You may have been driving the speed limit, paying attention to other drivers and obeying traffic laws, but still you were involved in a car accident. Perhaps another driver blindsided you as you drove through an intersection. A motorist may have made an illegal turn into your path or may have rear ended you. Regardless of the particular circumstances of your accident, it is important to talk to a Las Vegas car accident lawyer about your rights and options.
De Castroverde Law Group is fully committed to representing car accident victims throughout Clark County, Nevada. The lawyers at our firm understand you have a lot at stake. The outcome of your case will directly impact your financial future and may also affect your emotional well being. When you work with a car accident lawyer at our firm it is our goal to alleviate the stress that you are experiencing. Fill out our contact form or call us at (702) 222-9999 to discuss your legal options!
Those who have suffered serious injuries from a car accident in Las Vegas deserve to be fairly compensated. Call today for a free consultation!
In Nevada, perhaps more so than in other states and especially in Las Vegas, much attention is paid to drunk driving. 30 percent of all traffic fatalities involved a driver having a blood alcohol content over the legal limit, with 63 alcohol fatalities occurring in Clark County. Other common causes of car accidents include:
A lane or roadway departure crash occurs when a car or motor vehicle crosses and edge line, center line, or otherwise leaves the lane or roadway. Roadway departure accidents account for more than half of all fatalities on U.S. highways, and often lead to head on collisions, overturn crashes and collisions with fixed objects. In Nevada, lane departures accounted for 5,212 total accidents, 2,357 of them involved injuries and 38 were fatal.
Failure to yield the right of way happens when one driver runs through a stop sign, yield sign or red light, turns left into oncoming traffic when it’s not their turn, or does not give right of way to pedestrians. These negligent actions usually lead to t-bone collisions, side swiping, or pedestrian accidents. Failure to yield caused a total of 6,377 accidents, 5,079 caused injuries and 22 of them were fatal.
The recommended distance for safe following of another vehicle changes depending on how fast you are travelling, but in general it’s two seconds when passing a fixed object (when the car in front of you passes a sign, you should be able to count out at least two seconds before you pass the same sign). Following too closely caused 5,773 total accidents, 3,320 of which were injurious, but only two involved a fatality.
Fatigue can be arbitrary at times, but usually happens when someone has been driving for long periods of time or did not get enough sleep the night before. Taking your eyes off the road for even a few seconds is just as, if not more, dangerous than driving under the influence. Driver fatigue or falling asleep behind the wheel caused 530 accidents, 252 involved injuries and seven were fatal.
Speeding can be more than just traveling faster than the posted speed limit; the speed limit applies in dry conditions when the road is in good shape. If there is foul weather or the road is otherwise not in optimal condition, then drivers need to drive at an appropriate speed, which may very well be slower than the posted limit. Driving too fast is at the root of many spinouts, hydroplane and rollover accidents. There were 4,944 total accidents, 1,614 of them caused injuries and 37 were fatal.
Distracted driving has been a cause for major concern not just in Nevada, but nationwide. Talking to passengers, eating or grooming all qualify as distracted driving, but texting or otherwise using a cell phone is the aspect which has received the most attention. In 2012, Nevada law enforcement issued 12,000 citations for distracted driving. The Nevada Office of Traffic Safety notes that
more than half of these was due to using a cell phone while driving, and there are more than 3,500 distracted driving-related crashes in Nevada every year. This is why Nevada has issued a
no-tolerance approach to texting use while driving, and the fines for texting and driving in Nevada start at $50.00. If any driver regardless of age is caught texting or talking on their phone behind the wheel, they will be issued a citation.
Recently, another distraction has cause a become a bigger concern than texting and driving. Reports show that using apps while driving, like Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, could be more dangerous for drivers engaging as well as for others on the road. Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions conducted a survey on teenage drivers and found alarming information. According to their results, 27% of teens admitted to texting and driving while 68% admitted to using apps while driving. Moreover, 80% of the teens who use apps while driving believed that this wasn’t considered a distraction. Dangers behind Snapchat and driving have been showcased, yet fatal car accidents continue to occur at staggering rate all over the country.
Rear-end accidents are the most common type of car crash in the United States. But while the majority of rear-end collisions are only considered fender-benders, a significant number of these wrecks can cause serious injury or death. For example, certain types of rear-end accidents can be catastrophic:
If you or a loved one have been injured in a rear-end accident, you could collect compensation for any damages, including your medical bills and your lost wages. Contact De Castroverde Law Group today to find out more about your possible car accident claim from an experienced attorney.
It is a myth that the vehicle in the back is always at fault for a rear-end accident. There are a countless number of ways that rear-end accidents can occur and, depending on the circumstances, either driver could be responsible for the collision. In addition, a defective car part, poor road design, or other factors could be the true cause of the rear-end crash.
Here are six of the most common causes of rear-end accidents:
Far too often in rear-end accidents, injury victims assume that they don’t have a case, assume they are at fault, or don’t understand what truly caused their crash. An experienced car accident attorney can help you understand the legal aspects of your crash and make certain you get the compensation you deserve.
Whether a slight fender-bender or a severe wreck, being involved in a motor vehicle accident can be frustrating and downright terrifying. If you sustain injuries, it’s important to seek medical attention right away. The reason this is crucial, apart from ensuring your own well-being, is because the defendant’s insurance may try to say that your injuries don’t deserve compensation if you waited to see a doctor for them.
