Texas (Sept. 1, 2003)
The 2003 package (eff. Sept. 1, 2003) is still the cap. It was not replaced in the 2025 statutes.
Last checked Oct 14, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
- If you share blame
- If you are more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. At 50% or less, your recovery is cut by your share of blame.
- Ordinary injury time limit
- 2 years. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. Tolling, discovery rules, and other claim types can change that. Use the time-limit tool, then have a lawyer confirm the subsection.
- Caps on pain and suffering
- No general cap on an ordinary injury claim. In a health-care claim, § 74.301 caps noneconomic damages at $250,000 per claimant against all physicians and other non-hospital providers together, plus a separate hospital layer ($250,000 for one institution, $500,000 if more than one).
What that actually means
The $250,000 is noneconomic damages in a health-care claim, per claimant. It is not $250,000 per doctor. Section 74.301(a) says the physician layer is one ceiling no matter how many physicians are sued. Medical bills and lost wages are not in that number.
A hospital is a different layer: $250,000 noneconomic per claimant for one institution, and if more than one institution is in the judgment, $250,000 each and $500,000 for all of them. A death or survival claim on a health-care case also faces § 74.303, which starts at $500,000 and moves with the CPI-W from August 29, 1977. This page does not print today's adjusted figure.
A car crash is not this statute. Ordinary injury is still two years (§ 16.003) and a 51% bar (§ 33.001). There is no Chapter 74 cap to paste onto a wreck.