How Are Complaints Drafted in Las Vegas Accident Court Cases?



When your personal injury attorney files a lawsuit in Las Vegas, she has to file what is called a “Complaint”. A Complaint is the actual document that starts a lawsuit. If the insurance company will not settle your case for a reasonable amount, then your personal injury lawyer will file a Complaint on your behalf.


It is important to note that Nevada is what is called a “Notice Pleading Jurisdiction”. A ‘pleading’ is any written court document. ‘Jurisdiction’ is what gives the court authority to hear the case. In personal injury cases, jurisdiction is generally determined by physical location (city, county, etc.) and what is in controversy (monetary amount). Although Las Vegas has many courts (please see previous postings for a discussion), most injury cases will be filed in District Court. Our District Court hears injury cases that are valued at over $10,000.00.  Las Vegas is located within Clark County, Nevada. As such, if you case is valued over $10,000.00, then your Complaint will be filed in Clark County’s District Court. 

To establish jurisdiction, there must be language in the Complaint to indicate to the Court that it has jurisdiction to hear the case. As such, your injury attorney will state in the Complaint, that the accident took place, or the parties are located, in Las Vegas (Clark County). Additionally, the amount at issue, over $10,000.00, needs to be stated in the Complaint. However, even if your case has a value of over $50,000.00, your injury attorney is still required to put in the Complaint, that your case has a value in excess of $10,000.00, not the specific amount you are claiming.

As a Notice Pleading Jurisdiction, the Complaint needs to a have a short, plain statement of the case. Your injury lawyer will state that what happened in the accident and legal causes of action relevant to your case, negligence, etc. Since we are a notice pleading jurisdiction,  all of the witnesses and the entire history of your medical treatment, is not needed to be included in the Complaint. Once the Complaint is filed, then your accident attorney will serve it on the at-fault party and your litigation will proceed. 

Next time we will discuss common causes of action in Las Vegas personal injury cases.

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