We Recovered $60,000 for a Young Driver Whose Wrist Was Broken at a DeSoto Stop Sign Intersection

Two Drivers, One Stop Sign, and Two Different Stories

The crash happened in clear weather on a dark stretch with no street lights, at a four way intersection controlled by stop signs and posted at 40 mph. His sedan took the hit on its front passenger side. The front bumper of the SUV was damaged, and his airbags deployed.

The DeSoto Police Department report recorded two accounts. The SUV driver told the officer she was stopped at the sign and that his car sped through it. He said he stopped at the sign beside a pickup truck and then went through. The officer marked “Disregard Stop and Go Signal” as a possible contributing factor for the SUV driver, not for him, and charged her with driving without a license.

Stop signs show up again and again in Texas T bone crashes. Across 2025 TxDOT records, the firm’s T bone crash index counted stop signs, grouped with flashing red lights, as the traffic control at 29,517 of the state’s T bone crashes, 43.1% of them. On dark roads with no lighting, 61.2 of every thousand were serious, against 25.9 in daylight.

A Code for No Injury, and a Wrist Broken in Pieces

The crash report coded him “N,” the code for not injured. He rode to the hospital by ambulance, and an X ray there showed what the code had missed. His right wrist was broken.

A code written at the scene records what an officer could see in the dark. It does not record a fracture. Our crash report decoder explains what each injury code means. An insurer can argue a code like that matters, and the X rays from that night answered it.

A Distal Radius Fracture and Four Months Off Work

The X rays showed a comminuted distal radius fracture that extended into the wrist joint. In plain terms, the radius was broken into several pieces. The tip of the ulna at the wrist, called the ulnar styloid, was also fractured. He left the hospital in a splint and sling with a referral to an orthopedic surgeon.

He then had surgery. The surgeon fixed the radius with a plate and screws and added a carpal tunnel release to protect the nerve, which is common with this kind of fracture. There were no complications. His stitches came out, he went to occupational therapy, and follow up X rays showed the hardware in place and the bone well aligned. His job had no light duty, so he was off work for about four months. In early 2024 his surgeon released him with good motion and grip and no restrictions.

We Built the Claim on the Records He Already Had

Four steps took this case to $60,000 without a lawsuit.

A fast start and one case manager

We sent our letters to the insurers the day he hired us. Intake answers any hour, and his one case manager checked in with him every 14 days. We take fees only from a recovery.

No extra treatment, a real fracture

We did not send him anywhere for additional treatment. His care came from the hospital, the ER doctors and his orthopedic surgeon, and his medical bills stayed modest. The X ray that confirmed the fracture, the plate and screws and his months off work carried the claim.

Two stop sign stories and the minimum limit

Both drivers said they stopped. We built the claim on the officer’s contributing factor, the vehicle damage and his airbag deployment, and the SUV driver’s policy paid its full $30,000 limit, which is the Texas minimum. Why that amount runs out so quickly after a serious injury is covered in our minimum coverage guide.

His underinsured motorist claim

With the first limit paid, we opened a claim on his own policy. His UIM carrier paid the whole $30,000 it owed, doubling the recovery. Our underinsured motorist guide shows how this coverage works.

$60,000 Recovered Before Any Lawsuit Was Filed

That figure is before deductions. Attorney fees and expenses were paid from it ahead of his share, and his result came from his own facts and proof, so it cannot tell anyone else what their claim will bring.

What This Case Showed About Stop Sign Crashes

• When two drivers tell different stories, the officer’s contributing factor and the physical damage give the claim something to stand on.
• A confirmed fracture, surgery and months off work show the injury without added treatment. Here, the hospital and surgeon chart carried the claim on its own.
• Check the other driver’s limit early. When it is only the state minimum, your own UIM coverage can be a second source, and our DeSoto car accident lawyers look at both from the start.

Attorney Review

Reviewed by: Josh Alexander, Founder and Managing Attorney

Published and reviewed on October 16, 2026

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