Texas Personal Injury Settlement Rules
Texas gives you 2 years from the date of injury to file, under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003. Texas uses modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar, which the statute calls "proportionate responsibility." Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 33.001, a claimant "may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent." To an adjuster, that means 51% fault is a total loss, while at exactly 50% you still recover half, and below that your award drops by your fault share. Texas has no cap on non-economic damages in ordinary cases, so a routine injury claim is not limited. The cap that matters is in medical malpractice. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 74.301, non-economic damages are capped at 250,000 dollars per claimant against physicians and providers, plus 250,000 dollars per health-care institution capped at 500,000 dollars total across institutions. That produces the commonly cited maximum of 750,000 dollars in non-economic recovery (250,000 dollars from providers plus 500,000 dollars from institutions), and Chapter 74 layers two procedural gates on top: a 60-day pre-suit notice and a 120-day expert report. Texas is an at-fault (tort) state, not no-fault, though PIP is sold as optional coverage. A serious or contested case needs a lawyer licensed in Texas.
Texas rules at a glance
- Statute of limitations
- 2 yr
- Fault rule
- Modified comparative negligence (51% bar)
- No-fault (PIP) state
- No
- General damages cap
- No cap on general damages.
- Medical-malpractice cap
- Medical-malpractice non-economic damages capped at 250,000 dollars per provider plus up to 500,000 dollars from institutions (750,000 dollars aggregate).
The rules an adjuster applies in Texas
Statute of limitations: 2 years
You have 2 years from the date of injury to file, under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003. The 2 years run from the injury date, not from the day a doctor puts you at MMI, so a long treatment course narrows the time left to file. Section 16.003(b) applies the same 2 years to a wrongful-death action, running from the date of death rather than the date of the underlying injury. Government defendants and health-care defendants add earlier deadlines on top, covered below. (source: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm)
Negligence rule: modified comparative (51% bar)
Texas calls it "proportionate responsibility." Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 33.001, a claimant "may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent." At exactly 50% you keep half, at 51% you are barred. The name is different but the mechanism is modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar, and the personal injury calculator applies it once you select Texas. (source: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/GetStatute.aspx?Code=CP&Value=33.001)
Worked example: a 60,000 dollar claim at 30% fault
Take a 60,000 dollar claim where the adjuster assigns you 30% of the responsibility. Your percentage is not greater than 50, so Chapter 33 reduces the award rather than barring it and the claim is worth 42,000 dollars. At exactly 50% you keep 30,000 dollars. At 51% section 33.001 takes the whole thing to zero, which is why Texas defence counsel spend their energy pushing a claimant from 50 to 51 rather than from 30 to 40. Cross into North Carolina or Virginia and the same 60,000 dollar file is worth nothing at 30%, at 5% and at 1%, because both states still apply pure contributory negligence. Cross into Washington state and 51% fault would still pay 29,400 dollars.
General damages cap: none
Compensatory damages, including non-economic, from an ordinary negligence claim are not capped in Texas. Only specific categories such as medical malpractice are capped. (source: https://tlrfoundation.org/foundation_papers/damage-caps-across-the-united-states/)
Medical-malpractice cap: 750,000 dollars aggregate
Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 74.301, non-economic damages are capped at 250,000 dollars per claimant against physicians and providers, 250,000 dollars per health-care institution, capped at 500,000 dollars total across institutions. The commonly cited maximum is 750,000 dollars (250,000 from providers plus 500,000 from institutions). Those figures are the cap on non-economic damages alone, so medical bills and lost earnings are not limited by them. (source: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/GetStatute.aspx?Code=CP&Value=74.301)
No-fault: no
Texas is an at-fault (tort) state, not a no-fault PIP state, though PIP and med-pay are offered as optional first-party coverage. (source: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-states-have-no-fault-insurance/)
Suing a governmental unit: 6 months, sometimes far less
Section 101.101(a) of the Texas Tort Claims Act entitles a governmental unit to notice of a claim "not later than six months after the day that the incident giving rise to the claim occurred," and the notice must reasonably describe the damage or injury claimed, the time and place of the incident, and the incident itself. Six months is the ceiling, not the rule: 101.101(b) ratifies and approves a city's own charter and ordinance notice provisions where the charter period is permitted by law, so a municipal claim can carry a much shorter deadline set by that city's charter. The one relief valve is 101.101(c), which disapplies the requirement where the governmental unit already has actual notice that a death occurred, that the claimant received some injury, or that property was damaged. The 2-year deadline in 16.003 keeps running behind all of it. (source: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.101.htm)
What a Texas governmental defendant can be made to pay
The Tort Claims Act limits the recovery as well as the timing, and the limit depends on which government you are suing. Under section 101.023, liability of the state government is capped at 250,000 dollars for each person and 500,000 dollars for each single occurrence for bodily injury or death. A municipality carries the same 250,000 and 500,000 figures. A unit of local government that is not a municipality, and an emergency service organization, are capped lower at 100,000 dollars for each person and 300,000 dollars for each single occurrence. Property damage is capped at 100,000 dollars per occurrence in every case. A claim an adjuster would value at 400,000 dollars against a county is therefore a 100,000 dollar claim once the statute is applied, no matter what the injury is worth. (source: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.101.htm)
Medical malpractice: 60 days' notice, then a 120-day expert report
Chapter 74 imposes two hard procedural steps on top of the 250,000 and 750,000 dollar caps. Section 74.051(a) requires written notice of the claim by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each physician or provider at least 60 days before suit is filed, accompanied by the statutory authorization form for release of protected health information; 74.051(c) provides that giving that notice tolls the limitations period for 75 days. Section 74.351(a) then requires the claimant to serve one or more expert reports, with each expert's curriculum vitae, no later than the 120th day after that defendant's original answer is filed. If no report is served in time, 74.351(b) says the court shall award the provider its reasonable attorney's fees and costs of court and dismiss the claim against them with prejudice. There is no discretion in that sentence. (source: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.74.htm)
Injured children, and the malpractice exception
Section 16.001 treats anyone younger than 18, married or not, or of unsound mind, as under a legal disability, and where the disability exists when the cause of action accrues the time of the disability is not included in the limitations period. Two limits sit next to it: you may not tack one legal disability to another to extend the period, and a disability arising after the period starts does not suspend it. Health-care claims are carved out and treated much more harshly. Section 74.251(a) gives 2 years from the breach or tort, or from the completion of the treatment or hospitalisation at issue, and states that the section "applies to all persons regardless of minority or other legal disability," with one narrow allowance: a child under 12 has until their fourteenth birthday. Section 74.251(b) adds a 10-year statute of repose that time-bars everything after it. (source: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm) (source: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.74.htm)
Estimate a Texas settlement
Preset to Texas rules. The modified comparative negligence (51% bar) rule is applied automatically.
