Old Epidural Injury Claim and the Malpractice Filing Deadline

Q: How long does someone have to sue a hospital for malpractice in Texas?

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.251(a) requires a health care liability claim to be filed within two years from the occurrence of the breach or tort, or from the date the treatment or hospitalization at issue was completed. Minors under 12 have until their 14th birthday, and the section otherwise applies regardless of minority or other legal disability. Section 74.251(b) adds a 10-year statute of repose measured from the act or omission.

Q: What is a statute of repose, and how is it different from a filing deadline?

A limitations period runs from when a claim accrues and can sometimes be affected by when an injury was discovered. A statute of repose runs from the defendant's act or omission and cuts off the claim regardless. Section 74.251(b) states that a health care liability claim must be brought within 10 years of the act or omission or it is time barred, which is why very old medical claims usually cannot be revived by explaining a late discovery.

Q: Can an old Texas malpractice claim still be filed if the patient only recently connected the injury to the treatment?

Rarely, and never as a matter of course. Section 74.251(a) measures the two years from the breach or the completion of treatment rather than from discovery, and § 74.251(b) imposes a 10-year outside limit. Texas courts have recognized narrow constitutional and equitable arguments in extreme cases, but they must be raised and proved. Anyone in that position should get a limitations review from a Texas attorney immediately rather than assume either result.

Question

I am writing to seek your legal expertise and representation in a medical malpractice case against a regional hospital. In 2015, I underwent a traumatic experience while giving birth to my first child at the hospital. The incident in question revolves around a faulty epidural administration by a doctor at the facility. During the epidural procedure, the doctor made two unsuccessful attempts, each accompanied by a disturbing sensation of crunching in my spine. Despite this, he proceeded with a third attempt, expressing his discomfort with the situation. Post-birth, upon removal of the epidural, I experienced severe pain and a lack of lower back support, rendering me incapable of performing basic tasks such as lifting my newborn or even bending over without assistance. The negligence displayed by the medical practitioner has not only left me with physical discomfort but has also impacted my ability to care for my child adequately during those crucial postpartum days. The implications of this ordeal have been profound, both physically and emotionally. I believe that the actions of the hospital and its staff warrant legal intervention to seek justice and compensation for the damages caused. I am reaching out to you as an experienced legal professional to guide me through the process of filing a lawsuit against the hospital and the responsible parties. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this matter further and explore the options available to pursue legal recourse. Your assistance in this delicate situation would be invaluable, and I am hopeful that together we can seek the justice and compensation that I rightfully deserve. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to your prompt response.

A. Jason Velez · Accepted Answer

The honest answer first: a claim about care given roughly nine years ago is almost certainly too late under Texas law, and the deadline question has to be resolved before anything else about the case matters. I am not going to tell you the case is worthless without seeing your records, but you should understand what you are up against before you spend money or hope on it. Texas puts health care liability claims — which is what a claim against a hospital and the physician who placed an epidural would be — under Chapter 74 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and the limitations provision there is unusually firm. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.251(a) provides that, notwithstanding any other law and subject to Subsection (b), no health care liability claim may be commenced unless the action is filed within two years from the occurrence of the breach or tort or from the date the medical or health care treatment that is the subject of the claim or the hospitalization for which the claim is made is completed. The same subsection gives minors under the age of 12 until their 14th birthday, and then says that except as provided in that section it applies to all persons regardless of minority or other legal disability. There is no general extension for an adult who did not know the significance of an injury when it happened. Then § 74.251(b) closes the outside door: a claimant must bring a health care liability claim not later than 10 years after the date of the act or omission that gives rise to the claim, and the statute calls that a statute of repose so that all claims must be brought within 10 years or they are time barred. A repose period is not a limitations period that bends; it is a cutoff. Two years from a 2015 delivery has long since run, on any reading of the dates. There are narrow doctrines Texas courts have used to soften limitations in extreme circumstances, and they are argued, not assumed. What I can tell you is that they are exceptions, they are hard, and the ten-year repose in § 74.251(b) is now also close. If you are going to have a lawyer look at this, the time to do it is this week, not later. If a claim could be brought, the rest of Chapter 74 would still apply: under § 74.351(a) an expert report with the expert's curriculum vitae must be served within 120 days of each defendant's original answer, with dismissal with prejudice and an award of the defendant's attorney's fees under § 74.351(b) if it is not. Section 74.301 caps noneconomic damages at $250,000 per claimant against providers other than institutions, $250,000 against a single institution, and $500,000 against all institutions. What you can do 1. Order your complete records now — the delivery admission, the anesthesia record, the operative and nursing notes, and every imaging study of your spine since. 2. Gather the records of the back care you have had in the years since, which is where a lawyer will look for both the injury and the dates. 3. Write down the dates you first raised the back pain with a doctor, what you were told, and when anyone connected it to the epidural. 4. Take the whole file to a Texas medical malpractice attorney for a limitations review specifically, and ask that question first — before any discussion of what the case might be worth. 5. Do not pay a filing fee or sign a representation agreement with anyone who tells you the deadline is not a problem without explaining exactly why. 6. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who can ask you questions is worth more than any general guidance, including this page. ⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.251(a) gives two years measured from the breach or from completion of the treatment or hospitalization at issue, and § 74.251(b) imposes a 10-year statute of repose from the act or omission. Both are relevant to you, and the second one is approaching. A Texas attorney needs to review your actual dates now. Nothing on this page calculates a deadline, and no one should treat a general description of the rules as a ruling on your case.

Old Epidural Injury Claim and the Malpractice Filing Deadline

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