Texas Medical Malpractice Lawyer

What Counts as Medical Malpractice in Texas

Under Texas law, medical malpractice is care by a physician or health care provider that departs from accepted standards and injures or kills a patient. Section 74.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code calls it a health care liability claim, and it covers a failure to treat as well as treatment given.

Medical malpractice is negligence in a patient’s medical care. An injury at a clinic or hospital is not automatically a health care liability claim, and calling a claim something else does not take it outside Chapter 74. Medicine carries risk, and a bad outcome is not always negligence.

A few examples of care that can support a claim:

• A fracture or bleed that is plainly visible on an imaging scan goes unreported.
• A patient receives ten times the ordered dose of a medication.
• Signs of fetal distress on the monitor go unanswered during labor.
• A surgical sponge or instrument is left inside the patient.
• A post-surgical infection goes untreated despite fever and worsening pain.

What You Must Prove in a Texas Medical Malpractice Claim

A Texas medical malpractice claim must prove four elements: duty, breach of the accepted standard of care, causation, and damages. Lawyers sometimes call them the four D’s, and the Supreme Court of Texas described all four in its decision in Windrum v. Kareh.

Duty comes from the relationship between provider and patient. Breach means the care fell short of what a careful provider in that field would have done, and causation means the breach more likely than not caused the injury.

Causation can be disputed when the defense argues that the illness itself, and not the care, caused the harm. A medical expert explains what the standard required, where the care departed from it, and why that departure caused the injury. Sections 74.401 to 74.403 set who may testify on each issue.

A pre-existing condition does not by itself rule out a Texas claim. Damages can still be pursued for the worsening that negligent care caused, though not for the condition as it would have been anyway.

Texas Medical Malpractice Laws and Deadlines

Chapter 74 of the state’s Civil Practice and Remedies Code governs medical malpractice claims in Texas, setting their filing deadline, pre-suit notice, expert report, and damages limits. Whether a claim can go forward depends on meeting those rules, along with Texas laws on wrongful death, shared fault, hospital responsibility, consent forms, and claims against government providers.

Each rule below was checked and verified against the Texas statutes and court decisions, and is accurate as of October 6, 2026.

The Two-Year Filing Deadline and Its Exceptions

Texas law currently gives two years in most cases to file a malpractice claim, under Section 74.251 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (current as of October 2026). The clock generally starts on the date of the negligent act, and the end of the treatment or hospitalization it was part of can also matter. Learning of the harm later does not generally restart it.

Children under 12 generally have until their 14th birthday, and a statute of repose sets an outer limit of ten years. The Texas Constitution’s open courts guarantee can protect a child’s claim that the law would otherwise cut off before the child is old enough to sue. The Texas medical malpractice statute of limitations guide covers each exception in detail.

Notice to the Provider 60 Days Before Filing

Under current Texas law, Section 74.051 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires that each provider get written notice 60 or more days before a lawsuit. The notice goes by certified mail, and notice given as the statute requires pauses the filing deadline for 75 days.

The notice must include the medical authorization required by Section 74.052, which lets the provider obtain the patient’s records. Without a proper authorization, the case can be put on hold until 60 days after the provider receives one.

The Expert Report Due 120 Days After Each Defendant Answers

A Texas malpractice patient must generally serve an expert report and the expert’s CV within 120 days of each defendant’s original answer (current as of October 2026). Section 74.351 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets that deadline, and the report is a qualified medical expert’s written opinion on the care.

The original answer is the first answer a defendant files in the lawsuit, and a CV summarizes the expert’s training and experience. A judge may allow one 30-day extension to fix a deficient report. On the defendant’s motion, a missed deadline can lead to dismissal that prevents refiling, plus that defendant’s attorney fees and court costs.

Limits on Damages

Texas now limits noneconomic damages in a medical malpractice case to $250,000 per claimant against physicians and other individual providers (current as of October 2026). Section 74.301 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code adds a separate $250,000 limit for one health care institution, and $250,000 each and $500,000 total for more than one.

Noneconomic damages are losses with no bill attached, and Section 41.001 counts mental anguish and emotional distress among them, so the limits apply to those losses. Section 74.301 does not cap economic damages, such as medical bills and lost income. Each limit is walked through in the Texas medical malpractice damage caps guide.

When Medical Malpractice Causes a Death

The law in effect today lets certain Texas family members sue for wrongful death when malpractice causes a death, under Chapter 71 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The patient’s estate can also pursue a separate survival claim for the injuries and losses the patient suffered before death.

Section 74.303 places an inflation-adjusted limit on all damages per claimant in a malpractice wrongful death or survival claim. Expenses of necessary medical, hospital, and custodial care fall outside that limit. The Texas wrongful death guide covers who may bring each claim, and the wrongful death cap calculator shows how the adjustment works.

When the Patient Shares Fault

Currently, a Texas patient more than 50 percent responsible for their own injury cannot recover damages, under Section 33.001 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. At 50 percent or less, Section 33.012 reduces the patient’s damages by that percentage.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

A Texas hospital can be held responsible for negligence by its employees acting within the scope of their employment, as the Supreme Court of Texas explained in Baptist Memorial Hospital System v. Sampson. Doctors, nurses, and other providers who treated the patient remain responsible for their own care.

A hospital generally is not responsible for an independent-contractor physician without proof of ostensible agency. That requires showing the patient reasonably believed the physician worked for the hospital, the hospital created or allowed that belief, and the patient justifiably relied on it.

