Battle Born Injury Lawyers | June 4, 2024 | Personal Injury
Most personal injury law is based on case precedent. If you want to know what the law is on a given issue, you have to extrapolate from the results of previously published Nevada personal injury cases. Nevada, however, has passed important and relevant personal injury statutes, such as the statute of limitations. Please see below for a few examples.
What Is a Statute?
A statute is a law passed directly by a legislature. The Nevada Legislature, for example, must pass or repeal all Nevada statutes. Not every law is a statute. Regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) create administrative regulations, for example,
In the event of a conflict between federal law and state law, federal law almost always wins. In the event of a conflict between a state statute and a state regulation, the statute wins.
Important Nevada Personal Injury Statutes
Following is a very brief list of some Nevada statutes that frequently apply to personal injury law.
The Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations says you have a certain amount of time to either file a lawsuit over a claim or finalize a settlement. If you don’t, your claim expires and is worth nothing. Here’s what to know:
- For personal injury, you usually have two years after the date of your injury to file a lawsuit.
- If someone dies in the accident, the estate executor and certain close relatives can file a wrongful death lawsuit within two years of the date of death.
- The statute of limitations for property damage claims (damage to your car, for example) is three years after the date of the accident.
There are several exceptions to the statute of limitations deadline. Additionally, once you file a lawsuit, you have beaten the statute of limitations deadline no matter how long your case drags on.
Sovereign Immunity
Sovereign immunity is the right of a government to ban any lawsuits against it, especially for money damages. The rationale for sovereign immunity is that, since taxpayers fund the government, if you win money damages from the government, it is John Q. Taxpayer who must pay. Consequently, you can only sue Nevada with its own permission.
Nevada does allow you to sue a state government agency, subject to certain limitations. Check with a lawyer to help you determine the statute of limitations for suing the Nevada state government.
The Worker’s Compensation Act
In most cases, the Nevada Workers Compensation Act prevents you from suing your employer for a work-related injury.
The Wrongful Death Act
If someone dies in an accident, Nevada law allows the estate executor and certain close relatives to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the at-fault party. Compensation is often high.
Comparative Fault
If the accident was partly your fault, Nevada comparative fault law will excuse the defendant from paying for some or all of your damages. If the accident was mostly your fault, the value of your claim will drop to zero. If your percentage of fault was 50% or less, you will lose that exact percentage of your damages.
Mandatory Car Accident Insurance
Every state requires its drivers to purchase a certain legal minimum amount of auto insurance for use in case of a car accident. In Nevada, that amount is:
- $25 per person for bodily injury;
- $50,000 per accident for bodily injury; and
- $20,000 for property damage liability.
You can purchase more insurance, but that is optional for most drivers.
Medical Malpractice Damage Caps
In addition to the $100,000-per-claim limit on lawsuits against the government, Nevada imposes limitations on the amount of non-economic damages you can demand in a medical malpractice lawsuit. There is no limit on the amount of economic damages you can claim as long as you can justify them with evidence.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Make a Tremendous Difference
Unless you are a personal injury lawyer, it’s likely that you do not know how much your claim is worth. A conversation with a lawyer at a free initial consultation is likely to provide you with a ballpark estimate. Once you know the approximate value of your claim, you won’t be vulnerable to ‘lowball’ offers issued by stingy defendants or insurance companies.
Contact the Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorneys at Battle Born Injury Lawyers Today
If you or a loved one were injured in an accident in Las Vegas and you need legal assistance, contact our personal injury attorneys at Battle Born Injury Lawyers and schedule a free consultation with our legal team.
Battle Born Injury Lawyers
400 S 4th St Suite 290,
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 357-4868
Battle Born Injury Lawyers – Las Vegas Office
10789 W Twain Ave #100
Las Vegas, NV 89135
(702) 570-9000
Battle Born Injury Lawyers – Reno Office
675 W Moana Ln #206
Reno, NV 89509, USA
(775) 535-7768
Battle Born Injury Lawyers – Henderson Office
8540 S Eastern Ave #200
Henderson, NV 89123
(702) 500-0287
