Personal injury over 2 years ago due to the negligence of apartment complex of a friend. Witnesses, pics, and ER record.

Question

I was visiting a friend in Dallas & got a serious injury. The wood floor in the apartment kitchen had water damage where the wood splintered up in sharp spikes. The maintenance man came to fix it, took a look at it, left & didn’t return the entire week I was there. My friend & his roommate placed cardboard over it to keep from stepping on it but of course that didn’t work. One morning I woke to get water & sleepily forgot of it, stepped on it & a huge chunk broke off into my heel. Excruciating pain & now permanent nerve damage. I went to the ER, got a tetanus shot but it was so swollen no one realized there was still something in there and a month later found an inch long chunk of wood still in my foot. I missed many shifts at work (server) and had to endure extreme pain for months and lingering discomfort for years now. This was a little over 2 years ago. Can I sue?

Tim Akpinar · Answer

This is something on which a Texas attorney must advise you, as it involves Texas law pertaining to statutes of limitations. However, your question remains open for three weeks and you patiently await an answer. If you run a couple of quick internet searches, you will probably see for yourself that the statute of limitations for injury cases in Texas is published on many websites as being two years from the date of the accident. See if you can arrange a quick free consult with a Texas injury attorney, who is the only one qualified to legally advise you on this procedural element of Texas law. You could discuss your matter in further detail and address any and all causes of action that might avail themselves here. Good luck 
 
Tim Akpinar

James Michael Moore · Answer

I'm sorry to hear about your accident and I sincerely hope that you are still receiving treatment for your injuries. 
 
In Texas civil and criminal courts, we have what are called statutes of limitations. A statute of limitations is a law that sets the maximum amount of time that can pass after an event until which lawsuit can no longer be initiated. Texas personal injury claims have a two-year statute of limitations, however, there are very few exceptions to these laws, such as injuries to minors. 
 
If you were a minor when the incident occurred, you have two years after your 18th birthday to pursue a claim that legally belongs to you alone. 
 
What this means is that claims that belong to parents, such as medical expenses and medical treatment, are claims that are not granted this extension. Recovery for medical bills for the treatment of a child is a claim that solely belongs to parents as it is their legal obligation to provide medical care for their child. However, claims such as mental anguish, disfigurement, continued medical expenses, as well as the loss of future income, are things that you can claim if you were a minor at the time of the injury. 
 
TL:DR 
You only have two years from the time of the accident to file a lawsuit, unless you're a minor, then you have two years after your 18th birthday for damages that impact you alone such as mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of future income. Medical bills that piled up before your 18th birthday are not claims you can pursue. 
 
-Michael Moore

Q: Personal injury over 2 years ago due to the negligence of apartment complex of a friend. Witnesses, pics, and ER record.