Signed Consent Forms

Under Texas law today, signing a consent form does not decide whether the care was negligent. Section 74.101 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code limits an informed consent claim to a negligent failure to disclose risks. Informed consent is a patient’s agreement to treatment after its risks are explained.

The Texas Medical Disclosure Panel decides which risks must be disclosed for listed procedures, so the rules differ from one procedure to the next. A lawyer can review both the form and the care.

Claims Against Government Health Care Providers

Texas currently allows a suit against a public hospital or other government health care provider only when the claim fits a narrow Tort Claims Act exception. Section 101.101 generally requires written notice within six months of the incident, and a city charter can require it sooner.

The exception, in Section 101.021, is tied to the use of a motor vehicle or the condition or use of tangible property. Section 101.023 limits damages for bodily injury or death to $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for the state and cities. Other local government units have limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence (current as of October 2026).

How a Texas Medical Malpractice Case Moves Forward

A Texas medical malpractice case begins with the medical records and an expert review. It then moves through the notice, lawsuit, and expert report required by Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The case may then go through discovery and mediation, and a case that is not resolved can go to trial.

From the first days after an injury, a claim usually moves in this order:

1. Get the care you need. Your health comes first, and treatment records document the injury.

2. Save bills and paperwork. Hold on to discharge papers, receipts, and letters.

3. Write down dates and names. Note who treated you and what you were told while it is fresh.

4. Request the medical records. Ask each provider in writing for the complete chart.

5. Have a lawyer review the records. A medical malpractice lawyer reads the chart to see what happened.

6. Bring in a medical expert. A specialist can say what the accepted standard of care required in that field.

7. Send the 60-day notice. Each provider receives the notice and medical authorization, which also pauses the deadline.

8. File the lawsuit. Suit is filed within the two-year deadline or a later date an exception allows.

9. Serve the expert report. It is due 120 days after each defendant answers.

10. Discovery. Both sides exchange records and take depositions, which are sworn testimony given before trial.

11. Mediation. A court may send the case to mediation, where a neutral mediator helps both sides see whether it can settle.

12. Trial. If the case is not resolved, a jury or a judge hears the evidence and decides whether the care was negligent.

No set timeline applies to a Texas medical malpractice case. Its length depends on the injuries, the number of providers involved, and whether it settles before trial. Most medical malpractice claims are resolved without a trial, though no individual case has a guaranteed result.

When the law does not support a claim, a patient may still have other options, such as filing a complaint with the Texas Medical Board.

What is a Texas Medical Malpractice Case Worth?

The value of a Texas medical malpractice case depends on the harm, the losses it caused, and the evidence, so there is no set value and there are no odds. Every case is unique, settlements vary widely, and Section 74.301 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code limits noneconomic damages.

The losses start with medical care, past and future, and income the patient could not earn. They also include the effect on daily life: pain, mental anguish, and the activities an injury takes away. An injury that needs years of future care can weigh heavily in a case’s value.

Small damages rarely support a malpractice case, because every Texas claim depends on medical experts and a report early in the lawsuit. The expense of that testimony can outweigh a modest loss. Our overview of Texas medical malpractice facts explains how these claims are measured.

The Cases Our Texas Medical Negligence Law Firm Handles

Across Texas, Hastings Law Firm represents patients and families in claims for misdiagnosis, surgical errors, birth injuries, medication errors, hospital negligence, and defective medical devices. Our lawyers also handle nursing home abuse and neglect claims, building each one around the records of the care involved.

Texas families come to us most with these claims:

• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose. A serious condition can be mistaken for a minor one, and the delay can close the window for effective treatment. Our misdiagnosis lawyers work with our failure to diagnose attorneys to line up every symptom and test result by date and pinpoint when the illness should have been recognized. If a diagnosis came late, request the records from each earlier visit.
• Surgical errors. A nerve or organ can be damaged, or a complication can go unnoticed, leaving the patient facing another operation. In surgical error claims, we compare the operative report with the recovery notes to find where a complication went unaddressed. Write down what you were told before and after the procedure.
• Birth injuries. Missed signs of distress or a delayed delivery can leave a baby with injuries that last for years. Our birth injury attorneys study the fetal heart tracings beside the delivery notes, looking for the point when a faster delivery was called for. From the start, hold on to your child’s therapy and care records.
• Medication errors. A wrong drug or dose can cause a serious reaction or lasting damage. Our medication error lawyers trace each order from prescriber to patient to learn who introduced the error, and our dangerous drug injury attorneys handle harm from the drug itself. Save the bottles, labels, and pharmacy receipts.
• Doctor malpractice. A physician can skip a needed test or dismiss a worsening symptom, costing time that mattered. For doctor malpractice claims, we read the office notes visit by visit to see which warning signs were charted and left unanswered. List every appointment and what was said.
• Hospital negligence. Short staffing or a breakdown between shifts can let a patient decline unnoticed, leaving an infection or a pressure wound. Our hospital negligence lawyers go through the staffing records and nursing notes to establish who knew of the danger and when. Ask the hospital for the complete chart.
• Defective medical devices. An implant or device can fail inside the body and require surgery to remove it. Our defective medical device attorneys review the device records and the manufacturer’s history with the product for signs the failure was known. The device card from your procedure belongs in a safe place.

These are the most common medical malpractice claims we see across Texas, but they do not represent every case type we accept. If a medical mistake hurt you or a family member in a way not listed here, contact us so our team can review it with you.