How to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Las Vegas

The Basics of a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Las Vegas

Personal injuries can occur at any time. While dealing with the injury is in itself an arduous task, what comes next can be equally tough to combat. If the personal injury occurs in Las Vegas, you need to be aware of the rules involved for you to file a personal injury lawsuit.

A personal injury case is when someone gets involved in an accident or injury and claims that the harm that was caused is the responsibility of someone else. Personal injuries can take place in several ways, be it a car accident, an incident of slipping and falling, using defective products, the presence of medical practice, and so on.

Personal injury lawsuits happen between private parties. While one person is called the plaintiff (the one brining the lawsuit), the other party is known as the defendant (the one responsible for the injury). 

It’s essential to understand the various aspects of personal injury claims. For instance, burn injuries, which are distressingly common, can range from minor to life-altering. You can learn more about the different types of burn injuries on our site. Similarly, injuries affecting the spine can be particularly devastating. For more in-depth knowledge on how these are evaluated, feel free to visit our section on spinal cord injury evaluations. Additionally, brain injuries often have profound implications for the victim. To understand the complexities involved in recovering damages for such injuries, browse through our guide on recovering damages for brain injuries.

If you ever find yourself involved in a personal law injury, make sure to contact Gina Corena & Associates. We always see to it that our personal injury attorneys do their best to provide you with the maximum compensation possible. You can contact our legal team in Las Vegas on (702) 680-1111.

How to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit

If you’re filing a personal injury lawsuit in Las Vegas, and your matter involves over $10,000, then it’ll mostly be filed in the Eighth Judicial District Court. However, if the amount is slightly lesser than that, for instance, sums going up to $7500, it will be heard by the small claims division of the Las Vegas Township Justice Court.

In a personal injury lawsuit, the opening legal document is known as a complaint. It contains details related to facts about the injury, identification of the different parties, and gives brief reasons as to why the defendant should be held responsible for the damage caused, thereby proceeding to make a request to the court.

If in case your lawsuit isn’t filed within the timeframe specified, it could lead to you getting barred forever. These rules vary from one state to another depending on the cause of action, and are known as statutes of limitations. As far as Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada is concerned, the timeframe for a personal injury is usually two years. However, if a medical malpractice action is in question in Vegas, you get between one to three years. This depends on when the victim discovered the malpractice. 

Once a settlement has been reached, the victim can choose to not sue the defendant in exchange for monetary compensation. Insurance companies generally try to get the victims to settle after the accident has taken place. They can try to get you to settle for less than you deserve, and in order to avoid that from happening, taking the advice of an attorney is the best thing to do.

Your attorney will negotiate with the insurance company of the defendant, and once the details have been discussed, you will reach a settlement where you’re given exactly the compensation you deserve to take care of the injury. Insurance companies usually agree to the compensation amount so as to prevent the case from going to trial. 

Proving the Case and Recovering Damages

To make sure that you prove your case, it is important to have solid points that prove the negligence of the defendant. This entails proving that the defendant acted in a careless and negligent manner, which in turn contributed to or caused the accident.

It does happen in some cases that more than one party is found guilty of being negligent. Las Vegas and the rest of the state have a theory known as the modified comparative negligence theory. This theory entails that if your negligence level is below 51%, you are still free to pursue your action, and your damages will lessen depending on the percentage of your fault. 

The damages are mainly divided into two categories. The first category is that of the tangible damages. These refer to the more economic damages, such as lost wages or medical expenses. The second category refers to the less tangible damages such as the suffering or pain a victim goes through, and are therefore the general or non-economic damages.