If you’ve been injured because of someone else’s actions in McAllen or elsewhere in South Texas, you’ve likely heard the term “tort claim” come up before you fully understood what it meant. Whether your case involves a car accident, a fall on someone else’s property, or an incident involving a government vehicle, understanding what a tort claim is, and which type applies to your situation shapes how your case will move forward.
Not all tort claims work the same way, and some come with statutory deadlines most injury victims never find out about until it’s too late. Understanding these distinctions before you act can make a meaningful difference in the outcome of your claim.
What Is a Tort Claim?
A tort claim is a civil legal action brought by an injured person against the party whose wrongful act or omission caused their harm, seeking monetary compensation rather than criminal punishment.
A tort, under Texas law, is a wrongful act or failure to act that causes harm to another person’s body, property, or reputation. This is distinct from criminal law, which addresses conduct considered harmful to society and is prosecuted by the State of Texas. The same conduct can sometimes give rise to both; a drunk driver who causes a crash may face DWI charges from the state while also being pursued separately in a civil tort claim by the person they injured. A civil claim can proceed separately from a criminal case, although the facts and evidence developed in either matter may affect the other.
What Are the Different Types of Tort Claims in Texas?
Texas law generally recognizes three categories of torts: negligence, intentional torts, and strict liability, each requiring different elements to be proven.
- Negligence is the basis for most personal injury claims, including car accidents and premises liability cases. It requires showing that the at-fault party owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach directly caused injury and actual, provable damages. If any one of these elements is missing, the claim is unlikely to succeed, which is why early evidence, such as medical records and witness accounts, plays such a significant role.
- Intentional torts involve conduct meant to cause harm, such as assault, battery, or fraud. These claims may overlap with criminal charges, but a civil claim can proceed independently of any criminal proceeding.
- Strict liability applies in certain circumstances, most notably defective product cases, where a party can be held liable based on the condition of the product itself rather than their intent.
What Is the Texas Tort Claims Act?
The Texas Tort Claims Act (TTCA), found in Chapter 101 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is a limited statutory waiver of governmental immunity that allows certain claims to proceed against government entities, subject to strict notice requirements and damage caps.
Texas governmental entities, cities, counties, school districts, and state agencies such as TxDOT, generally hold sovereign immunity, meaning they cannot be sued absent a specific statutory exception. The TTCA creates that exception for a narrow set of circumstances: injuries arising from the operation of a government-owned motor vehicle, injuries caused by a condition or use of government-owned tangible property, and premises defects on government-owned property.
Claims against government entities come with procedural requirements that don’t apply to claims against private parties:
- Notice deadline: Under Section 101.101, written notice describing the injury and the time and place of the incident generally must be provided to the governmental unit within six months of the incident — not the standard two years. Some municipalities shorten this window further through local charter provisions.
- Damage caps: Under Section 101.023, recovery against a governmental unit is capped by statute, regardless of the severity of the injury.
| Governmental Unit | Per Person | Per Occurrence | Property Damage |
| State government | $250,000 | $500,000 | $100,000 |
| Cities, counties, school districts, and other local governmental units | $100,000 | $300,000 | $100,000 |
Source: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.023, Texas Legislature Online (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- No punitive damages: The TTCA generally does not authorize exemplary damages against a governmental unit.
Because the notice deadline runs on a far shorter timeline than most injury victims expect, claims that may involve a government entity should be reviewed as early as possible.
How Does Comparative Negligence Affect a Tort Claim?
Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule, allowing an injured party to recover damages as long as they are found 50% or less at fault, with their recovery reduced by their percentage of responsibility.
Under Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a claimant who shares some responsibility for their own injury isn’t automatically barred from recovery. If a jury finds a claimant 20% at fault on a $100,000 award, their recovery is reduced to $80,000. If they’re found 51% or more at fault, they’re barred from recovering anything. Because insurers often dispute fault percentages to reduce payouts, how a claim is documented and presented can materially affect the outcome.
How Long Do You Have to File a Tort Claim in Texas?
Most tort claims against a private party must be filed within two years of the date of injury under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, though several exceptions can shorten or extend this deadline.
- Minors: The two-year period doesn’t begin until the injured person turns 18, generally giving them until age 20 to file.
- Discovery rule: In some circumstances, the filing period may run from when the injury was, or reasonably should have been, discovered rather than the date it occurred.
- Government claims: As covered above, the six-month TTCA notice requirement applies well before this general deadline.
Missing an applicable deadline generally bars the claim entirely, regardless of its underlying merit.
What Compensation Can You Recover in a Tort Claim?
Available compensation depends on the type of tort claim and may include economic damages, non-economic damages, and, in limited cases, exemplary damages, subject to statutory caps in certain case types.
Depending on the facts of the case, compensation may include past and future medical expenses, lost wages and diminished earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and wrongful death damages such as funeral costs and loss of companionship. Some categories are capped by statute regardless of fault; for example, Texas law limits certain non-economic damages in health care liability claims, subject to the specific parties and facts involved.
Facing a Tort Claim in McAllen or the Rio Grande Valley?
At Garza Law, we represent injured clients throughout McAllen and South Texas in premises liability and wrongful death matters, including claims involving government entities under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Our team understands the procedural deadlines and statutory limits that apply to these cases in the Rio Grande Valley.
If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, reach out to us. You can contact us directly or call our office to discuss your situation.
