Slip and Fall Attorney Las Vegas, NV

Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents in Las Vegas

Slip and fall accidents can happen to guests on any property in Las Vegas, whether residential or commercial. Falls can lead to broken bones and severe internal bruising that could damage general bodily functions.

Slip and fall accidents result from specific hazards on the property, including:

• Liquid spills
• Exposed electrical wiring
• Loose flooring
• Protruding nails
• Weak or unsteady stairs and banisters

Any of the above hazards can have severe repercussions on an individual who does not observe the hazard in time, especially when the hazard is hidden.

How Long Do I File a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Las Vegas?

If you are the victim of a slip and fall accident in Nevada, you must file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations. These limitations are essentially a time limit for you to take action. Every state has specific guidelines on how long you have to file a lawsuit based on your specific case type. In Nevada, this limit is generally two years after you were injured, per NRS § 11.190(4)(e). 

Many times, victims wait too long to act. Court systems have placed these statutes to make victims file sooner rather than later. If you feel, your slip and fall injury was due to another person or company’s negligence, filing your lawsuit as soon as possible is in your best interest. Evidence can disappear, and witnesses’ memories become less reliable with time. A Las Vegas slip and fall lawyer from our team can help you file the paperwork for your lawsuit within the time limit. 

Nevada’s Unique Slip and Fall Rule

The state of Nevada’s injury laws also includes a “comparative negligence” rule. This means if you were injured on someone else’s property, you can sue for damages. However, the financial compensation you may receive will be proportionate to your responsibility for your accident.

For example, if you sue a company for a slip and fall accident and your case goes to trial, you could win or lose your case. Results are never guaranteed in court but assume you won your case for this example. The jury could conclude you were 25% responsible for the accident. Any financial compensation owed to you would then be reduced by 25%. 

Additionally, if the jury finds you were more than 50% responsible, you will receive nothing. The burden of proof falls on you to show that the building owners where you were injured are more responsible than you were for your accident. To receive compensation, you need to prove the other party was negligent. One of our slip and fall attorneys in Las Vegas can review your case’s details and explain your legal options. 

Why Visitors May Experience More Slip and Fall Injuries in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a unique city in the United States. Here are some reasons why visitors may experience slip and fall injuries in the city:

Heavily Used Tourist Attractions

Since so many visitors converge on Las Vegas for their vacations, the city has many casinos, hotels, theaters, and shopping centers. With such a high volume of people coming and going through these attraction sites, the facilities are subject to a great deal of wear and tear. If these facilities are not regularly inspected and maintained, slip and fall hazards may go unaddressed, resulting in serious injuries.

Vulnerability of Elder Visitors

The city attracts a lot of senior citizens for their vacations, gambling, and entertainment. Unfortunately, Elders are the most at risk for serious fall injuries, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noting that millions of people over 65 are treated in emergency rooms due to falls. 

Recovering from an accident can be a long, arduous road, and complications from major surgeries can cause severe health complications for senior citizens. Hotels, casinos, and other vacation destinations in Las Vegas know this. While they cater to many senior citizens for their pleasures, they are also quick to deny blame when someone slips and falls on their premises. 

If you or a loved one was injured during a slip and fall accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation if the building’s owners were negligent. A premises liability lawyer can outline how these laws work. 

When Is a Property Owner Liable in a Las Vegas Slip and Fall Case?

Because of Nevada’s comparative negligence law, the circumstances of the fall can dictate how much you or the property owner may be at fault. Several factors influence whether an owner of a property is considered negligent, including the following: 

Were There Obvious or Hidden Dangers?

In Nevada, a property owner must be extremely cautious regarding any potentially hidden, concealed, or dangerous hazard on the property. The owner must explicitly warn visitors of these hidden or concealed dangers. 

The obvious dangers are a little different. If a potential danger is obvious to the naked eye, the owner of the property does not need to issue explicit warnings to visitors or guests. This does not mean you cannot sue for damages if you fell in an area with obvious dangers, but you may need stronger evidence to make your case. 

The Nevada Supreme Court has not always ruled on the side of a property owner in cases where a hazard is “open and obvious,” however. Specifically, the Supreme Court noted that a landowner isn’t automatically relieved from the general duty of reasonable care if a hazard is obvious in Foster v. Coster. It can therefore be essential to discuss the accident with an Las Vegas personal injury attorney’s team to determine whether a claim can be brought after a slip and fall accident and the types of damages you are entitled to claim. Premises liability cases can be complicated, but our team has the experience to handle your legal case for you. 

Did the Property Owner Willfully Fail to Warn of Dangerous Conditions?

Nevada law stipulates that a property owner’s responsibilities are a bit different when visitors enter a public property for recreation. What does this mean? If you willingly enter a public area to fish, camp, hunt, or do some other recreational activity, the owner of the land may not be held responsible for your injuries.

However, if the property owner knowingly or maliciously chose not to warn you of the potentially dangerous conditions, the owner may be held responsible for your injuries. Determining whether the property owner’s failure to warn was “willful” can be a complicated matter.

Courts may try to determine if the owner knew about the potential danger on the property. Then, the court may try to determine if the property owner knew the likelihood of injury existed because of these potential dangers. Finally, the court may try to determine if the property owner consciously chose not to remove or limit the potential danger to the property.

Did the Property Owner Take Actions to Prevent Dangerous Activities?

