Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 74.351 – Filing Medical Expert Reports
Table of Contents
Statutory Text:
§ 74.351(a):
In a health care liability claim, a claimant must serve an expert report and curriculum vitae of each expert no later than 120 days after the defendant files an answer.§ 74.351(b):
If the report is not served, the court must dismiss the claim with prejudice and award attorney’s fees and costs to the defendant.
What Is an Expert Report Under § 74.351?
An expert report is a written summary provided by a qualified medical expert that:
Explains the applicable standard of care
Identifies how the defendant failed to meet that standard
Causally links the breach to the patient’s injury
It is a mandatory prerequisite in nearly all Texas medical malpractice lawsuits.
Expert Report Deadline
The report must be served (not just filed) within 120 days after the defendant’s answer to the lawsuit.
Failure to comply results in:
Mandatory dismissal with prejudice
Attorney’s fees awarded to the defendant
There is very little room for delay under Texas law.
What Must Be Included in the Expert Report?
Each report must:
Identify the standard of care
State how the defendant breached that standard
Explain how the breach caused injury
Be accompanied by a curriculum vitae (CV) of the expert
Be written by a qualified expert under § 74.401 or § 74.402
Example Scenario
A patient sues a hospital for surgical negligence.
They must obtain a report from a physician or surgeon who practices in a related specialty and serve the report within 120 days of the hospital’s answer.
If they don’t, the case is dismissed and the hospital’s legal costs are awarded.
Common Issues With Expert Reports
Inadequate specificity in linking breach to injury
Unqualified experts (wrong specialty or credentials)
Late service due to misunderstanding “serve” vs. “file”
Misunderstanding “one-shot rule”: no second chance unless report is timely and deemed deficient (not absent)
Related Statutes
§ 74.001 – Definitions in Medical Malpractice Claims
§ 74.301 – Damage Cap
§ 74.401 – Qualifications for Medical Experts
Texas Case Law Interpreting § 74.351
Clarified that a report may avoid dismissal if it contains at least a good faith effort to comply, even if technically deficient.
Reinforced that any claim sounding in patient care requires a § 74.351-compliant expert report, even if labeled otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions About § 74.351
Houston Personal Injury Lawyer - Joel A. Gordon
You must serve the report within 120 days of the defendant’s answer to your lawsuit.
The court will dismiss your claim with prejudice and award attorney’s fees to the defendant.
It must explain the standard of care, how it was breached, and how the breach caused the injury, and it must come from a qualified medical expert.
Only if your initial report is served on time and deemed deficient but not absent. If the report is never served, your claim is dismissed.