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Get the exam first. It is free, it does not require a police report, and for an adult it is available within 120 hours. The Houston hospitals that perform it are listed on our Houston SANE exam locations page.
If you are able to, report to the police now. You are not required to, but the same early evidence that builds a prosecution builds a civil claim.
Then call 713-521-0059, or message us, and say it happened this week. We will tell you what your case needs and get it started, beginning with written notice to whoever holds the video and records so it is kept. There is no guaranteed response time, but we typically respond within 12 to 24 hours of a call or message.
No, you may not be required to pay for the forensic exam or the kit in Texas. Article 56A.304(f) of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that a victim of sexual assault “may not be required to pay for” the forensic portion of the exam or the evidence collection kit. The Attorney General reimburses the hospital directly.
Do not let a worry about cost keep you from the exam. For an adult it is available to you within 120 hours of the assault. The medical care you receive and the evidence it preserves cannot be recreated later. If you need the list of Houston hospitals, it is on our Houston SANE exam locations page.
The treatment side of your visit is handled differently from the forensic side. Medication, testing and other medical care that night run through a separate reimbursement track. A bill can reach you for that part. The Houston Police Department’s notice describes the Attorney General’s payment for medical care “and for any prescribed continuing medical care that is related to the sexual assault and provided to the victim during the 30-day period following the examination”, and states that “the payment may not exceed $25,000.”
If you receive a bill for the forensic exam itself or for the kit, it is usually an error. Tell the hospital’s billing office the exam was a sexual assault forensic examination and ask it to bill the Office of the Attorney General.
Often, yes. The Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation program under Chapter 56B of the Code of Criminal Procedure can pay for your counseling, lost wages and medical care beyond the exam. In defined cases it can pay for you to relocate.
No arrest or conviction is required. Under Article 56B.107(d), a forensic medical examination is sufficient evidence that you cooperated. Our Texas crime victims compensation page covers the limits and the application deadline.
Not for the exam cost. Article 56A.303(c) provides that you “may not be required to participate in the investigation or prosecution of an offense as a condition of receiving a forensic medical examination”. It does matter for the strength of any civil case: a prompt report and a prompt exam are the best evidence you can collect, and both are strongest in the first hours. See do you have to report to the police.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
If you remember nothing else from this page, remember these.
When you call, we listen first. Then we do what your case needs. That usually begins with written notice to the hotel, apartment complex, bar, rideshare company or anyone else holding video and records, so the evidence is kept.
Where the case calls for it, we bring in the right experts and, where it serves you, co-counsel with the resources a case like this demands. That decision is made in writing, with your consent, and it does not increase your total fee.
We tell you plainly whether a civil claim may exist and what it would take. Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston firm and has handled injury cases in Harris County for 50 plus years. There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Call 713-521-0059.
You may not be required to pay for the forensic portion of the exam or the kit under Article 56A.304(f) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Attorney General reimburses the hospital.
The treatment side of the visit, such as medication and testing, is billed on a separate track. A bill for the forensic exam or kit itself is usually an error; ask the hospital to bill the Attorney General.
Yes, counseling is a covered expense under Chapter 56B, subject to limits set by statute and by Attorney General rule.
No. Reporting is not a condition of the exam, and a forensic exam counts as cooperation for compensation purposes under Article 56B.107(d).