A medical malpractice lawyer San Antonio patients consult after a bad outcome has to explain something unwelcome early. Texas built a series of procedural gates into every health care liability claim. A case that clears the medical questions can still die for missing one of them. The most unforgiving gate is the expert report deadline in Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 74.351. That deadline matters even more in San Antonio, because of who owns the city’s largest hospital.
What a Medical Malpractice Lawyer San Antonio Patients Retain Checks First: The 120-Day Report
Section 74.351 sets a hard clock. The claimant must serve an expert report, with the expert’s curriculum vitae, within 120 days after each defendant files its answer. The report has to do three things. It must state the standard of care, explain how the provider breached it, and connect the breach to the harm. Miss the deadline and subsection (b) tells the court what to do. On the provider’s motion, the court dismisses the claim with prejudice and awards the provider its attorney’s fees. With prejudice means no refiling. Judges have very little discretion here, because the statute says the court “shall” dismiss.
The 60-Day Notice Letter That Comes Before Suit
Section 74.051 adds a step before anyone can sue. The claimant must send written notice by certified mail to each physician or provider at least 60 days before filing. A medical records authorization form under Section 74.052 has to go with it. In exchange, subsection (c) tolls the statute of limitations for 75 days. That extra time can save a claim that would otherwise expire during the notice period. It only works if the notice itself was done right.
Two Years, Measured Differently
Section 74.251 gives a claimant two years. The clock runs from the breach, or from the end of the treatment or hospitalization at issue. It does not run from the day the patient discovered the injury. Texas applies no general discovery rule to health care claims. Courts have softened the rule under the Texas Constitution only in narrow cases where nobody could reasonably have found the injury in time. Minors under 12 get until their 14th birthday. Subsection (b) then adds a ten-year statute of repose that cuts off every claim, discovered or not.
University Health and the Governmental Layer
University Health is the city’s largest public hospital system. It is officially the Bexar County Hospital District, a political subdivision of the state. Claims against it run through the Texas Tort Claims Act on top of Chapter 74. That adds a six-month written notice requirement under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 101.101. It also adds a statutory cap on damages and an election-of-remedies rule. Sue the district, and Section 101.106 bars a later suit against the individual physician for the same care. The same layering can reach UT Health San Antonio physicians who staff many of those units. A patient who assumes the hospital is private may find the governmental clock has already run.
What “Malpractice” Means Under Texas Law
A bad outcome is not malpractice. Texas requires proof of two things. First, the provider departed from the accepted standard of care. Second, that departure more likely than not caused the injury. Both elements need expert testimony. The expert report served at day 120 previews that testimony. A report that only says the outcome was poor will not survive a challenge. Section 74.301 separately caps noneconomic damages against physicians and institutions. That cap applies as a matter of law, whatever a jury finds.
The Bottom Line
A San Antonio malpractice claim must clear the 60-day notice, the two-year limit, and the 120-day expert report before anyone argues the medicine. A claim against University Health adds the Tort Claims Act’s six-month notice and damage caps on top. These gates do not test whether the patient was harmed. They exist to end cases early, and they do. A medical malpractice lawyer San Antonio families hire spends much of the first year simply keeping the case alive.
Frequently asked questions
Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 74.351 requires the claimant to serve an expert report within 120 days after each defendant answers, or the court must dismiss the claim with prejudice.
Yes. Section 74.051 requires written notice by certified mail at least 60 days before filing suit, with a medical records authorization form attached.
Claims against the Bexar County Hospital District also run through the Texas Tort Claims Act, adding a six-month notice requirement, damage caps, and an election-of-remedies rule.
Section 74.251 gives two years from the breach or the end of the treatment at issue, with a ten-year statute of repose that cuts off all claims.
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Get MatchedKeep reading: Medical Malpractice in Dallas: The 120-Day Expert Report Deadline · Suing a Texas City: The Tort Claims Act Notice Trap
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Health care liability claims in Texas involve strict procedural deadlines that vary with the provider and the facts. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.