Negotiation range
Low, likely, highWhat the settlement is made of
- Economic damages kept$9,70029%
- Pain and suffering kept$24,25071%
- Removed by fault and caps$00%
The ring is the gross claim of $33,950. The two kept arcs sum to the net figure in the centre, and the red arc is what comparative fault and statutory caps take away.
Settlement breakdown
Gross $33,950| Component | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Medical expenses | $6,500 | 19.1% |
| Lost wages | $3,200 | 9.4% |
| Economic damages | $9,700 | 28.6% |
| Pain and suffering (2.5x economic) | $24,250 | 71.4% |
| Comparative-fault reduction (0%) | $0 | 0.0% |
| Likely settlement | $33,950 | 100.0% |
Share is measured against the gross claim of $33,950. Method: multiplier method, industry standard. Estimate for negotiation, not legal advice.
Rules applied
TX- Negligence rule
- Modified comparative (51% bar)
- Statute of limitations
- 2 years
- Non-economic cap
- None modeled
- Method
- Multiplier, 2.5x
Estimate only, not legal advice. The legal rules this calculator applies, each state's statute of limitations, comparative-negligence rule, and damage caps, are taken from official state statutes and US government sources, and every figure is cited inline so you can check it against the original. The multiplier method itself is the industry-standard approach bodily-injury adjusters use internally to set claim reserves, so treat the result as a negotiating benchmark rather than a promise: a real settlement still moves with insurer behavior, the strength of your evidence, and the jurisdiction you file in. Your figures stay on your device. Nothing you type is sent to a server, logged, or shared, and it clears when you close the tab. Take these numbers to a personal-injury attorney licensed in your state before you accept or reject any offer, especially for catastrophic injury or amounts above $50,000.
Texas settlement questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Texas?
2 years from the date of injury, under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003. A claim filed after the deadline is time-barred.
Does partial fault bar my Texas settlement?
It can. Texas uses proportionate responsibility, so if your fault is greater than 50% you recover nothing. At 50% or less your award is reduced by your fault share.
What is the medical-malpractice cap in Texas?
250,000 dollars per claimant against physicians and providers, plus up to 500,000 dollars from health-care institutions, for a commonly cited maximum of 750,000 dollars in non-economic damages.
Is there a cap on pain and suffering in an ordinary Texas injury case?
No. Outside medical malpractice, Texas does not cap non-economic damages, so a routine injury claim is not limited by statute.
How long do I have to sue a Texas city or county?
The 2-year limitation applies, but section 101.101(a) of the Tort Claims Act requires notice to the governmental unit within 6 months of the incident, and 101.101(b) ratifies a city charter provision requiring notice sooner than that. The requirement drops away only where the unit already had actual notice of the death, injury or property damage.
How much can I recover from a Texas governmental unit?
Section 101.023 caps the state government and municipalities at 250,000 dollars per person and 500,000 dollars per occurrence for bodily injury or death. Other units of local government and emergency service organizations are capped at 100,000 dollars per person and 300,000 dollars per occurrence.
Do Texas medical malpractice deadlines differ for children?
Barely. Section 74.251(a) applies its 2-year period to all persons regardless of minority or other legal disability, with one allowance: a child injured before age 12 has until their fourteenth birthday. A 10-year statute of repose under 74.251(b) bars claims after that in any event.
What is a 60,000 dollar Texas claim worth if I was 30% at fault?
42,000 dollars, because 30% is not greater than 50%. At exactly 50% it is worth 30,000 dollars, and at 51% section 33.001 bars it entirely. The same claim at 30% fault is worth nothing in North Carolina or Virginia.
About the editorial team
The PersonalInjuryCalculator.us editorial team documents how US insurance carriers value personal-injury claims and turns that into plain-English calculators and explainers. Every dollar range, multiplier, filing deadline, and damages cap published here is traced back to a named source. The team is not a law firm and includes no attorneys, so nothing on this site is legal advice. Speak with a licensed attorney in your state for serious or contested cases.