How long do I have to file a workplace injury lawsuit in Texas?

Multiple Deadlines Apply — And Several Are Far Shorter Than Two Years

Workplace injury claims in Texas involve multiple overlapping deadlines across different legal systems. The civil lawsuit statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury. Workers’ comp claims have a one-year filing deadline with a 30-day injury reporting requirement to the employer. Claims involving government entities, government contractors, or OSHA violations carry notice requirements as short as six months. Missing any single deadline in the applicable system can permanently bar that specific recovery path — even when other claims remain viable.

Civil Lawsuit Deadline — Two Years From the Date of Injury

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003 sets the personal injury statute of limitations at two years from the date the injury occurred. This applies to:

• Non-subscriber employer civil lawsuits
• Third-party negligence claims against general contractors, subcontractors, and property owners
• Product liability claims against equipment manufacturers, scaffold suppliers, and chemical manufacturers
• Premises liability claims against the worksite owner

The two-year clock runs from the date of the accident — not the date your injury was diagnosed, not the date you first experienced symptoms, and not the date you retained an attorney. For occupational disease and toxic exposure cases where the injury is not immediately apparent, the discovery rule may apply, tolling the statute of limitations until the date you knew or reasonably should have known about the injury and its work-related cause.

The Discovery Rule in Occupational Disease Cases

For silicosis, asbestosis, occupational cancers, and other latent occupational diseases, the discovery rule tolls the two-year limitations period until the date the injured worker:

• Received a diagnosis connecting their condition to occupational exposure
• Or reasonably should have known through the exercise of due diligence that their condition was work-related

Texas courts apply the discovery rule narrowly in occupational disease cases. The limitations period begins to run when the diagnosis is made — or when a reasonably diligent person would have sought that diagnosis. Workers who ignore symptoms for years before seeking medical attention may find the discovery rule does not toll the limitations as long as they assumed.

Workers’ Comp Deadlines — Shorter and More Strict

Workers’ compensation claims operate under a separate and stricter set of deadlines under Tex. Lab. Code Title 5:

• 30 days to report injury to your employer: You must notify your employer of the work injury within 30 days of the date of injury or the date you knew or should have known the injury was work-related. Failure to report within 30 days can result in claim denial, though good cause exceptions exist for reasons such as delayed symptom onset or medical diagnosis
• One year to file the workers’ comp claim: You must file a workers’ comp claim with TDI-DWC within one year of the date of injury, or within one year of the date of your last authorized medical treatment, whichever is later. Missing the one-year deadline results in complete bar of workers’ comp benefits
• Ongoing deadlines throughout the claim: TDI-DWC imposes response deadlines throughout the workers’ comp process — for disputing impairment ratings, contesting Maximum Medical Improvement determinations, and appealing benefit reductions. Missing any of these internal deadlines can permanently forfeit specific benefit rights

Government Entity and Government Contractor Claims — Six-Month Notice

When a government entity or government contractor is among the potentially liable parties in your Austin workplace injury, the Texas Tort Claims Act (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §101.101) imposes written notice requirements that cannot be missed:

• City of Austin: Written notice to the Austin City Clerk within six months of the injury when a city-owned facility, city contractor, or city-maintained infrastructure contributed to your workplace accident
• TxDOT contractors: Written notice to TxDOT within six months for injuries on the I-35 Capital Express project, other TxDOT highway construction projects, or TxDOT-maintained facilities
• Travis County: Written notice to the Travis County Judge within six months for county-owned worksite or county contractor involvement
• State agencies: Written notice to the Texas Attorney General within six months for injuries on state-owned property or involving state agency contractors

Government entity notice failures are absolute bars — no matter how compelling the underlying case is, failure to provide timely written notice to the correct entity is fatal to that specific claim. Wayne Wright identifies and protects every government entity notice requirement from day one.

OSHA Complaint Deadlines — 30 Days for Retaliation Claims

If your employer retaliated against you for reporting a workplace injury or safety violation — termination, demotion, reduced hours, or threats — you have 30 days from the retaliatory action to file a whistleblower complaint with OSHA under Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This deadline is not extended by any exception. Wayne Wright advises injured Austin workers on retaliation claim deadlines immediately in every case where employer retaliation is a concern.

Wrongful Death Deadlines

For fatal workplace accidents, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003 gives surviving family members two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Government entity notice requirements apply on the same six-month timeline from the date of death. Workers’ comp death benefits must be claimed within one year of the death.

Why the Two-Year Civil Deadline Is Less Time Than It Seems

Evidence in workplace injury cases has shorter practical retention windows than the legal filing deadline suggests:

• OSHA inspection records and citations are a matter of public record — but your employer’s internal safety records, incident reports, and near-miss logs are not. Wayne Wright subpoenas these records immediately before they are destroyed or “lost” during litigation
• Witness employees move jobs, relocate, or become unavailable — co-workers who saw the accident are most accessible in the weeks immediately following the injury
• Job site conditions change rapidly — the defective scaffold, uncovered floor opening, or inadequate safety barrier that caused your injury may be corrected within days
• Employer insurance carriers are already investigating and building their defense from day one of the claim

Call 512-543-4397 immediately after any Austin workplace injury — not just before the two-year deadline. The evidence that wins these cases lives in the days and weeks after the accident. Wayne Wright acts on every deadline simultaneously, protecting workers’ comp reporting requirements, civil statute of limitations, government notice deadlines, and OSHA complaint windows from the moment of retention.