Nevada business owners and homeowners must fix or warn against dangerous conditions (such as wet floors or dangerous dogs) in order to prevent foreseeable injuries on their property.
If you get injured due to a property owner’s negligence, our Las Vegas premises liability lawyers will bring a personal injury case against them in pursuit of the maximum financial settlement possible.
1. How big of a settlement can I get?
The four primary types of compensatory damages our Las Vegas premises liability attorneys fight for are:
- Compensation for past and future injury-related medical bills. This can extend to six- or seven-figures for serious injuries (such as spinal cord injuries and brain injuries).
- Lost wages. If your accident keeps you from working, you deserve the balance of what your salary/tips/bonuses/etc. would have been had you never been injured.
- Diminished earning capacity. If your accident prevents you from working in the future (or from earning as much money as you used to), you should be compensated for that loss.
- Pain and suffering. This is usually the biggest-ticket item when settling a lawsuit because no amount of money can make up for the emotional trauma and family strife that being injured can cause.
Predictably, the biggest premises liability settlements ensue from tragic cases where the accident victim passes away. Our Nevada personal injury attorneys would bring a wrongful death case on behalf of the family in pursuit of damages for loss of support and grief and sorrow.
In cases that go to trial (which is rare since most cases settle), we can also ask for punitive damages. The purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate you but instead to punish the property owner for their shocking and reckless behavior. Punitive damages are usually capped at three times the amount of compensatory damages.1
Property owners owe the highest duty of care to customers (“invitees”).
2. Can I still win if I was partly at fault?
Yes. Under Nevada’s modified comparative negligence law, injured parties can prevail on a premises liability claim as long as they were no more than 50% at fault.2 But the court would reduce your compensatory damages in proportion to your degree of fault.
Example: You were walking and texting through a casino parking lot when you tripped on uneven pavement, breaking your ankle. You sue the casino owner for its failure to use reasonable care to prevent the unsafe condition.
The damages from your fall injury amount to $10,000. If the court finds that you were 25% at fault for not paying attention while walking, you would receive $7,500 (75% of the damages).
3. What is the deadline for bringing a premises liability lawsuit?
In Nevada, the statute of limitations to sue property owners for negligence is two years after the accident.3 But you are strongly encouraged to hire a personal injury attorney to start working on the case right away.
The longer you wait, the harder it will be to find evidence to prove your case such as surveillance videos and eyewitnesses with sharp memories.
Property owners owe an intermediate duty of care to social guests (“licensees”).
4. Can I sue other parties besides the property owners?
Following an accident, you can sue every party that was at fault for causing your injuries.
So if you get mugged in a store, you can sue not only the business owners for having negligent security – you may also be able to sue the security company itself that was on duty at the time.
Or if you fall from a defective escalator in a mall, you can sue not only the mall but also the companies that constructed and maintained the escalator.
Your Las Vegas premises liability lawyer will help you determine all the people and businesses who owe you damages.
5. Why should I hire an attorney?
In Las Vegas, most premises liability accidents occur in hotel/casinos, stores and restaurants. These companies are represented by very aggressive law firms that try to lay all the blame on you so they pay nothing.
Accident victims have enough to worry about without having to learn all the legal procedures necessary to bring a lawsuit. And you may feel tempted to accept a bad settlement just to get the case over with.
Our experienced Las Vegas premises liability lawyers will not back down until we recover the most money damages we can under Nevada law. And while we are fighting your case, you do not have to do anything except concentrate on getting better and moving on with your life.
Property owners owe the lowest duty of care to trespassers.
If you or a loved one has been injured on public- or private property in Nevada, contact our personal injury law firm for legal advice and a case evaluation. Our experienced Las Vegas personal injury lawyers fight for the maximum settlement in your premises liability case.
Our Las Vegas, NV attorneys practice throughout Clark County (including Henderson) and the state of Nevada. And our practice areas include car accidents, swimming pool accidents, dog bites, slip & fall accidents, and all other types of personal injury claims.
Legal References
- NRS 41.085; NRS 42.005. Foster v. Costco Wholesale Corp., (2012) 128 Nev. 773, 291 P. 3d 150. Hammerstein v. Jean Dev. West, 111 Nev. 1471, 907 P.2d 975 (1995).
- NRS 41.141.
- NRS 11.190.