hospital lien is a statutory claim against specified injury claims and recoveries. Property Code § 55.002 requires admission within 72 hours for qualifying accident injuries attributed to another person’s negligence. The hospital must also comply with the notice and filing requirements in § 55.005. Admission within 72 hours alone doesn’t resolve the lien’s validity or amount.

Under § 55.004, the hospital lien is limited by charges during the first 100 days and 50% of the specified recovery. When the factfinder separately awards hospital charges, the statute supplies another limit based on that award after a proportional deduction for reasonable fees and expenses. The lowest applicable limit governs, and unreasonable charges are excluded. A settlement without a separate hospital damages finding requires a different calculation from a verdict containing one.

A health plan’s reimbursement rights depend on the plan and applicable law. Chapter 140 excludes Medicare, Medicaid, workers’ compensation, and self funded plans governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA. Those plans pay benefits from plan funds. For covered plans, § 140.005 generally limits all payors’ combined share to the lesser of half the gross recovery or covered benefits paid, with the statutory deductions. Section 140.007 governs the fee and expense calculation. The deduction cannot be assumed to equal the client’s contingent fee percentage.

Medicare’s conditional payment process requires identifying related payments and addressing reimbursement when a settlement or judgment produces a recovery. A conditional payment letter can contain an interim amount; reporting the settlement permits the agency to determine its demand. Disputed charges and unresolved reimbursement amounts require attention before the claimant’s final distribution is calculated.

When a minor or incapacitated person sues through a next friend, a representative acting for that person, Rule 44 requires court approval for a binding settlement. The proposed distribution must account for the claimant’s circumstances and any applicable court requirements. You should receive an explanation of the gross recovery, fees, expenses, liens, reimbursement obligations, and amounts reserved for unresolved claims. The resulting net amount is the useful figure when evaluating what a settlement would provide.