Q: Is it a hard question people don’t understand it happened 34 years ago and it still will be with me till the day I die

A: It is unclear what your question is.

The statute of limitations for a medical malpractice case in Texas is two years. That means that, ordinarily, a patient must file any lawsuit asserting a medical malpractice claim within two years of the date that the cause of action accrued. Ordinarily, a cause of action for medical malpractice accrues when an act or omission of a surgeon causes an injury or damages to the patient. There are certain statutes and legal doctrines that can toll the running of the statute of limitations if they apply. For example, the continuous treatment rule provides that a cause of action does not accrue, under certain circumstances, until the doctor responsible for the act or omission has finished treatment.

A claim against a government employee in Texas must be made within six months. This six-month rule only applies to such employees. Many doctors and surgeons have staff privileges at Parkland Hospital who are not government employees.

Medical malpractice lawsuits in Texas also have a ten year statute of repose. That means that a claimant must bring a medical malpractice claim not later than ten years after the date of the act or omission that gives rise to the claim regardless of any other statute or legal doctrine that might toll the running of the statute of limitations and regardless of whether the act or omission has caused an injury to damage to the patient yet. For example, if a surgeon did something that a patient did not know about and that did not cause any harm to the patient immediately, but then years later caused some type of injury or harm to the patient, any legal claim is nevertheless barred. Under the statute of repose, an act or omission that happened 34 years ago is so remote in time that it cannot be used as a basis for a medical malpractice claim in Texas.