B. When Does the Statute of Limitations
Accrue?
Accrual is the date when the statute of
limitations begins to run, or, stated another way,
when the plaintiff first has a legal claim. The
accrual date can be defined by statute or under
the common law. Under Texas’ common law,
there are two methods for determining the
accrual date: the legal-injury rule and the
continuing-tort doctrine. When a claim accrues
is a question of law for the courts to determine.
Under the legal-injury rule, a plaintiff’s
cause of action accrues on the date when the
defendant’s act causes a legal injury. Lubbock
Cty. v. Trammel’s Lubbock Bail Bonds, 80
S.W.3d 580, 585 (Tex. 2002). Even if the legal
injury is very slight, the statute of limitations
begins to run. Atkins v. Crosland, 417 S.W.2d
150, 153 (Tex. 1967).