Battle Born Injury Lawyers | December 6, 2024 | Personal Injury
Las Vegas shows are often packed every night of the week, some of them filled with drunken revelers. Add to that pyrotechnics, crowd surges, and other inherent hazards, and it’s not surprising that injuries are common. If you want to file a lawsuit, there are a few legal issues that you should become familiar with.
A History of High-Profile Injuries at Las Vegas Shows
Below is a listing of notable injury incidents that have occurred at Las Vegas shows over the years:
- The 1980 MGM Grand fire that killed 87 people and injured hundreds more.
- The 2014 “Ultimate Variety Show” Accident: A skater lost consciousness during a high-speed skating routine and was flung into the audience. This resulted in injuries to an elderly woman in the front row.
- The 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting, in which a gunman fired on the crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The result was 60 deaths and over 850 injuries.
- There have been reports of injuries to audience members caused by falling debris, props, or performers during shows featuring risky acts such as acrobatics.
These incidents illustrate the importance of stringent safety measures to protect both audience members during shows and live events.
How Premises Liability Claims Work
When you watch a Las Vegas show, you are a guest on someone else’s property. Consequently, they bear a certain legal responsibility to protect you. If you suffer an injury due to a dangerous condition on the property, the property owner could bear liability.
In a negligence claim (the most common type of premises liability claim), you would have to prove the standard elements of negligence, which are:
- Duty of care: You could establish this one by proving that the defendant was the owner of the property and that you were a guest on the property at the time of the accident.
- Breach of duty: Perhaps the owner filed to inspect the property, and an inspection would have revealed the easy-to-remedy dangerous condition that injured you (unsafe use of pyrotechnics, for example).
- Causation: The owner’s breach of duty (in other words, their negligence) must have actually caused the accident and must have been a foreseeable consequence.
- Damages: You must have suffered damages in the form of medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.
Not all Las Vegas show injuries are premises liability claims. A mass shooting, for example, might not be characterized as a premises liability claim. Consequently, you would need to prove the requisite elements to win.
Why You Might Want to File a Lawsuit Even If You Still Hope for Settlement
Almost all personal injury claimants want to settle their case out of court, as do almost all defendants. It’s just quicker and easier that way. Even if you still seek to settle, however, there are reasons to file a lawsuit:
- It will get the defendant’s (and the insurance company’s) attention.
- It gets you access to the pretrial discovery process, which is a great way to gather evidence that is in the defendant’s possession, including testimony and knowledge. “Gather evidence and then negotiate” is a time-honored strategy for winning a personal injury claim.
- You’ll want to get ahead of the Nevada two-year statute of limitations deadline for filing a lawsuit.
Even if you sue, you can always offer to withdraw the lawsuit in exchange for a settlement.
How to File a Lawsuit
To file a lawsuit, take the appropriate steps:
- Identify the appropriate court: The Small Claims Division (for claims up to $10,000, the Las Vegas Justice Court for claims up to $15,000, or the Clark County District Court for claims over $15,000, for example.
- File a formal written complaint: If you file your claim in the Small Claims Division, the rules for drafting complaints are more relaxed.
- Pay the appropriate filing fee to the court clerk: Expect to pay a few hundred dollars. In general, the more money you ask for, the higher the filing fee.
- Serve your documents: Serve a copy of the complaint and the court summons on the defendant using a neutral third party, such as a professional process server.
Completing these steps will beat the statute of limitations deadline under almost all circumstances.
Let a Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer Beat the Odds for You
If you suffer an injury at a Las Vegas show, you might need the service of a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer to help you file a lawsuit. Battle Born Injury Lawyers is battle-tested, having won over $100 million for our clients. Even more importantly, you pay no upfront fees and no attorney’s fees unless you win. Contact Battle Born Injury Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation.
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
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Reno, NV 89509, USA
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Battle Born Injury Lawyers – Henderson Office
8540 S Eastern Ave #200
Henderson, NV 89123
(702) 500-0287
