Nevada Car Accident Laws

Regardless of the seriousness of a vehicle collision, you can count on Nevada car accident laws to play an important part in resolving your case.

Statute of Limitations

One of the most important roles filled by your personal injury attorney regards ensuring you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Each state has established a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, with most states setting the deadline for taking legal action between two and four years. If you move from Nevada, you might land in a state that has set the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit as long as six years or as short as one year. Nevada grants plaintiffs two years to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. However, you might receive an extension of the deadline if you can show the court that you sustained at least one injury that developed delayed symptoms. Examples of car accident injuries that can develop delayed symptoms include whiplash and brain trauma.

Although two years can give you more than enough time to file a personal injury lawsuit, you should act with a sense of urgency for two important reasons. First, unless your healthcare providers agree to a medical lien payment arrangement, you must pay your medical bills as they come due. Waiting to file a personal injury lawsuit might place you in financial distress. Second, your personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan wants to interview witnesses as close to the date of the auto crash as possible. Witness accounts tend to be more reliable when given right after a motor vehicle collision.

If you fail to file a personal injury lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations, the court clerk processing your lawsuit has the power to remove it from the judicial docket.

Comparative Negligence

In a perfect world, just one party should assume legal liability for causing a motor vehicle collision. However, car accidents often involve two or more parties that share the blame for causing an auto crash. Nevada operates under the comparative negligence legal principle, which means judges can assign blame to more than one party involved in a car accident.

For example, let’s assume another motorist failed to use a turn signal when making a left turn on a neighborhood road. You struck the car on the passenger side of the vehicle, and because the other motorist did not use the car turn signal, you feel the other motorist should assume all of the blame for causing the auto crash. However, during the civil trial, the judge hearing the case discovers you committed a negligent act as well by sending a text message at the time of the vehicle collision.

The judge decides to assign you 25 percent of the blame for causing the crash. This means that if you received an award valued at $40,000, your net compensation declines to $30,000 to account for 25 percent of the fault.

Nevada Car Insurance Statutes

Like other states, Nevada requires motorists to purchase a minimum amount of car insurance. Motorists in the Silver State must have at least $25,000 of car insurance for bodily injury or the death of another person involved in the same car accident, as well as $50,000 in coverage for the bodily injury sustained by two or more people. Motorists also must purchase at least $20,000 in property damage liability coverage to meet the minimum car insurance standards required by Nevada law.

Although Nevada does not require motorists to purchase uninsured motorist coverage, you should consider buying coverage to protect yourself if an uninsured driver hits you or you fall victim to a hit-and-run accident.

The most common reason why car accident victims do not hire a car accident lawyer is the cost associated with receiving legal support. At Morgan and Morgan, we operate on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not have to pay upfront legal fees. Instead, our personal injury attorneys receive a percentage of the compensation awarded to their clients.

You do not have to pay upfront legal fees to receive the following types of legal support provided by a Morgan and Morgan car accident lawyer.

Conducts an Investigation

Despite the closest law enforcement agency conducting an investigation and submitting the official police report, the attorney assigned to your case by Morgan and Morgan conducts a separate investigation to obtain more physical evidence. Acquiring the video footage captured by a traffic and/or security camera can help your personal injury lawyer determine whether another party committed one or more acts of negligence. Your attorney works with a Navada-licensed investigator employed by Morgan and Morgan to help gather more physical evidence, as well as interview witnesses. 

Calculates a Reasonable Value for Compensation

Insurance adjusters and judges hearing personal injury cases have many reasons to deny compensation. However, one of the most common reasons why victims of car accidents do not receive just compensation concerns submitting an insurance claim and/or filing a personal injury lawsuit that requests an unreasonable value for compensation.

Your personal injury lawyer from Morgan and Morgan calculates a fair value for compensation by first adding up all the tangible expenses associated with your case. You have the right to request compensation to cover the costs associated with diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. If you have to deal with any trauma issues, such as the symptoms that develop because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), your attorney requests compensation for the non-economic damages generated by pain and suffering.

Interacts With the Insurance Company

Far too many insurance companies take advantage of policyholders that do not retain legal representation when filing a car accident claim. If you do not hire an experienced personal injury attorney to handle your case, the insurance company might deny a valid claim or approve a claim worth much less than what you deserve for compensation. Another benefit of hiring a highly-rated car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan is delegating insurance-related responsibilities.

Your attorney interacts with the insurance adjuster processing your case, which means you can devote more time to other pressing issues, such as healing your injuries and returning to work. Another type of legal support provided by your car accident lawyer is to monitor the progress of your claim to ensure it receives the attention that it deserves.

Negotiates a Settlement

A majority of personal injury lawsuits never reach the trial phase of the litigation process. Instead, both parties try to negotiate a settlement that avoids a costly and time-consuming trial. The same principle applies to filing an insurance claim. If the insurance company denies your claim, your car accident lawyer can request negotiations to avoid filing an appeal.

Negotiations start when your car personal injury attorney submits an initial offer. The other party can either accept or reject the initial offer. If the other party rejects the initial offer, you might receive a counteroffer or a certified letter stating the other party’s intent to end negotiations. Several counteroffers can follow the initial offer until both parties reach a settlement.

Proves Negligence

The key to winning a favorable legal judgment involves convincing the judge hearing the case that the other party committed one or more acts of negligence. To accomplish this goal, your personal injury attorney must prove the presence of four elements. First, your car accident lawyer must show the other party owed you a duty of care to operate a motor vehicle safely. Second, you must provide proof that the other party breached the duty of care doctrine by committing at least one act of negligence. 

Third, the car accident must have caused your injuries. The other party’s attorney might claim you sustained your injuries as the result of another event. Fourth, the injuries sustained must have produced financial losses.

With more than 35 years of practicing personal injury law, Morgan and Morgan has compiled more than 55,000 five-star Google reviews left by former clients. We receive praise for our integrity and transparency, as well as for empathizing with clients that have just endured one of the worst incidents of their lives.

Schedule a free case evaluation today with Morgan and Morgan to get started.