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When medical care goes wrong, the first chart notes and explanations often shape the entire case. If something feels off about your treatment, it helps to get legal advice early, while the details are still clear and can be properly examined.
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Medical malpractice is not the same as a bad outcome. Medicine always carries risk, and not every result means someone made a mistake. A malpractice case exists only when care falls below what a reasonably skilled medical provider would have provided in the same situation.
In Nevada, that standard is enforced early. A case cannot move forward without a medical expert confirming that the care likely deviated from the accepted standard (NRS 41A.071). So these cases do not start with arguments or opinions; they start with records and expert review.
Our first step is to obtain the complete medical file and identify the appropriate specialty to evaluate the care. We then work with qualified medical experts to review what happened, determine whether negligence occurred, and connect those findings to the harm that followed. At the same time, we track Nevada’s strict filing deadlines so the case is not lost before it can be filed.
There is no cost to start. We work on a contingency fee, which means you only pay if we recover compensation for you.
$1,040,000
$1,023,006.92
$1,010,000
$1,010,000
Medical malpractice can happen in any setting where care is provided, from hospitals and surgery rooms to clinics and pharmacies. The common thread is simple: a medical provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, and a patient is harmed as a result.
Some cases are especially serious because the impact lasts a lifetime. Birth injuries, for example, can affect a child’s development and create long-term medical needs, which is why they are reviewed with particular care.
The medical malpractice cases our Las Vegas attorneys see most often involve:
Each of these situations comes back to the same legal question: whether the provider met the required standard of care. That is what turns a medical outcome into a potential malpractice claim.
The negligent provider is the starting point, and Nevada defines that group broadly. A “provider of health care” can be a physician, nurse, physician assistant, dentist, hospital, or surgery center (NRS 41A.017). More than one of them may share the blame for a single injury.
A hospital can be liable too. It answers for the negligence of its own employees and, in some cases, for an independent-contractor doctor who appeared to a patient to be part of the hospital (a distinction most patients have no way of knowing at the time). Sorting that out is part of how to sue a doctor in Nevada.
Naming every responsible party matters because of how Nevada splits the bill. Each defendant is liable only for their own share of the harm, not for the whole judgment (NRS 41A.045). Leave a negligent provider out of the case, and their share of your damages can simply go uncollected.
Speaking with a lawyer early can help identify all potential defendants and protect the full value of the claim.
A medical malpractice claim can recover the full financial cost of an injury, including past and future medical care, lost income, and reduced earning capacity if the harm affects long-term work. These economic damages are not capped in Nevada and often form the core of the claim.
Non-economic damages, like pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life, are treated differently. Nevada caps these damages in medical malpractice cases under NRS 41A.035, which means even strong jury awards can be reduced to the statutory limit.
For example, if a jury awards $1,200,000 in medical losses and $900,000 for pain and suffering, the economic damages are paid in full, while the non-economic portion is reduced to the cap, resulting in a lower total recovery.
Recovery can also be reduced if comparative negligence applies (NRS 41.141), and in cases involving extreme misconduct, punitive damages may be available (NRS 42.005). When malpractice leads to death, a wrongful death claim may also be brought.
Gina Corena & Associates focuses on serious injury cases across Las Vegas and Clark County. Our team knows how malpractice claims move through local courts, from filing through litigation, and we have recovered seven-figure results in a wide range of injury cases.
Medical malpractice cases are built on technical proof and strict procedure. We identify the right medical experts early, comply with Nevada’s affidavit requirement and filing rules (NRS 41A.071), and develop a record that addresses the defense before they can challenge it piece by piece. These cases are often decided on the basis of preparation long before trial.
You also work directly with your attorney throughout the case. Founding attorney Gina M. Corena, recognized among Nevada’s Top 40 Under 40 and Ten Best Attorneys, leads the firm’s approach to serious injury litigation. All cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, so there is no cost unless we recover compensation.
Medical error is widely discussed but still hard to measure with precision. A 2016 analysis in the BMJ estimated that more than 250,000 deaths a year in the United States may be linked to medical error, a figure the authors said could place it among the leading causes of death (The BMJ, 2016).
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has also noted a significant limitation in the data. There is no consistent way medical errors are recorded on death certificates, which means the true scale is still partly hidden in the system.
But none of that changes how these cases actually work once they are filed in Nevada. The law is very structured. You need a medical expert just to start the case (NRS 41A.071), certain damages are limited by statute (NRS 41A.035), and the rest has to fit within a strict procedural framework from the beginning.
And for families dealing with a loss, that structure is not abstract. It is the difference between whether a claim can move forward at all, especially when the case becomes a wrongful death claim under Nevada law.
Medical malpractice cases do not start with a lawsuit. They start with records. We first review the documentation from treatment and determine whether the facts suggest a deviation from the standard of care.
If the case is viable, a qualified medical expert reviews the file and signs an affidavit confirming what went wrong and why it matters under Nevada law. That step is required before the case can move forward (NRS 41A.071), and it often determines whether the claim can be filed at all.
After filing, the case moves into a court-supervised process, including Nevada’s mandatory settlement conference (NRS 41A.081). From there, negotiation begins in earnest, backed by expert opinions and full case preparation.
Most cases still resolve in settlement, but each one is prepared as if it will go to trial. That preparation often shapes the outcome long before a jury is involved.
The experience of our attorneys ranges from insurance and commercial law to personal injury and other areas which give our team an unmatched ability to reach a favorable outcome in your case. We handle each matter with accountability and responsiveness, as if we were representing ourselves.
Medical malpractice is care that fell below the accepted professional standard and caused harm. A bad outcome alone is not malpractice. The question is whether a competent provider, in the same situation, would have acted differently.
With a medical expert. Nevada does not allow a malpractice case to proceed without a sworn affidavit from a qualified medical expert identifying what each provider did wrong and why it fell below the standard of care. That expert review is the first real step in building the claim.
Generally, three years from the date of injury, or two years from the date the injury was discovered, whichever comes first, under NRS 41A.097. In some cases where a provider concealed the error, Nevada law may extend the deadline.
Yes, but only on part of the claim. Nevada caps noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, at $590,000 for 2026, with the cap adjusted over time. Economic damages, including medical bills and lost income, are not capped.
Often both. A hospital answers for the negligence of its employees, and sometimes for an independent-contractor physician. Each defendant pays only their own share of the harm. If the hospital is public, a separate state cap and a short-notice deadline apply.
A surviving family may bring a wrongful death claim. It follows its own rules and its own two-year deadline, and it can recover both the family’s losses and certain losses of the person who died.
Nothing upfront. We work on a contingency fee, capped by Nevada law at 35% of the recovery in a malpractice case, and you pay only if we recover compensation for you. The first consultation is free.
Founding attorney Gina M. Corena has been named a Top 40 Under 40 attorney by the American Society of Legal Advocates and one of the Ten Best Attorneys in Nevada.