The state of Nevada notes that the property or landowner must take action to prevent crime or acts of violence from occurring on the property. This responsibility applies only if the property owner knows of the potential for crime or violence on the property. 

Nevada further specifies this duty to protect visitors begins when there is evidence of criminal activity taking place on the property, or the activity was foreseeable. The dangerous activity could have been foreseeable if there was prior criminal activity in the area, for example.

To clarify, if a property owner has had past experience with criminal activity on the property or if their property’s location is in a dangerous part of town, the owner can reasonably be expected to know there is potential for crime or danger to occur on or around the property. 

Was There Knowledge of the Risk?

One popular defense tactic is to claim the victim of a slip and fall accident knew about the potential dangers on the property. Therefore, the owners may claim that since the victim knew of the risk, they were solely responsible for their injuries.

For this “assumption of risk” to apply, the victim must have known about the dangers of the property, understood the risks of exposing oneself to the dangers involved, and voluntarily decided to expose themself to the dangers. 

How Are Slip and Fall Cases in Las Vegas Won?

A victim of a slip and fall in Las Vegas may be able to bring a lawsuit against a property owner. Slip and fall lawsuits usually allege the property owner was negligent in keeping the property safe for visitors. To prove negligence, your slip and fall lawyer in Las Vegas will build a case with several pieces of evidence.

Demonstrate That a Property Owner Was Liable

You should have evidence to show that the defendant is the appropriate liable party in the case. So, was the property owner in control of the property at the time of your injury? Was the responsible party the owner of the property at the time of your accident? 

You Were On the Property Legally 

Additionally, you will need to show that you were on the property as an invitee or were otherwise legally on the property. For example, if you were in a store after hours, the owner may try to absolve themselves of responsibility because you were on the premises after the store concluded business for the day.

Evidence of the Slipping Hazard That Caused Your Injury

You will be expected to prove there was something on the premises that would constitute a falling hazard. A loose floor tile or wet floor are two examples of potential falling hazards. 

The Defendant Knew About the Falling Hazard

In your case, you will be required to prove the defendant knew the falling hazard existed or should have known about it. 

The Falling Hazard Caused Your Injuries

You will need to show that your injuries were a direct result of the hazard on the premises.

Nevada Premises Liability: Understanding Invitees, Licensees, and Trespassers

Property owners have a duty of care to visitors on their property. To determine what this duty of care means, a court will consider whether a reasonable property owner in the same situation would have taken precautions to mitigate the accident. For example, would a reasonable store owner have mopped up spilled liquid quicker, thereby preventing an accident? If so, then a store owner who took too long to clean up a spill could be found responsible for the resulting damages.

However, potential claimants in Nevada premises liability cases are categorized based on their status upon entering the property. Based on this status, they may be entitled to a duty of care—or they may not receive those protections.

Typically, a customer (or “invitee”) has the highest protection upon entering the property. The property owner must warn of a potential hazard or protect the invitee from any danger on the property. A licensee, or house guest, is also owed a duty of care by the property owner, although to a lesser degree. The property owner must warn them of any danger they should have known about. A trespasser often holds little rights if an accident occurs, although trespassers may be able to argue for their rights in some cases. 

What Damages Can I Expect from My Slip and Fall Injuries?

If you file a lawsuit to seek financial compensation for your slip and fall injuries, your potential payout may reimburse you for the following:

• Medical bills for treating your injuries
• Medical expenses stemming from rehabilitation, ongoing treatments after a hospital stay, and more
• Lost wages from when you were out of work because of your injury
• Future lost wages if you cannot go back to work because of your injury
• Pain and suffering due to your injuries

As per Nevada’s comparative negligence rule referenced earlier in this guide, if the courts determine you are less than 50% responsible for your injuries, you are eligible to receive compensation. 

The result of your case may depend on the successful negotiation between you and the responsible party’s insurance carriers or attorneys. One of our premises liability lawyers in Las Vegas can help you by negotiating with the other party on your behalf. 

Lost Income in Slip and Fall Cases

Your injuries may be serious enough that you cannot immediately return to work. In some situations, you may be facing lifelong or permanent consequences of the injury, such as a disability. 

Our attorneys know how to make a case for these losses when we pursue a settlement or lawsuit on your behalf. We will work to show how the injury not only affected your health, but your livelihood. We can use records such as your past and current pay stubs, statements from your employer, or statements from your doctor as evidence of your lost income, disability, or reduced earning capacity.

Punitive Damages

If you cannot reach a satisfactory out-of-court settlement with the defendant’s lawyers or insurance carriers, your case may go to trial. In a trial case, plaintiffs sometimes have the right to ask the court for punitive damages.

These additional damages are intended to punish the defendant in cases of exceptional negligence and assure they do not commit the same transgressions in the future. In Nevada, if your financial compensation award is less than $100,000 for your economic and non-economic damages, potential punitive damages have a maximum of $300,000. In other cases, punitive damages cannot exceed three times the economic and non-economic damages.

De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers Las Vegas, Nevada Personal Injury Attorneys

If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident, do not hesitate to contact the attorneys of De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers. Our attorneys have years of experience handling slip and fall cases and will work carefully with you throughout your claim. Contact our Las Vegas office today for your initial free consultation. Our team of Las Vegas personal injury lawyers is ready to assist you.

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