Nevada sees a significant number of tourists each year, with 52.2 million visitors in 2024 alone. Just over five-million people visit Reno each year. Tourists face special challenges if they are injured in an accident and choose to pursue a case. Moreover, a tourist who injures a local can create complications if they leave the state. If you are a tourist or were injured by a tourist, learn how a Reno personal injury lawyer like one from Lerner and Rowe can help you with your case.
How to Protect Yourself from Injury by Knowing Reno Tourist Legal Rights
If you are a tourist in Northern Nevada, these tips can help protect you from an injury:
- If you are driving, always be aware of your route beforehand and follow the rules of the road.
- Utilize public transportation if you will be enjoying the nightlife or traveling to an unfamiliar area.
- Always be aware of your surroundings and plan your routes through safe areas.
- Read the reviews of establishments you plan on visiting. The quality of their reviews can help you determine if it’s a safe environment.
- Make sure that your health insurance has out-of-state coverage or purchase travel insurance.
Making safe decisions will help you mitigate the likelihood of an accident resulting in injury.
Auto Accidents
By far, auto accidents are the most common type of personal injury in Reno. Tourist auto accidents in Reno can involve rental cars, electric vehicles, or a rideshare vehicle. Side-impact accidents are the most common type of crash. These happen when individuals run a red light and hit another car. They also happen due to speeding, and changing lanes, and can be exacerbated if alcohol is involved. Alcohol and impairment are also a leading cause of car accidents in Reno. Your Reno personal injury attorney can help you coordinate your case if you are only in Nevada for a short period.
Slips, Trips, and Falls
Slips, trips, and falls are common in Nevada due to the tourist scene. They tend to happen in casinos, hotels, and other places where tourists might frequent. If you are injured in a slip, trip, or fall, you might suffer broken bones, a concussion, or soft tissue injuries. When traveling as a tourist, you have the right to expect businesses to be responsible for the safety of their premises, which includes inspecting for hazards, providing warnings, and taking action to mitigate any potential risks of injury.
Outdoor Activities
In addition to slips, trips, and falls, outdoor recreational activities pose a risk to tourists. With many recreational activities, tourists must sign a release waiver. However, waivers do not completely remove liability when a duty of care was not met .Carefully read any documents you sign, especially those releasing the defendant from liability. Also, make sure you follow the venue staff’s instructions for any recreational activities.
4 Legal Challenges With Reno Tourist Legal Rights
Injured tourists often face a unique set of legal challenges when they seek to recover compensation for accidents that happen away from home. Here are some of the primary legal challenges faced by injured Reno tourists:
- Jurisdiction: In Nevada, there are jurisdictional requirements for a personal injury case. If you were a tourist and injured, you must return to file a case. Additionally, you must file your case in a district court where the defendant resides or does business or where the injury happened. If the defendant is a tourist and leaves the state, the plaintiff must follow procedures for serving the defendant out of state.
Sometimes, a plaintiff can file a case in their home state. However, there is always the likelihood that this case could be dismissed and the defendant must have sufficient connections. A tourist personal injury case might have a better chance of succeeding in a plaintiff’s home state against a national company, like a retail store. A case against an individual or a local company will likely have to be filed in a Reno district court.
- Filing a Claim: If you are out of state as a plaintiff, you should work with a local personal injury attorney to file your claim. A local personal injury attorney from Lerner and Rowe can file a claim within district court to protect Reno tourist legal rights. It is important to note that you do not need to be physically present for a personal injury attorney to start a personal injury claim on your behalf.
- Statute of Limitations: In Nevada, leaving the state does not extend the statute of limitations for your personal injury case. The statute of limitations for a personal injury case in the state of Nevada is generally two years from the date of the injury or when the injury was discovered.
- Medical Treatment and Insurance: A local personal injury attorney in Reno will need access to any medical records that document care received in and out of state. As an Injured tourist, you may not have immediate access to trusted healthcare providers because of insurance coverage issues.
Out-of-network or travel insurance can be difficult to navigate on your own. It is likely tourists may have a limited scope of coverage that may not cover riskier activities. Additionally, sometimes travel insurance needs pre-approval for certain types of treatments. A personal injury lawyer representing tourists can help you recover costs from insurance companies for medical expenses as a result of an accident.
Lerner and Rowe Protects Reno Tourist Legal Rights 24/7
If you are a tourist in Nevada and injured in Nevada, Lerner and Rowe can help you with your case in Reno. Our local injury attorney has years of experience representing and protecting the rights of tourists and locals after an accident.
When you are injured and do not northern Nevada, your Reno personal injury attorney can help pursue an injury claim on your behalf. Call 775-644-4444 to schedule a free consultation 24/7. You can also connect with us online through LiveChat or by sending your case information through this encrypted form.