Nevada Personal Injury Law Overview

Damages and caps

Compensatory damages are compensation for your losses. There are two types - economic and non-economic. Economic damages include medical bills, property damage, lost wages and other monetary losses and expenses. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and other losses that do not necessarily cost money.

In Nevada, the cap on non-economic damages is $350,000 in most cases. There can be exceptions if the judge determines that more is appropriate.

Punitive damages are not compensatory but, instead, are meant to punish the defendant. In order to receive punitive damages you must prove fraud, malice, or oppression on the part of the defendant. In most personal injury cases, punitive damages are limited to $300,000 when the compensatory damages are less than $100,000 and no more than three times the compensatory damages in cases with a higher compensatory award. These caps do not apply to product liability cases.

Statute of limitations

Each state has a time limit to file a personal injury claim called the "statute of limitations." In Nevada, this time limit is two years for most types of personal injury. Certain types of cases, including product liability, accountant malpractice, and medical malpractice (in some cases), have a time limit of four years.

Negligence

If you believe that you may be partially at fault in your case, do not give up. Nevada follows the doctrine of "modified comparative negligence," so you can still receive compensation if you are less than 50% responsible. You will only be able to claim compensation for the remaining portion of fault, but that can still be a very significant amount.

Liability

When there is more than one party responsible for your injuries, you must look to your state's liability laws to determine how you can collect and from whom. Nevada law follows the doctrine of "several liability," which holds each defendant responsible for their own portion and only their portion. If one or more parties fail to pay, you cannot collect their share from the other defendants.

If you live in Nevada and feel you may have a valid personal injury claim, please contact an experienced Nevada personal injury lawyer in your area today.