After an accident, you’ll need to exchange information with the other driver. This includes name, address, driver’s license number and insurance details. If injuries are present, then a police officer will need to be there to file a report. No detail should be overlooked when giving a report to the police. The more accurate this is, the stronger your case for compensation will be.
If you are able, take pictures of the damage and the surrounding scene. If the other driver ran a red light or stop sign, take pictures of it. Documenting the circumstances which caused the accident will only help to sure up your case. Talk to witnesses, if there were any, who can corroborate your version of events if it becomes necessary.
Nevada uses the modified comparative negligence law to determine the amount of fault that could be attributed to each driver. If you as the victim are awarded $10,000 in damages, but are found to be 25 percent at fault, then you would only receive $7,500 in compensation. The “modified” part of this law means that if you are found to be 50 percent or more at fault, you will not be entitled to receive any compensation for damages at all. The amount of fault is determined by a jury in a trial, so settling out of court, which most car accident claims are, will take away any of that ambiguity.
In Nevada, statute of limitations dictate that you have two years to file a personal injury claim, and three years to file a claim for property damage. This clock starts from the time the accident took place, rather than when the injury was discovered. You have time to put together your claim, so hiring a lawyer as soon as you can after the accident to help you gather evidence, keep track of paperwork and document medical expenses will ensure that you are compensated fairly.
There were more than 51,000 motor vehicle accidents in Nevada in 2010 (the most recently available data for this information), leading to almost 19,000 injuries and 257 fatalities. While that number is staggering in itself, Nevada roads have become increasingly more deadly. Since 2010, fatal car accidents continue to climb with deaths steadily increasing.
In 2015, 325 people lost their lives in Nevada traffic accidents, the highest number in seven years. Approximately 65 percent of these deaths occurred in Clark County, which can likely be attributed to the large population and high traffic volume in Las Vegas.
Nevada’s rise in fatal accidents has coincided with the climbing fatality rate of the U.S. as a whole. In 2011, Nevada’s fatality rate was 9.00 per 100,000 people; while it was 10.4 for the U.S. In 2015, Nevada’s rate of 11.2 surpassed that of the U.S., which was 10.9. A lot of this might have to do with the increase in the sheer number of cars on the road. From 2012 to 2015 almost 300,000 additional vehicle registrations were recorded.
As the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities increase, so too do the economic costs associated with them. Auto accidents and the resulting injuries cost the state of Nevada almost $2 billion in lost wages and medical expenses.
Depending upon the particular case, you may be able to recover financial compensation for: medical care, future medical treatment, lost wages, emotional trauma and pain and suffering. This can help resolve your financial difficulties so you can focus on recovery and being with your loved ones.
It doesn’t matter what the other driver says or does. You have rights and these should be protected. No matter if you were involved in a
rear end accident, a head on collision, a T-Bone collision or a rollover accident, contacting a Las Vegas accident attorney immediately is the most important step to take, after seeking medical treatment. In doing so, you can find out what to do at this point to have the greatest positive impact on your case.
De Castroverde Law Group has expertise across a variety of personal injury cases, including:
Attorney Orlando De Castroverde explains the why the De Castroverde Law group puts clients first in every possible way.
An attorney can assist you in filing an insurance claim in Las Vegas that seeks a fair amount of financial compensation for your injuries as well as property damage. Even a minor accident can be complex to deal with. The insurance company may attempt to offer you a settlement amount that is below the actual worth of your claim. The other party may deny responsibility altogether and may try to say the accident was your fault. By having a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer skilled in handling auto accidents at your side, you can be sure that your interests are protected.
Many victims of accidents sustain injuries of varying degree. Common types of injuries that occur from the accidents listed include:
How much will this injury impact a life? How long will it take for a victim to recover? These answers vary depending on the degree of injury a victim suffers with after an accident. Usually, an injury takes a certain amount of time to heal, and a victim can fully recover and move forward with their lives. However, severe injuries like a brain or spinal cord injury, on top of taking months or even years to fully heal, may not allow a victim to ever return to a completely normal life.
On average, unintentional personal injury leads to more than $19,000 in medical expenses for victims in Nevada. However, more serious accidents can lead to much more disastrous consequences and significantly higher medical bills. While medical bills and lost wages are easy to quantify, provided all the paperwork is in order, the loss of quality of life can be a more difficult thing on which to place a dollar figure.
Quality of life can mean many different things; driving a car, exercising or even doing household chores can all be included here. If you are in an accident, the injuries sustained can have a permanent effect on your ability to do the things you used to do every day. These are known as non-economic damages.
Emotional anguish, loss of consortium, or even the inability to cook dinner for your children fall under this umbrella. If you led an active lifestyle and can no longer play sports in any way, then compensation can be sought for the loss of what once was a normal life for you. If your children lose the guidance and support they once had from you, then your family can seek compensation for that as well.
An experienced attorney can fight on your behalf for fair compensation when non-economic damages are apparent. Broken bones and lacerations will heal, but the lasting damages can remain long after the cast has come off. Therefore, your personal injury lawyer will wait until you have achieved maximum recovery to file the claim. That way undiscovered injuries caused by the accident will reveal themselves in full, thereby allowing you to be compensated for them.
They made the entire process seamless for me. I got rear ended in a 4-car collision on the freeway and had to go through a lot of treatments for almost a year after the accident. The entire team at De Castroverde Law Group helped me get the treatments I needed and took all the pressure off me so I could focus on healing myself. I would highly recommend them to anyone! They cared about my health and making sure I got what I needed to recover. I am very satisfied with their service and will go back to them if I ever need their services again. Thank you so much!Johnna B