Las Vegas Personal Injury Law

Personal injury laws of Nevada State govern Las Vegas. A serious injury in someone's life brings a lot of problems and disturbances in life. These injuries can be costly because the victim has to pay medical care bills and is absent from the job causing loss of earnings. The victim has also to deal with the pain of the injuries which causes physical, mental, and financial torture.

If someone is responsible for injuring you or damaging your property, either intentionally or accidentally, he can be held responsible for paying your related costs. These costs can be related to medical care, lost wages, and the cost of pain and suffering. Fortunately, the court can help you through a personal injury lawsuit.

Every state has its laws and rules for a personal injury lawsuit. The majority of these rules are common but some unique changes are practiced in a particular state. Following are rules and laws of Nevada State regarding personal injury.

Personal Injury lawsuit

A personal injury lawsuit is a procedure for you to use in court to try and get financial costs related to your injury caused by someone else. In court, you have to provide evidence and testimonials to demonstrate that another person is responsible for your illness/injuries or damages to property. If you can prove this then court can ask another person to pay you.

Following are some injuries that can be compensated through a personal injury claim.

Intentional injuries caused by criminal activities of another person
Accidental injuries caused by someone else by negligence
Injuries or illnesses caused by using defective products

Generally, if another person injured you without any intention and your injuries are purely accidental even then another person can be held responsible and liable to pay your cost. But there is an exception in the fault rule of Nevada. If the other person is responsible for injuring you then the court can ask him to pay what you’re asking for. But if you also contributed to the injury along with the other person’s fault then the compensation amount may be limited. For example, if you were hit by a car while you were crossing a street. If the court finds that you were walking carelessly while crossing and contributed 20% to your injuries then you will be paid 80% of the compensation amount. Your compensation amount can further be reduced if the court decides that you contributed 50% in sustaining your injuries. In this situation, your compensation amount will be 50% of what you’re looking for.

A dog bite or other animal bite

This type of injury is governed by the “One Bite “rule. There are no specific rules for personal injuries caused by the dog bite or due to the bite of another animal in Las Vegas. The owner of the dog or animal can be held responsible for your injuries. But this type of claim requires proving that owner of the dog should have known that the dog or animal is dangerous.

Statutes of limitation in personal injury Lawsuit

If you are planning a lawsuit of personal injury in Las Vegas then try to understand the rules and regulations of the state which governs Las Vegas. You can get help by visiting Family Law libraries. Statute of limitation means deadline of filing a personal injury lawsuit. The time limit to file a personal injury lawsuit is 2 years from the date of injury in Las Vegas. But one year in medical malpractice cases from the date when you became aware of the illness/injury or three years from the date of the negligent act that caused your injury. In case of death, you can sue within 2 years of the death of your beloved one.

The statute of limitation in Las Vegas starts from the day of the accident that caused your injury. But some exceptions can alter the deadline for filing personal injury claims in some situations. This is possible when the victim doesn’t know about the injury or illness at the time accident but came to know after some time. In this scenario, the victim can file a personal injury claim when he became aware of injury or illness.

The time limit to file a personal injury claim in a product liability case is four years. How much money you can recover in a personal injury claim in Las Vegas is not fixed in most cases. But there is a limit of claim amount in some cases like medical malpractice cases; the typical limit is $350,000 for non-economic damages. Claims against the government are limited to $100,000.

Personal injury claim against the government

The filling claim of personal injury against the government of Nevada requires a different procedure than filing a claim against other parties. These injury cases are against negligent Nevada government employees or agencies. The time limit to file a claim of personal injury compensation against the government of Nevada is 2 years. But you have to file your case with the office of the Attorney general instead of filing in court.

Tolling of the Las Vegas Statute of limitation is possible. This is possible when the victim is a minor under the age of 18 years or mentally incompetent. In the Laws of personal injuries of Nevada, tolling is possible in the following situations.

If the victim is under the age of 18 years and suffered a personal injury then the statute of limitation begins when he/she is 18 years of age. This is true for personal injury cases not in medical malpractice cases.
In medical malpractice cases, parents are responsible for filing personal injury cases on the behalf of the minors. Within the statute of limitations. But the case can be filed within the first ten years of birth of minors if brain damage and birth defects are involved. The statute of limitation is 2 years if the minor’s injury causes sterility. But the statute of limitation starts from the date of injury found. In case of mental incompetence of a minor that occurred due to medical malpractice at the time of injury, the statute of limitation will be tolled until the victim is no longer disabled.

Statute of repose

Statute of repose means the specific dates when you no longer file a personal injury claim against the defendant who caused your injury. The statute of repose does not offer an exception that can extend your deadline to file a claim of personal injury. That is why the statute of repose is stricter than the statute of limitation, so, be careful in filing a claim of personal injury compensation by following the deadlines.

Out of State Injuries

If you are not a resident of Las Vegas or any county/city of Nevada State but sustained an injury when you were in any part of Nevada, then you may need to file your case in Nevada. But some exceptions can give different state jurisdictions. This is possible when you are injured by a company in Nevada and that company is operating in many states including yours where you live, in this situation, you can file a lawsuit in your native state. But you can sue in federal court instead of the state court. By law, when both victim and defendant live in different states then sue can be filed only in federal court. Similarly, a person who lives in Nevada State and gets injuries from someone in another state then he has to sue his case in the federal court of Nevada.

In the majority of cases, you may not need to hire a personal injury attorney to file personal injury in Nevada including Las Vegas. But hiring a Las Vegas personal injury attorney could be extremely beneficial for you.

Don’t assume that your attorney for a personal injury claim knows all about your case. He may be knowing rules and laws regarding personal injury claims in Los Vegas but it is not necessarily that he knows about your case complexities. To get full support from a personal injury lawyer, you have to share all evidence and witnesses with him. This will help him to start the preparation of filing your case. That is why it is necessary to keep all records of your injury which can also include photographic evidence. A personal injury attorney can help you in the following ways.

He can help you in analyzing your case
He knows how to gather evidence
He knows about all testimonials and documents required for paperwork
He understands laws applied to your case and where to apply
He will participate in negotiations and trials

Before hiring a skilled and experienced personal injury attorney for your claim, have a complete investigation about his experience, competencies, and his success rate in winning other cases of personal injury claims which are similar to yours. After this, assign your case of a personal injury compensation claim to such an attorney.