Medical Malpractice Laws in Texas (2026): Deadlines & Caps

Medical malpractice claims in Texas are called health care liability claims, and they are governed by the Texas Medical Liability Act in Chapter 74 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Texas sets a short deadline to sue, requires written notice before filing, and caps the pain-and-suffering portion of an award. The rules below are general information, not legal advice, and how they apply depends on the specific facts of a case.

Deadline to Sue: Texas Statute of Limitations

Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 74.251, a health care liability claim must be filed within two years. The two years run from the date of the negligent act or omission, the date the relevant course of treatment was completed, or the date of the hospitalization, depending on the facts.

Texas generally does not apply an open-ended discovery rule to medical malpractice. The clock usually starts at the act or end of treatment rather than when the patient learns of the injury, which makes acting quickly important.

Serving the required 60-day pre-suit notice tolls (pauses) the limitations period for 75 days, which can effectively extend the filing window. Because exceptions are narrow and fact-specific, the safest course is to confirm the deadline with a licensed Texas attorney.

Statute of Repose: The 10-Year Outer Limit

Separate from the two-year deadline, Section 74.251 imposes a 10-year statute of repose. This is an absolute outer cutoff measured from the date of the negligent act or omission.

After 10 years, a claim is generally barred even if the injury could not reasonably have been discovered earlier. The repose period operates as a hard backstop on top of the ordinary two-year limit.

Exceptions: Minors and Late Discovery

For children, Chapter 74 provides that a claim accruing before a child turns 12 may be filed up to the child's 14th birthday. This is narrower than the general tolling for minors that applies outside the medical context.

That provision for minors is the only exception written into Section 74.251 itself. The statute contains no general discovery rule, so late discovery of an injury does not by itself extend the standard deadline. Any argument for additional time depends on the particular facts and should be evaluated by a licensed Texas attorney before the two-year date passes.

Damage Caps in Texas

Texas caps noneconomic damages, which cover pain, suffering, mental anguish, and similar non-financial harm. Under Section 74.301, the cap against a physician or health care provider other than an institution is $250,000 per claimant, regardless of how many providers are sued.

For health care institutions such as hospitals, the limit is $250,000 per institution. When more than one institution is liable, the total institutional cap is $500,000 per claimant. The cap structure was enacted in 2003 and has been upheld by Texas courts.

The word claimant is defined narrowly, and this is the most commonly misunderstood part of the Texas cap. Under Section 74.001(a)(2), all persons claiming to have sustained damages as the result of the bodily injury or death of a single person are considered a single claimant. A spouse and three children therefore share one $250,000 limit rather than collecting one apiece.

In a personal-injury health care liability claim, there is no cap on economic damages. Past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity can be recovered in full subject to proof. A separate and broader limit applies in wrongful-death and survival actions, described below.

Expert Report Requirement

Texas requires a detailed expert report early in the case. Under Section 74.351, the claimant must serve an expert report and the expert's curriculum vitae on each defendant within 120 days after that defendant files its original answer.

The report must fairly summarize the applicable standard of care, how the defendant failed to meet it, and the causal relationship between that failure and the injury. If a timely report is not served, the court must dismiss the claim against that defendant and may award attorney fees.

Pre-Suit Notice and Records Authorization

Before filing, a claimant must give written notice of the claim to each defendant at least 60 days in advance, under Section 74.051. The notice must be accompanied by a statutory authorization form for the release of protected health information, under Section 74.052.

This notice gives providers an opportunity to investigate and, as noted above, tolls the limitations period for 75 days. Failure to provide proper notice or the authorization can lead to abatement of the lawsuit.

Who Can Be Liable and the Standard of Care

Potential defendants include physicians, nurses, and health care institutions such as hospitals and nursing facilities. A claimant generally must show the provider breached the accepted standard of care and that the breach caused the injury.

Expert testimony is almost always required to establish both the standard of care and causation. The Chapter 74 expert report requirement reflects this, because most malpractice questions are beyond the knowledge of a layperson.

Comparative Negligence in Texas

Texas uses a modified comparative negligence rule, sometimes called the 51 percent bar. A patient found partly at fault can still recover, but the award is reduced by the patient's percentage of responsibility.

If the patient is found more than 50 percent responsible, recovery is barred entirely. The exact allocation of fault is decided on the evidence in each case.

Wrongful-Death Medical Malpractice

When alleged malpractice causes death, surviving family members may bring a wrongful-death claim, and the estate may bring a survival claim. These claims are also subject to Chapter 74, including the expert report and notice requirements.

These cases also carry a damages limit that does not apply to an ordinary personal-injury claim. Section 74.303(a) provides that in a wrongful death or survival action on a health care liability claim, civil liability for all damages, including exemplary damages, is limited to $500,000 for each claimant, regardless of how many physicians or health care providers are sued. Unlike the Section 74.301 cap, which reaches only noneconomic damages, this limit is written to reach lost earnings and other economic losses as well.

Two features soften that number. Subsection (b) adjusts the limit up or down by the change in the CPI-W since August 29, 1977, so the figure that actually applies today is substantially higher than the nominal $500,000. Subsection (c) takes the expenses of necessary medical, hospital, and custodial care, whether incurred before judgment or required in the future, outside the limit entirely.

Wrongful-death deadlines are generally measured from the date of death, and the eligible claimants are defined by the wrongful-death statute. Because timing, standing, and which of the Chapter 74 limits apply all differ from a personal-injury claim, these cases warrant prompt review by a licensed Texas attorney.

How to Evaluate and Preserve a Possible Claim

If you suspect malpractice, request complete copies of your medical records and write down a timeline of events while details are fresh. Preserving records and identifying treating providers early helps any expert assess the standard of care.

Most Texas medical malpractice attorneys work on a contingency fee and offer a free initial consultation. No attorney can promise a particular outcome or amount, and the value of any claim depends on the facts, the evidence, and the applicable caps.