What Is the Texas Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other healthcare professional injures a patient through medical incompetence. Unfortunately, medical malpractice is one of the leading causes of death in Texas as well as the rest of the United States. It is also one of the leading causes of injury.
If your healthcare provider injures you through medical malpractice, you don’t have forever to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. The Texas statute of limitations limits the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit or settle your claim.
The Consequence of Missing the Statute of Limitations Deadline
If you miss the statute of limitations deadline, you will no longer be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit on your claim. If you try, the defendant will immediately object, and the judge will permanently dismiss your lawsuit.
Furthermore, the defendant will have no motivation to negotiate an out-of-court settlement. Without the ability to file a lawsuit, you will have no way to force the defendant to pay your claim.
The Reason for Existence of the Statute of Limitations Deadline
The statute of limitations deadline exists because evidence deteriorates over time. Witness memories fade, or they die or move out of town. Additionally, physical evidence tends to degenerate over time.
The longer you wait to file a claim, the more difficult it becomes to resolve it one way or the other. If a claim cannot be resolved through evidence, there is no reason to even hear it.
The Texas Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations Deadline
In Texas, you have two years after your injury to file a medical malpractice claim unless an exception applies.
Exceptions to the Ordinary Statute of Limitations Deadline
The Texas medical malpractice statute of limitations contains many exceptions. These exceptions can be nuanced, and more than one exception can apply simultaneously.
It’s best, then, to consult with a lawyer to determine the exact date that your statute of limitations deadline expires. Following is a list of common exceptions.
Wrongful death claims based on medical malpractice
If a patient dies from medical malpractice, certain close relatives of the victim have until two years after the patient’s date of death to file a wrongful death claim. If the patient dies the same day that the medical malpractice occurs, it won’t make any difference.
However, if the patient dies sometime after the medical malpractice occurs, it will delay the statute of limitations deadline.
The discovery rule
Suppose that your doctor, sewing you up after surgery, accidentally leaves a medical instrument inside your body. You might not immediately realize that you’ve become a victim of medical malpractice.
In this case, and in other cases where it’s not necessarily obvious what happened to you, the statute of limitations clock doesn’t start running until you discover (or should have discovered) your injury and the defendant’s role in causing it.
Continuing course of treatment (if all of it amounts to medical malpractice)
If your medical malpractice injury arose from a continuing course of treatment rather than a single incident, the statute of limitations clock does not begin running until the completion of your last treatment.
Minors (child victims)
The following special considerations apply to child victims of medical malpractice.:
- Minors under 12 at the time of the malpractice: A minor under 12 can wait until their 14th birthday to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Even this extended statute of limitations deadline is subject to the statute of repose, however.
- Minors under 18 at the time of the lawsuit: The “next friend” option: Minors cannot file lawsuits in their own name. Nevertheless, a “next friend,” typically a parent or guardian, can file a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of an injured minor. In most cases, the court doesn’t have to appoint the “next friend.”
- Minors under 18 at the time of the lawsuit: The guardian ad litem option: If there is no suitable “next friend,” the court can appoint a guardian ad litem to file a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of an injured minor. A guardian ad litem might even be a lawyer.
- Warning: You cannot necessarily afford to wait until you’re 18 to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. You can do this in most states, but not in Texas. If you were so young at the time of the malpractice that the statute of limitations deadline, including any exceptions, will expire before you turn 18, you need to find a third party, such as a “next friend” or a guardian ad litem to file the lawsuit on your behalf.
Child medical malpractice cases are often especially complex when it comes to determining the statute of limitations deadline. Contact an attorney as soon as you can for help.
Fraudulent concealment
Fraudulent concealment occurs when a healthcare professional deliberately conceals evidence of medical malpractice to prevent you from gathering enough evidence to win your claim.
If you are incompetent, the statute of limitations countdown will stop until you regain competency, subject to the statute of repose deadline. An example would be a patient whose medical malpractice caused them to lapse into a coma until after the two-year statute of limitations deadline had already expired.
The statute of repose
The statute of repose is the limitation to end all limitations. Even if you have an otherwise valid medical malpractice claim and you can take advantage of an exception in a manner that gives you more than two years after your injury to file your claim, you must still comply with the statute of repose deadline.
The statute of repose deadline is 10 years after the initial injury. The reason for this hard deadline is that after 10 years, evidence is likely to have deteriorated too much to allow you to prove your claim.
How To Beat the Statute of Limitations Deadline
There are two alternative ways of beating the statute of limitations deadline:
- Settle your case out of court before the deadline. You need a signed settlement agreement to resolve your claim. Once the statute of limitations deadline expires, your medical malpractice claim will die. It won’t matter, though, because your settlement agreement will become an enforceable legal contract.
- File a lawsuit with the appropriate court. This will involve filing a written complaint, paying a filing fee, and notifying the defendant of your claim.
Once you accomplish either of these two tasks, you will no longer need to worry about the statute of limitations. It will not come back to haunt you ever again.
A Houston Medical Malpractice Lawyer Can Help Clarify the Status of Your Medical Malpractice Claim
If you have a medical malpractice claim, contact an experienced Houston medical malpractice lawyer for advice. Most Houston medical malpractice lawyers offer free consultations. Under the contingency fee system, they will not charge you a dime in attorney’s fees unless they win your case.
Contact the Houston medical malpractice law firm of Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers by calling (713) 500-5000 for legal help today.
