Texas law imposes a strict deadline for DART claims: written notice must be delivered within six months of the accident. Miss this notice window and the claim is typically barred—regardless of injury severity or how clear the negligence appears.
The six-month notice requirement under the Texas Tort Claims Act destroys more valid claims against DART and other government entities than any other legal rule. A Dallas personal injury lawyer can help ensure notice is filed on time and prevent your claim from being dismissed. Victims frequently assume they have two years like standard personal injury cases. They focus on recovery rather than legal deadlines, and then they discover the shorter requirement too late.
Key Takeaways for Texas Government Accident Notice Requirements
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 101.101 requires written notice to governmental entities, including DART, within six months of the accident date.
- The six-month notice deadline is separate from and much shorter than the two-year statute of limitations for filing lawsuits—notice comes first and preserves your right to sue later.
- Notice must reasonably describe the time, place, and nature of the incident and injury, delivered to DART’s designated agent with proof of receipt.
- Missing the six-month deadline typically bars your claim permanently, with very limited exceptions for minors, incapacity, or fraudulent concealment.
- Filing an incident report with DART at the accident scene does NOT satisfy the statutory notice requirement.
- Some cities have shorter home-rule notice periods—confirm immediately if your claim involves a municipality rather than DART.
Understanding the Six-Month Notice Rule
Section 101.101 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code imposes a statutory prerequisite on claims against governmental entities. Before filing a lawsuit against DART, Richardson ISD, or other government units, you must provide written notice within six months. This isn’t merely a procedural formality—it’s a statutory prerequisite. Failure to comply allows the government to seek dismissal.
The six-month period runs from the date of the accident or incident causing injury. It doesn’t extend based on when you discovered the full extent of injuries, when you finished medical treatment, or when DART completed its internal investigation. The clock starts ticking the day the accident occurs and stops exactly six months later.
The Texas Legislature created shorter notice requirements based on several governmental interests. Early notice allows entities to investigate while evidence remains fresh. It enables budget planning for potential liability. It prevents stale claims from surprising entities years after incidents. These policy justifications don’t help victims facing mounting medical bills, but understanding the rationale explains why courts strictly enforce the deadline.
How to Calculate Your Six-Month Deadline
Calculating six months seems straightforward but creates confusion in practice. Texas law uses month-to-month calculation rather than counting specific days. If your accident occurred January 15, your notice deadline falls on July 15.
The calculation becomes trickier when the sixth month has fewer days than the accident date. What you need to know is that an accident on January 31 creates a July 31 deadline. But an accident on August 31 creates a February 28 deadline in non-leap years (or February 29 in leap years) because February has fewer than 31 days.
If the deadline lands on a weekend or legal holiday, Texas computation rules may extend it to the next business day—verify before relying on that. The safest approach sends notice by the Friday before the weekend deadline or confirms through legal research that the next business day qualifies as timely.
The six-month period begins on the accident date—the day the incident causing injury occurred. For discrete events like bus collisions or platform falls, this date is clear. Texas courts generally don’t apply discovery rules to extend notice deadlines under the Tort Claims Act. The fact that you didn’t realize the full severity of injuries within six months typically doesn’t extend the deadline.
This harsh rule means victims must provide notice even when injury extent remains unclear. It’s important to file protective notice within six months in order to preserve your right to claim damages that might exceed initial estimates.
What Your Notice Must Include
Section 101.101 requires notice to “reasonably describe” the incident. Courts interpret this standard as requiring sufficient detail to allow the governmental entity to investigate while not demanding exhaustive specificity.
Essential elements include:
- Your name and contact information: The claimant’s identity and how the entity may reach you
- Date of the accident: Specific day the incident occurred
- Location of the accident: Where the incident happened with enough detail to identify the spot
- Description of what happened: How the accident occurred, what the government employee or property condition did wrong
- Nature of your injuries: What harm you suffered, referencing specific injuries rather than vague “damages”
- Notice to the appropriate party: Delivered to DART’s designated agent or governing body
While notice must describe your claim adequately, avoid providing excessive detail that might hurt your case later. You need a lawyer after realizing that even small errors in notice wording or delivery can jeopardize your claim. Don’t include speculative injury descriptions or admissions about your conduct. Provide factual information sufficient to identify the incident and injuries without creating evidence the entity might use against you.
Where and How to Send Notice
Notice must reach DART’s designated recipient within the six-month deadline. Use DART’s designated agent for legal notices (often listed in board policies or procurement/legal pages). Notices sent elsewhere may not count. Simply mailing notice to “DART” or dropping it at a rail station doesn’t satisfy the requirement.
Send notice via certified mail with return receipt requested. This creates proof of when you mailed the notice and when DART received it. Save all postal receipts, tracking information, and the returned receipt card. Consider sending notice by multiple methods—certified mail and hand delivery with witnessed receipt. Keep a copy of the notice itself and the mailing proof together in one file.
Sending notice to the wrong department kills claims just as effectively as missing the deadline entirely. Don’t assume DART employees will route incorrectly addressed notices to proper recipients. Filing an incident report at the accident scene doesn’t constitute statutory notice. Incident reports document occurrences for DART’s operational purposes. Legal notices under Section 101.101 serve different functions and require separate submission to designated officials.
Notice vs. Lawsuit: Understanding the Difference
Providing six-month notice doesn’t mean filing a lawsuit within six months. Notice is a preliminary requirement that preserves your right to sue later. After sending timely notice, you have until the two-year statute of limitations expires to actually file suit.
