Personal injury claims are common in Las Vegas and can include car accidents, slip and fall accidents, and medical malpractice injuries, among others. Knowing what to expect following these accidents can significantly affect your next steps.
Car Accidents: Leading Cause of Personal Injuries in Las Vegas
Las Vegas road construction, lane shifts, and daily commutes can create challenges for local drivers and tourists. According to statistics from the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), Clark County, including the Las Vegas area, experiences thousands of car crashes yearly.
These accidents can result in minor injuries, including whiplash, and more serious, life-threatening injuries–even death. The main contributing factors to car accident fatalities and injuries in Las Vegas are distraction and impairment.
Depending on the severity of Injuries caused in a car accident, a Las Vegas personal injury claim may be used to recover costs associated with medical expenses, lost wages, and even pain and suffering. In such cases, blame can be attributed to the other driver’s negligence or recklessness, unsafe road conditions, and other factors.
These negligent or reckless acts could range from poor road signs, speeding, texting while driving, or driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Evidence and documentation that may be used to establish liability may include security video, police reports, and third-party witnesses.
Slip and Fall Injuries: A Common Occurrence in Public and Private Spaces
In Las Vegas, slip and fall injuries are common and generally occur in congested foot traffic areas like casinos, hotels, restaurants, large box stores, and entertainment venues. A fall can happen from wet floors, surface irregularities, poor lighting, loose cords, and narrow pathways.
Property owners and managers are legally obligated to keep their premises safe for everyone who visits. If they fail to take the proper precautions or provide apparent warnings of potential dangers, they are negligent.
Slip-and-fall accident victims can suffer cuts and bruises, sprains, broken bones, and even traumatic brain injuries. Many of these injuries require medical attention and can set a person back financially due to unplanned medical expenses and lost wages from missed work. These costs may be recovered through a personal injury claim.
Slip-and-fall claims can be complex and require knowledge of local premises liability laws. In Nevada, the victim must prove that the property owner’s negligence contributed to their injury.
Through a slip-and-fall injury claim, a lawyer can establish that the property owner knew or should have known about the condition that caused the injury, making them liable. Liability may be established with evidence, such as video footage, service records, and eyewitness accounts.
Medical Malpractice: When Healthcare Providers Fail Their Duty
Medical malpractice is another major cause of personal injuries in Las Vegas. These types of incidents happen when healthcare professionals commit errors below the standard of care. These incidents can include surgical errors, misdiagnosis, and incorrect treatment. However, it can be challenging to demonstrate that a healthcare provider’s actions (or inactions) caused an injury.
A Las Vegas personal injury attorney may use medical records, expert witness testimony, numerous incident reports, and other damages to build a successful claim.
Putting the time and resources into gathering and evaluating these details can help ensure you get awarded a fair amount for medical expenses, lost earnings, and other related damages.
Proving Negligence in Nevada Personal Injury Cases
During a personal injury case in Nevada, a lawyer representing an injury plaintiff must prove that four criteria of negligence were present at the time of an accident to establish liability:
- Duty of care – Duty of care refers to an individual’s or larger entities’ legal obligation to prevent harm to others.
- Breach of duty – When the duty of care is breached, those parties (a.k.a. the defendant) acted recklessly or carelessly.
- Causation – Causation links the breach of duty directly to the plaintiff’s injuries. This means proving, “but for” the defendant’s conduct or negligence, the injuries would not have occurred.
- Damages – The plaintiff must also show damages, including the bodily injuries or harm incurred, medical bills, lost earnings, and other forms of pain and suffering.
A lawyer may use witness statements from people who observed the accident to support an injury claim further. Your Las Vegas personal injury lawyer may also build value into your claim through supportive evidence, including accident reports, medical records, and pictures of both the scene of the crash and your injuries.
Other Types of Personal Injuries and Their Impact
Dog bites are another common injury in Las Vegas. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dog bites account for an average of 337,000 emergency visits in the United States and generate medical costs of up to $2 billion per year. In Nevada, victims who file a personal injury claim seek compensation for the medical bills, pain and suffering, and other expenses.
Product liability cases also occur and result from defective products that harm consumers. Injuries from defective products can include malfunctioning electronics, food poisoning, or failing machinery. Compensation may be awarded through a product liability claim if the product is proven to have been unreasonably dangerous and the defect caused your injury.
How Lerner and Rowe Can Assist with Your Personal Injury Case
At Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys, our seasoned lawyers fully understand Nevada personal injury law. That’s why after an injury in Las Vegas, our clients can feel confident that we will provide them with the highest representation in and out of court.
Our legal team knows how to evaluate and preserve crucial evidence, such as police accident reports, medical records, witness statements, and all the other vital elements in your case.
We pride ourselves on our ability to recover the best possible results for our clients while allowing them to focus on healing and getting their lives back on track.
Contact us day or night by calling 702-877-1500, through LiveChat, or by using our convenient online form.