The Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations in Texas
Two years, and the date it runs from is not always the date of the accident. Several exceptions extend it and one governmental rule shortens it to months, so the deadline that applies to a particular death has to be worked out rather than assumed.
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Two years from the death
Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code gives two years to file a wrongful death claim, and the period runs from the date of death rather than the date of the injury that caused it.
Where a person is injured and survives for a period before dying, those are different dates. Using the accident date can cost real time, and in a claim that was close to the limit to begin with, it can cost the claim.
The survival claim runs on the same clock
A survival claim belongs to the estate and covers what the person could have claimed themselves. It also runs two years, but the analysis is different because the injured person's own limitations period had already started before they died.
In most cases both are treated as running two years from death, but where the underlying injury claim was already time-barred before death, the survival claim can be affected. This is a point to check rather than assume.
Governmental defendants: notice in months
Where a governmental unit may be responsible, a city or county vehicle, a public hospital, a road defect, 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.
This deadline arrives while a family is still arranging a funeral, and missing it bars the claim regardless of merit. It is the single most common way wrongful death claims against public bodies are lost.
Where the period is extended
Where a beneficiary was a minor at the time, the limitations period as to that beneficiary's share may be tolled. A child who lost a parent does not necessarily lose the claim because an adult failed to act within two years.
The discovery rule can also apply where the cause of death was not and could not reasonably have been known, which arises in some medical and toxic exposure cases. These are exceptions argued on specific facts, not a general safety net.
Fraudulent concealment
Where a defendant concealed its responsibility, for instance a hospital that did not disclose an error, the period may be tolled until the concealment was or should have been discovered.
This is difficult to establish and depends on proving deliberate concealment rather than ordinary failure to volunteer information. It is not a reason to delay seeking advice.
Why the practical deadline is much sooner
Evidence perishes long before two years. Vehicle event data is lost on repair, camera footage overwrites within days, and in medical cases the records have to be obtained and reviewed by an expert before a claim can even be framed.
A family that waits eighteen months has preserved the limitations period and lost much of what would have proved the case. Where a governmental unit may be involved, the real deadline is months away, not years.
Summary
| Claim or situation | Period | Runs from |
|---|---|---|
| Wrongful death | 2 years | Date of death |
| Survival action | 2 years | Date of death, with exceptions |
| Governmental defendant | Formal notice in months, often 90 days | Date of the incident |
| Beneficiary was a minor | Potentially tolled as to their share | Varies |
| Cause of death not discoverable | Discovery rule may apply | When it should have been known |
| Fraudulent concealment | Tolled until discovered | Discovery of the concealment |
Keep reading
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Frequently asked questions
Two years from the date of death for most claims. Where a governmental unit may be responsible, formal written notice is required within months, and that shorter deadline bars the claim if missed regardless of merit.
From the death. Where someone is injured and survives for a period before dying, those are different dates, and using the accident date can cost real time.
Possibly. Where a beneficiary was a minor at the time, the limitations period as to that beneficiary's share may be tolled, so the claim is not necessarily lost because an adult failed to act in time.
The Texas Tort Claims Act applies, requiring formal written notice within six months and often sooner by city charter. This deadline arrives during the funeral period and is the most common way these claims are lost.
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