This two-stage process may confuse victims who conflate notice with litigation. You might send notice at five months, continue medical treatment for another year, and then file suit at 23 months. The notice satisfied the six-month requirement, and the lawsuit filing satisfied the two-year statute of limitations. Both deadlines require compliance.
Rare Exceptions to the Six-Month Rule
Texas courts strictly enforce the six-month notice requirement with very limited exceptions. Relying on exceptions without clear legal authority supporting your specific situation proves extremely risky.
Tolling periods for minors and legally incapacitated persons might extend notice deadlines. However, case law remains unsettled. Parents of minor children injured in DART accidents shouldn’t assume they have extra time. Legal incapacity requires formal adjudication, not merely being injured or hospitalized.
Some case law suggests actual notice might satisfy the statute even without formal compliance. Actual notice typically means the entity had subjective awareness of its potential fault producing the injury—not just that an injury occurred. Don’t rely on actual notice arguments without strong evidence. The safest approach provides formal notice.
If DART fraudulently conceals facts preventing you from discovering your claim, equitable tolling might extend deadlines. This exception applies extremely rarely. The entity must actively hide information rather than simply failing to inform you about notice requirements.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
Missing the six-month notice deadline typically bars your claim permanently. Texas courts dismiss cases where plaintiffs failed to provide timely notice, regardless of injury severity or liability clarity. Without compliance, the entity may seek dismissal of your claim.
DART raises missed notice deadlines as affirmative defenses. Once they prove notice arrived late or never arrived, plaintiffs face dismissal regardless of case merits. File a personal injury claim in Texas quickly to protect your rights and avoid dismissal based on missed deadlines. This harsh result explains why the six-month requirement ends more government entity claims than any liability defense.
Timeline: What to Do When
Understanding where you fall in the six-month window determines urgency.
| 0-2 Months After Accident | 2-4 Months After Accident | 4-5 Months After Accident | 5-6 Months After Accident | Past 6 Months |
| Consult an attorney immediately | Begin the notice preparation process | URGENT: Finalize and send notice immediately | CRITICAL: Contact attorney TODAY | Consult attorney immediately despite late deadline |
| Begin documenting the accident thoroughly | Obtain medical records documenting injuries | Don’t wait for complete medical records | Prepare and send notice within days | Rare exceptions might apply |
| Preserve evidence before it disappears | Identify proper recipient for notice | File protective notice preserving all rights | Use expedited delivery methods | Act quickly as any applicable exceptions have time limits |
Steps to Protect Your DART Accident Claim Rights
Calculate your exact six-month deadline immediately. Count forward six months from your accident date. Mark this date prominently on your calendar. Set multiple reminders starting 30 days before the deadline.
Contact an attorney experienced with governmental claims within the first month after your accident if possible, certainly within the first three months. Personal injury settlements are calculated based on factors like medical costs, lost income, and long-term impact, so attorneys need time to gather information, prepare compliant notices, and ensure timely delivery.
Document everything about your accident immediately. Take photographs of the accident scene, vehicles, trains, and injuries. Obtain contact information from witnesses. Keep all medical records and bills. Don’t rely on DART’s incident report or claims process to satisfy notice requirements. File formal notice under Section 101.101 regardless of other communications with DART.
FAQ for Texas Government Accident Notice Requirements
I Filed an Accident Report With DART at the Scene. Isn’t That Enough?
No. Incident reports document operational information but don’t constitute statutory notice under Section 101.101. You must send separate formal notice to DART’s designated legal notice recipient within six months. Many victims lose claims by assuming incident reports satisfied notice requirements.
What If I Didn’t Know DART Was a Government Entity?
Your knowledge doesn’t affect the notice requirement. Section 101.101 applies to all claims against governmental entities regardless of whether claimants knew about government status or notice obligations. Ignorance of the law doesn’t excuse non-compliance or extend deadlines.
Can I Send Notice Before Knowing the Full Extent of My Injuries?
Yes, and you should. File a protective notice describing any injuries diagnosed to date while preserving your right to claim additional damages if conditions worsen. Waiting until injuries stabilize risks missing the six-month deadline entirely. Notice adequacy depends on a reasonable description, not a complete diagnosis.
What If the Six-Month Deadline Falls on a Saturday?
If the deadline lands on a weekend or legal holiday, Texas computation rules may extend it to the next business day—verify before relying on that. The safest approach is to send notice by the Friday before the weekend deadline or confirm through legal research that Monday qualifies as timely.
Does DART Have to Respond to My Notice?
DART might investigate your claim, request additional information, or deny liability. They’re not required to respond within any specific timeframe. Providing notice satisfies your obligation regardless of whether DART acknowledges receipt or responds to the claim.
Don’t Let the Deadline Destroy Your Claim
The six-month notice requirement ends more DART accident claims than any liability defense. Victims with severe injuries and clear negligence may lose all recovery because they didn’t understand a procedural deadline.
If your DART accident occurred within the last six months, you likely still have time to preserve claim rights—but every day matters. If you’re past four months, the situation is urgent. If you’re past five months, the situation is critical.
AMS Law Group represents DART accident victims throughout Richardson and Dallas County. We understand the six-month notice requirement and prepare compliant notices quickly when deadlines loom. The notice deadline creates urgency, unlike typical personal injury cases. Standard cases allow time to complete treatment before consulting attorneys, while government entity cases demand immediate action regardless of medical status.
Call our Richardson office at (888) 960-8363 today for your free consultation. We’ll calculate your exact deadline, determine whether you still have time to file notice, and prepare a compliant notice immediately if you’re within the six-month window. Don’t let a procedural deadline destroy your right to compensation for serious injuries caused by DART’s negligence.