A car wreck can change your life in seconds. Medical appointments replace your normal routine. Your vehicle may be unusable. Missed work puts pressure on your household, while an insurance adjuster asks questions you may not know how to answer.
If another driver injured you in Corpus Christi or a surrounding Coastal Bend community, Gilman & Allison, LLP can help you understand your options and pursue compensation for your losses. Our firm represents people injured in car accidents and other serious personal injury cases.
Whether your collision happened on South Padre Island Drive, Interstate 37, Highway 358, or a neighborhood street, the next steps matter. Getting medical care, preserving evidence, and understanding the insurance coverage available can make a meaningful difference in your claim.
Contact Gilman & Allison, LLP for a free consultation about your Corpus Christi car accident.
What Should You Do After a Car Accident in Corpus Christi?
After a collision, prioritize your safety and medical needs. Once you are able, take steps to document what happened.
- Call 911 when someone is injured or there is an immediate safety concern. Give the dispatcher your location and explain whether emergency medical assistance is needed.
- Get medical attention. Tell your provider about the collision and all symptoms you are experiencing. Follow the treatment recommendations you receive.
- Photograph the scene if you can do so safely. Capture vehicle damage, vehicle positions, traffic signals, road conditions, debris, and visible injuries.
- Exchange information. Obtain the other driver’s name, contact information, insurance information, and license plate number.
- Identify witnesses. Ask for their names and contact information before they leave.
- Preserve records. Keep medical bills, discharge paperwork, repair estimates, towing receipts, insurance correspondence, and documentation of missed work.
- Understand your claim before signing a release. A settlement agreement may end your ability to seek additional compensation for the same claim.
You do not need to have every document organized before speaking with an attorney. An initial conversation can help identify what is missing and which evidence needs immediate attention.
Car Wreck Claims in Corpus Christi and the Surrounding Area
A crash on a major highway can raise different questions from a collision in a parking lot or residential intersection. The vehicles involved, the available evidence, and the identity of the responsible parties all affect how a claim should be investigated.
Gilman & Allison assists injured people with claims involving:
- Rear-end collisions;
- Intersection and side-impact crashes;
- Head-on collisions;
- Distracted driving;
- Drunk or impaired driving;
- Unsafe lane changes and failures to yield;
- Multi-vehicle collisions;
- Commercial vehicle and delivery driver accidents;
- Uninsured or underinsured motorists; and
- Fatal collisions and potential wrongful death claims.
We welcome inquiries from people injured in Corpus Christi, Portland, Gregory, Ingleside, Aransas Pass, Rockport, Robstown, Sinton, Odem, Bishop, Kingsville, Port Aransas, and surrounding communities.
Whether you live in Nueces County or elsewhere in the Coastal Bend, your claim deserves an investigation focused on the actual circumstances of your wreck.
Who Is Responsible for a Corpus Christi Car Accident?
Responsibility depends on the evidence. A driver may be liable for causing a crash by speeding, running a red light, following too closely, driving while distracted, or failing to yield.
Some cases require looking beyond the individual driver. If someone caused a collision while working, an employer’s potential responsibility may need to be investigated. A vehicle defect or another contributing condition may also require additional analysis.
Useful evidence can include:
- The investigating officer’s crash report;
- Photographs and video recordings;
- Witness statements;
- Vehicle damage and inspection findings;
- Available electronic vehicle data;
- Records concerning a commercial driver’s work; and
- Medical records documenting the injuries attributed to the collision.
A crash report is an important starting point, but a thorough investigation should consider the other available evidence.
Surveillance footage can be overwritten, witnesses can become difficult to locate, and vehicles may be repaired or disposed of. Acting promptly can help preserve information that would otherwise be lost.
What Compensation Can You Seek After a Car Wreck?
Depending on the facts and applicable law, a car accident injury claim may include compensation for:
- Past medical expenses;
- Reasonably probable future medical expenses;
- Lost wages;
- Reduced future earning capacity;
- Physical pain;
- Mental anguish;
- Physical impairment;
- Disfigurement; and
- Vehicle damage and other recoverable property losses.
A serious injury can affect much more than your medical bills. It may interfere with your ability to work, care for your family, sleep comfortably, or participate in activities you previously enjoyed.
Those effects need to be documented. Medical evidence, employment records, and a clear account of how the injury changed your daily life can help explain the full extent of your losses.
