People who allege that a negligent act took place and led to an injury may file a lawsuit in order to collect damages from the responsible party. In Nevada, there are certain laws that apply that dictate how and when these suits may be filed.
Nevada law imposes a statute of limitations on personal injury claims that set a two-year time frame for claims such as the following:
- Wrongful death
- Product liability
- Car accidents
- Premises liability
- Claims against a government entity
The timeline differs for medical malpractice. Those claims must be filed in the shorter of either a year from when the injury was discovered or should have been discovered, or three years from the date of the incident.
In addition to filing a claim on time, a plaintiff must also be aware of how his or her own behavior could affect the outcome of the case. Nevada claims are based on contributory negligence, which limits the amount of an award based on the plaintiff’s role in the accident. In a premises liability accident, for example, if the plaintiff is found to be 20 percent responsible for the injury, his or her award would be reduced by 20 percent. Additionally, the plaintiff can only recover damages if the defendant is more to blame than he or she is.
Lastly, Nevada does not cap damages for any case aside from medical malpractice claims, where a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages applies. Therefore, defendants in a personal injury claim should build a strong case to avoid making major payouts.