Texas (TX)
Medical Professional Liability Insurance in Texas
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 74 gives a patient two years to sue under section 74.251 and closes out claims entirely after a ten-year statute of repose, regardless of when an injury is discovered. A plaintiff must serve a qualified expert report within 120 days after filing, the statutory noneconomic cap Chapter 74 created has been upheld, and the Texas Medical Board handles licensure separately from the civil claim.
Texas at a glance
- Limitations and repose
- Two years under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §74.251, with a ten-year statute of repose
- Presuit filing
- Expert report due within 120 days after the suit is filed
- Damages-cap posture
- Chapter 74's statutory noneconomic cap has been upheld against constitutional challenge
- Licensing board
- Texas Medical Board
- Healthcare ecosystem
- Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio medical and technology research
The repose period bars suit regardless of when the injury is discovered.
Chapter 74 requires the report after filing rather than as a condition of filing; a deficient report can lead to dismissal.
The cap applies only to noneconomic damages and varies by defendant type; confirm current treatment with counsel.
Handles licensure and discipline separately from civil liability exposure.
Provider concentration and cross-facility credentialing shape Texas underwriting questions.
Section 74.251 sets a two-year clock with a ten-year outer wall
Chapter 74's section 74.251 generally requires a healthcare liability claim to be filed within two years of the treatment, act, or omission giving rise to the claim, and unlike many states Texas layers on an absolute ten-year statute of repose that bars suit no matter when the injury is later discovered. Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio systems treat that repose date as a hard backstop when evaluating long-tail exposure from slow-developing conditions or retained foreign objects.
An expert report is due after filing, not before
Unlike states that require a presuit affidavit before a complaint can even be filed, Texas allows the suit to proceed first and then requires the plaintiff to serve a qualified expert report on each defendant within 120 days after filing under Chapter 74. A defendant who successfully challenges a deficient report can obtain dismissal with fees and costs, so defense counsel scrutinizes that 120-day filing closely once a Texas suit is underway.
Chapter 74's noneconomic cap has been upheld
Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment supporting Chapter 74's statutory limit on noneconomic damages, and Texas courts have upheld that cap against constitutional challenge, giving carriers a comparatively predictable ceiling on that category of damages that varies depending on whether the defendant is a physician or a healthcare institution. Because the cap applies only to noneconomic damages, economic damages such as future medical costs remain uncapped, so total verdict exposure still depends heavily on the facts.
The Texas Medical Board handles discipline separately
The Texas Medical Board investigates complaints and disciplines physicians on a track independent of the expert-report process, the repose deadline, or any civil verdict, and a reportable malpractice payment can trigger board review on its own schedule. A malpractice policy's defense duty generally applies to the civil suit only, so a practice anticipating board involvement should confirm whether separate licensure-defense coverage is available.
Who we write this for in Texas
Medical malpractice FAQs for Texas
Medical liability law changes frequently through legislation and court rulings. Confirm current limits, deadlines, and requirements with a licensed agent or counsel before relying on them.
General guidance, not legal advice. Texas requirements change and apply differently by entity type, class code and contract. Confirm current rules with the Texas Department of Insurance or talk with a licensed US Professional Insure agent.
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