San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyers

San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyers FAQS

How Long Do You Have to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Texas?

In Texas, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit in civil court. This deadline, known as the statute of limitations, is established under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003. If you miss this deadline, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case, and you will permanently lose your right to seek compensation.

That said, certain exceptions can either shorten or toll (pause/extend) the two-year window:

• The Discovery Rule: If your injury wasn’t immediately apparent and couldn’t have been discovered through reasonable diligence, the clock may not start running on the date of the incident. Instead, it begins when you discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) that you were injured. This often comes up in cases involving latent illnesses, toxic exposure, or medical complications that surface long after the fact.
• Minor Victims (Under 18): If the injured person was under 18 years old at the time of the incident, the statute of limitations is tolled until they turn 18. From that birthday, they have two years, meaning they could potentially have until their 20th birthday to file.
• Legal Incapacity or Mental Incompetence: If the injured party is of unsound mind or legally incapacitated at the time of the injury, the limitations period is paused for the duration of the incapacity. Once the person regains legal capacity, the two-year countdown begins.
• Fraudulent Concealment: If the defendant actively concealed their wrongdoing, the court may toll the statute of limitations for the period of concealment. The clock restarts once you discovered, or should have discovered, the fraud.
• Defendant Leaves Texas: If the person who caused your injury leaves the state of Texas after the incident, the time they are absent may not count toward the two-year limitation period.

What Is the Average Texas Personal Injury Settlement?

There is no single “average” settlement figure that applies across the board. Settlement amounts in Texas vary based on the type of injury, who was at fault, available insurance coverage, and how persuasive the evidence is. That said, the following factors push settlements up or down:

• Medical Expenses: Your total medical bills (past and projected future costs) are the foundation of most settlement calculations. The higher and more documentable your medical costs, the stronger the starting point for settlement negotiations.
• Lost Income and Earning Capacity: If your injury kept you out of work or permanently limits your ability to earn, those losses are calculated and added to your claim. A young person with decades of earning potential ahead may recover far more than someone close to retirement.
• Pain and Suffering: Texas allows recovery for non-economic damages like pain, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life. These losses are harder to quantify, so negotiation plays the biggest role here. Insurers may use a multiplier (typically 1.5x to 5x your medical bills) as a starting calculation, but there is no fixed formula.
• Insurance Policy Limits: Even a rock-solid case is capped by the at-fault party’s insurance policy. If the defendant carries only $30,000 in liability coverage, collecting beyond that amount requires going after personal assets, which can be complicated.
• Evidence of Fault: When the fault is clear-cut and well-documented, settlements tend to go higher. When liability is disputed, insurers push back hard, and the final number tends to drop.

You will see figures like “$52,000” or “$75,000” cited online as average personal injury settlements. These numbers are unreliable for several reasons:

• They lump minor fender-benders together with catastrophic injury cases
• Most settlement figures are never made public
• They don’t account for attorney fees (typically 33–40% in contingency arrangements), medical liens, or other deductions from the gross amount
• Texas verdicts and settlements can skew heavily depending on defendant type and injury category

A more useful approach is to calculate your actual damages and treat that as your baseline.