Accidents happen all the time. Most often, it is not until you are an accident victim thanks to another person or entity’s reckless actions that you start to wonder what personal injury claims involve, how the claims process works and your legal entitlements and obligations.
A personal injury claim can be quite daunting, especially if you have injuries to nurse and property damage to contend with. If you or someone you love is involved in an accident that is not their fault, you need to understand how the law works. Specifically, you need to acquaint yourself with the following legal provisions:
The state’s negligence laws.
Nevada applies what is known as modified comparative fault. This means that fault and damages are distributed based on each party’s contribution to the accident. This means that you can only recover damages if your contribution to the accident was less than the defendant’s.
For instance, if the court establishes that you were 20 percent to blame for the accident, you would be entitled to 80 percent of the awarded damages. However, if you were more than 50 percent to blame, then you would get nothing.
The state’s statute of limitations
A personal injury can turn your life upside down. And you might have sufficient evidence that the defendant is to blame for your injuries. However, this doesn’t grant you the liberty to file your claim at your convenience.
You must act within the statute of limitations period. In Nevada, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the injury. You mustn’t let this statute of limitations run out.
If you are hurt as a result of someone else’s negligence, you deserve justice. And understanding your legal obligations during this difficult time would be a great starting point.
