How Many Days After a Car Accident Can You Claim?
Two years to file suit, and no fixed number of days to open a claim. But several shorter clocks run in the background, and the practical window for the evidence that wins a disputed case is measured in days.
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There is no day limit on opening a claim
Nothing in Texas law says a claim must be reported to the at-fault driver's insurer within a set number of days. People often believe there is a fourteen or thirty day rule, and there is not.
What exists is the limitations period: two years from the collision to file suit, and two years from the date of death for wrongful death. That is the outer boundary, not a working timetable.
Your own policy does impose a clock
Your insurer requires prompt notice, and prompt is measured against what was reasonably practicable rather than a fixed count. Delay can jeopardize your own coverage, including uninsured and underinsured motorist benefits.
Uninsured motorist claims are contract claims, so the policy's notice conditions govern them and those can be considerably shorter than two years. Many also require the collision to have been reported to police within a defined period.
Governmental units run on months
Where a city vehicle, a county vehicle, a road defect or a failed signal contributed, the Texas Tort Claims Act requires formal written notice within six months, and many cities impose shorter periods by charter, some as short as ninety days.
Missing that notice bars the claim regardless of merit. It is the deadline that ends more otherwise-good claims than any other.
Delay is used as an argument even when lawful
A gap between the collision and the first medical visit is the standard argument that the crash did not cause the injury. The same applies to a long gap before a claim is reported.
Neither is fatal, and both are answerable, but both cost something. The answer is usually contemporaneous records showing why the delay happened.
The real deadline is evidentiary
Camera footage from businesses and homes is generally overwritten within days. Vehicle event data is lost when a car is repaired or scrapped. Scene marks survive days to weeks, and witnesses become harder to trace immediately.
A claimant who waits eighteen months has preserved the limitations period and lost the material that would have resolved a liability dispute.
Where the period is longer
A claimant who was a minor generally has until two years after turning eighteen. Legal incapacity can toll the period, and in narrow circumstances a defendant's absence from the state or concealment affects the calculation.
These are exceptions argued on specific facts, not a general safety net, and none should be relied on without advice.
Summary
| Clock | Period | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Filing suit | 2 years | The outer boundary |
| Wrongful death | 2 years from death | Different date from the crash |
| Notice to your own insurer | Promptly, per policy | Can jeopardize your own coverage |
| UM or UIM notice | Policy conditions | Often much shorter |
| Governmental unit | 6 months or less | Bars the claim if missed |
| Camera footage | Days | Gone before anyone is thinking about deadlines |
| Claimant was a minor | Generally 2 years from age 18 | Notice periods are not extended |
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Frequently asked questions
There is no statutory day limit for notifying the at-fault driver's insurer. Your own policy does require prompt notice, and uninsured motorist claims are governed by the policy's notice conditions, which can be much shorter than two years.
Generally yes, within the two year limitations period. Expect the delay to be used to argue the injury came from something else, which is answerable but costs something, and note that most of the useful evidence will already be gone.
No. That belief is common and wrong. The governing period is two years to file suit, with much shorter formal notice requirements only where a governmental unit is involved.
Formal written notice is required within six months under the Texas Tort Claims Act, and many cities impose shorter periods by charter. Missing that notice bars the claim regardless of how strong it was.
Talk it through with a lawyer
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