There is no reliable “average settlement” that determines what your case is worth. Liability, injury severity, future care needs, available insurance, and the strength of the evidence all matter.
What If the Insurance Company Blames You?
An insurance company’s position does not automatically decide who caused the wreck.
Texas generally applies proportionate responsibility to car accident injury claims. If you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you generally cannot recover damages. If your responsibility is 50 percent or less, your recoverable damages are generally reduced by your percentage of fault.
For example, if total damages are $100,000 and you are found 20 percent responsible, the fault reduction would generally leave $80,000 before other applicable adjustments.
When fault is disputed, the details matter: where each vehicle was traveling, which driver had the right of way, what the witnesses saw, and whether video or physical evidence supports either account.
Should You Accept the Insurance Company’s First Offer?
Before accepting an offer, understand what it covers and what rights you would be releasing.
An early offer may arrive before you know whether additional treatment is necessary or whether your injuries will affect your ability to work. Settling at that stage can leave important losses unresolved.
Questions to consider include:
- Have your medical providers explained your expected recovery?
- Will you need additional treatment?
- Have all missed wages been documented?
- Does the offer address your injury claim, property damage claim, or both?
- Are there medical liens or reimbursement claims affecting the amount you would receive?
- What claims would the proposed release give up?
A lawyer can review the offer, evaluate the available evidence, and explain the practical consequences of accepting it.
What If the Other Driver Has No Insurance?
An uninsured driver does not necessarily mean there are no potential sources of recovery.
Depending on your policy and the circumstances, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage or personal injury protection coverage may be relevant. A collision involving a working driver may also require reviewing commercial insurance and potential employer liability.
Coverage depends on the policy language and the facts of the collision. Reviewing the actual policies is more useful than assuming coverage exists—or assuming there is none.
How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Texas?
Texas generally provides a two-year limitations period for personal injury lawsuits, measured from when the claim accrues, which is usually the crash date in a typical car wreck case.
Exceptions can affect that deadline. Claims involving governmental entities may also have separate notice requirements that arise much sooner.
Do not assume that opening an insurance claim or negotiating with an adjuster extends the deadline to file suit. Having the deadline evaluated early also gives your attorney time to investigate and preserve evidence.
How Gilman & Allison Can Help With Your Car Accident Claim
An injury claim requires more than submitting medical bills to an insurance company. It requires connecting the evidence of the collision to the injuries and losses that followed.
Depending on your case, our work may include:
- Investigating how the collision happened;
- Identifying potentially responsible parties;
- Seeking preservation of relevant evidence;
- Reviewing available insurance coverage;
- Obtaining medical and wage-loss documentation;
- Evaluating settlement offers;
- Negotiating with insurers; and
- Filing and pursuing litigation when appropriate.
We explain the issues affecting your claim so you can make informed decisions about your case.
Frequently Asked Questions About Corpus Christi Car Accidents
How do I get my Corpus Christi crash report?
If an officer prepared a Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, you may be able to obtain it through the Texas Department of Transportation’s Crash Report Online Purchase System. Eligibility requirements apply. Your attorney can also help identify the investigating agency and request available records.
Can a passenger bring a car accident injury claim?
A passenger may have a claim against a driver or another party whose negligence caused the collision. Depending on the evidence, that may include the driver of the passenger’s vehicle, another driver, or multiple responsible parties.
Do I need a lawyer for a minor car accident?
A property-damage-only claim may be manageable without an attorney. Legal help becomes more useful when injuries, disputed fault, inadequate insurance, commercial vehicles, or a proposed settlement release complicate the claim.
Will my car accident case go to court?
Some cases resolve through settlement. Others require a lawsuit to address disputed liability, damages, or insurance issues. Filing suit does not necessarily mean the case will proceed to trial.
Can I pursue a claim if I live outside Corpus Christi?
Yes. Living in Portland, Rockport, Robstown, Kingsville, or another community does not by itself prevent you from pursuing a claim arising from a Corpus Christi collision. Where a lawsuit should be filed depends on the parties and the applicable venue rules.
Talk to a Corpus Christi Car Accident Lawyer
You should be able to focus on your recovery while understanding what comes next.
If you or a family member was injured in a Corpus Christi car wreck, contact Gilman & Allison, LLP for a free consultation. We welcome inquiries from crash victims throughout Corpus Christi and the surrounding Coastal Bend.
Tell us what happened. We can help you evaluate your options and the next steps in your claim.
This article provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its facts.