Las Vegas is in a building boom. New shopping centers and new homes cannot go up fast enough to keep up with demand.
But with new construction sites come devastating construction worker injuries. So our Las Vegas construction accident lawyers fight to win our injured clients the largest settlement possible whether through workers’ compensation or a Nevada construction accident lawsuit, or both.
Insurance companies do everything to avoid making good on their policies. So our legal team investigates, negotiates, and litigates each case until we achieve maximum payouts to cover all our clients’ expenses plus more.
1. Who can I sue after a Las Vegas construction accident?
Construction workers generally cannot sue their employer after a construction site accident. Instead, injured workers would file for workers’ compensation.1
However, construction company workers may still be able to file traditional personal injury lawsuits against “third parties” who were responsible for the accident. A common example is a products liability lawsuit against equipment manufacturers that made the tools that malfunctioned and hurt the construction worker.2
Serious injuries can result from electrocution, defective products, and malfunctioning heavy machinery.
2. What money can I get?
Injured construction workers who file for workers’ compensation benefits in Nevada could get:
- temporary disability or permanent disability payments,
- coverage for medical treatments, and
- vocational retraining.
And if the employee died, workers’ comp should pay out death benefits to the family.3
Nevada workers with grounds to bring traditional lawsuits may recover compensatory damages for past and future medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.4 And if the construction accident resulted in a death, then the victim’s estate and family can bring a wrongful death claim for loss of support, burial costs, and other damages.5
3. What if I was at fault for my construction accident?
In Nevada, workers’ compensation insurance pays even if the employee caused their own accident. Workers’ comp is no-fault insurance.6
But workers can win a negligence lawsuit against a third party as long as they were no more than 50% at fault for their injuries. Nevada’s modified comparative negligence law recognizes that there are often no “perfect victims”, and that plaintiffs should still be able to recover damages as long as the defendant shares at least half the blame.7
4. How soon do I have to file my claim?
Nevada construction workers covered by workers’ comp have to notify their employer within seven days of becoming aware of their injury. They must then go to an authorized doctor, who then begins the claim by sending a C4 form to the workers’ comp insurer.8
But workers not covered by workers’ comp – or who are bringing third-party lawsuits – typically have a two-year statute of limitations to file a lawsuit after their injury.9 But the more time goes by, the harder it is to find evidence and get witness statements, so injured workers are encouraged to seek legal counsel right away.
5. What does a construction accident attorney do?
Our Las Vegas construction accident attorneys do five things in pursuit of the best resolution possible for our injured clients:
- Meet with you to get your side of the story and, if necessary, refer you to a qualified medical provider.
- Conduct an exhaustive investigation of the case – which may include using medical experts and accident reconstruction experts – to determine the extent of your injuries and the identity of all the at-fault parties.
- Determine whether you need to file a workers’ compensation claim or can bring a personal injury claim, or both.
- Handle the entire legal case from start to finish, including composing and filing all the paperwork, communicating with the insurance company and any defendants, and attending all necessary court appearances while keeping you constantly informed about the case status.
- Engage in aggressive negotiations in pursuit of the largest workers’ comp payout and/or lawsuit settlement available under the law.
In short, our personal injury lawyers take care of the entire construction accident case so that you can focus on recuperating with the peace of mind that our legal team is fighting for your best interests.
Severe injuries – including brain injuries – can occur on dangerous construction work sites.
If you, a family member, or a loved one suffered a construction accident injury, contact our Las Vegas personal injury attorneys for legal advice on how to recover the maximum amount of money for your medical bills, lost earning capacity, and more.
Our Las Vegas, NV law firm serves work injury victims throughout the state. Our practice areas also include personal injury cases for car accidents and slip and fall accidents in addition to construction industry cases.
Visit Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Legal References
- NRS 616A – 616C. See also Eli Segall, Housing boom not ending in 2022, expert says, Las Vegas Review-Journal (January 7, 2022). See also Construction worker dead following a trench collapse at northwest valley worksite, News3 (March 31, 2022).
- See, for example, Schueler v. Ad Art, Inc. (2020) 472 P.3d 686. See also Harris v. Rio Hotel & Casino (2001) 25 P.3d 206 (property owners share the same immunity from liability as principal contractors under the NIIA).
- See, for example, State Indus. Ins. Sys. v. Jesch, (1985) .
- See note 2.
- NRS 41.085.
- NRS 616A.030.
- NRS 41.141.
- NRS 616C.015.
- NRS 11.190.