$305,080 Settlement — Nueces County Motor Vehicle Crash

A Nueces County woman suffered a broken finger requiring surgery after another driver ran a stop sign on State Highway 361 in Corpus Christi and struck her vehicle broadside. Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers recovered $305,080 for her, exhausting the at-fault driver’s liability policy, her own underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, and her medical payments coverage in full.

What Happened

In December 2025, the client was traveling northbound on State Highway 361 in Corpus Christi when a driver stopped at a stop sign on a connecting access road failed to yield the right of way and turned left directly into her path. Corpus Christi Police cited the at-fault driver for failure to stop at a stop/yield sign. The investigation concluded that the at-fault driver caused the crash by running the stop sign.

Liability was clear. The at-fault driver did exactly what police and traffic engineers warn about on this corridor: pulled into oncoming traffic on a 60-mph, two-lane highway and gave the approaching driver no time to stop.

The Injury

The client sustained a broken finger that required surgical repair. Crash report classifications frequently understate actual injuries at the scene, and this case was no different. What appeared as a minor injury at impact turned into surgery, hardware implantation, post-operative therapy, and a recovery that affected daily function for months.

Three Coverage Layers, All Exhausted

The $305,080 total recovery came from three separate sources:

1. Third-party liability: $50,000. The at-fault driver’s insurance carrier paid its full bodily injury liability policy limits.
2. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage: $250,055. The at-fault driver’s $50,000 policy did not cover the client’s full damages. Greenberg Streich’s car accident attorneys pursued the client’s own UIM coverage and recovered the full limits of that policy as well.
3. Medical payments (med pay) coverage: $5,035. The client’s policy also carried med pay coverage. That policy was exhausted in full.

Every available dollar, across every coverage layer, was recovered.

Why UM/UIM Coverage Made the Difference

Texas requires drivers to carry a minimum of $30,000 in bodily injury liability per person under Texas Transportation Code §601.072. A driver can satisfy that legal minimum and nothing more. When the actual cost of an injury exceeds what the at-fault driver carries, the gap falls on the injured person, unless that person has underinsured motorist coverage on their own policy.

That coverage closed the gap here. The at-fault driver’s $50,000 policy was real money but not enough. The client’s own UIM coverage provided the recovery that made the result fair.

This case illustrates why UM/UIM matters. According to the Insurance Research Council, one in three U.S. drivers was either uninsured or underinsured in 2023. Texas’s minimum limits haven’t kept pace with the actual cost of medical care, and most drivers who carry only minimums don’t carry enough to cover a surgical injury.

Highway 361 and the Danger in Nueces County

State Highway 361 in Corpus Christi is a documented hazard. The corridor runs as a two-lane, 60-mph highway with no raised center median and limited lighting. Local law enforcement has tracked at least 15 fatalities on this stretch over the past decade, according to TxDOT crash records. TxDOT has a widening, median, and lighting project planned for the corridor but does not expect construction to begin until at least 2030.

The broader Nueces County picture is just as stark. TxDOT recorded 7,883 total crashes and 47 fatal crashes in Nueces County in 2024. Statewide, failure to yield at a stop sign contributed to 31,693 Texas crashes in 2024 alone, including 154 fatal crashes. These are not random events. They are the product of a specific driver choice, running a stop sign, that happens tens of thousands of times a year across Texas.

The Recovery at a Glance

Hurt in a Texas Motor Vehicle Crash? Call Greenberg Streich.

Greenberg Streich Injury Lawyers has recovered over $400 million for injured Texans. The firm’s attorneys spent years on the corporate defense side before switching to represent injured people, which means they know exactly how insurance carriers evaluate claims and where they look for gaps.

If you or a family member was injured in a Texas car or truck crash, call Greenberg Streich for a free, confidential consultation. You pay nothing unless the firm wins. Reach an attorney directly at 832-583-3471 or by contacting us directly.