Handling Accident

You are in a car accident and you call the police. They ask you if you are injured. At that moment, you are in a state of shock and are not feeling any pain. The police tell you to exchange insurance information with the other driver.   Many people want to know, what gives the police the right to no longer come to all car accidents scenes. The answer may surprise you. It was actually the Nevada State Legislature who said that no report is needed in these types of car accidents. Nevada Revised Statute, (NRS) §484E.070, establishes the right that no report need to issued in any minor, “non-injury” causing auto accident. The key provisions of NRS §484E.070:   NRS 484E.070 Written or electronic report of accident to Department by driver or owner; exceptions; confidentiality; use as evidence at trial. ….     2.   . . . the driver of a vehicle which is in any manner involved in an accident on a highway or on premises to which the public has access, if the a...

Hearsay is basically a statement that was not made in the courtroom, but that someone wants to discuss while on the witness stand. So anytime you hear someone say, “you’ll never believe what Joe told me . . .”, Joe supposed statements would be called hearsay in a court of law. Since you could be making up gossip about Joe, the court wants to make sure this information is true. However, there are a lot of exceptions to this general rule that second hand information cannot come into a trial. Chapter 51 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) governs hearsay and what statements are allowed to come during a trial. Including the basic hearsay rule, there are about 40 different sections to Chapter 51! Today, we are just going to go over the sections that come up frequently in personal injury cases. In an example of an auto accident case, where our driver, Joe, is sitting in his car on his way to work, stopped for a red light. Zoe, who is driving up to the intersection where Joe is sitting, d...

If you are involved in an injury accident in Las Vegas, Nevada and a lawsuit is needed to protect your rights, you may be asked to give a deposition. A deposition is simply a statement under oath. The rules governing depositions are found in Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30. Rule 30 goes on for pages and pages. Today’s blog will give a quick summary of Rule 30. During a lawsuit, the at-fault party’s attorney is allowed to take your deposition. However, they have to provide you with at least 15 days notice of the deposition. In practice, you are usually given more notice than the 15 day minimum. Additionally, the deposition will be coordinated with your schedule in mind. Rule 30 states that the party wishing to take your deposition must pay for the cost of the deposition and tell you in advance how it is going to be recorded. Most depositions are recorded by a stenographer, more commonly called a court reporter. The other way a deposition may be recorded is via videotape. Again...

Gated communities were once a shelter for the rich and famous. Now, in the United States, it is estimated that over 8 million people, across the economic spectrum, live in gated communities. When you need to personally serve a lawsuit on someone who lives in a gated community, this presents special issues.  In Las Vegas, from golf course communities to apartment complexes, many people are living in gated communities. By providing those who live in gated communities shelter from crime and use of community facilities, these communities have created an unintended byproduct of preventing personal service of notice of a lawsuit to its residents.  The general rule is that a person must personally receive notice of the lawsuit. Giving someone notice of a lawsuit is usually accomplished in one of two ways. People are commonly served with the lawsuit, either by giving them the notice at their place of work or at their home.  But, what happens when you do not know where they work, ...

In the state of Nevada, we have what are called District courts, where all matters with a value of $10,000.00 or more are heard. That means a lot of car accident cases that do not settle and require a lawsuit being filed, end up in district court. In Las Vegas, Nevada, we have 32 district court judges that hear personal injury matters. When making their decisions on cases, the judges look at the laws as written by the legislature and written opinions from our highest court in Nevada, the Nevada Supreme Court. As of this writing, there is presently no intermediate court of appeals in Nevada.   However, there has been a growing movement to have a court of appeals in Nevada. Without a court of appeals, the Nevada Supreme Court has to decide all appeals. Given the limited resources of the Nevada Supreme Court, the court is not able to make decisions on all cases that request an appeal. What happens when the legislature and the Nevada Supreme Court haven’t addre...

What is Underinsured (UIM)/Uninsured (UM) Motorist Coverage and why should I have it? This is common question that your Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer gets asked frequently. UIM stands for "Under Insured Motorist" coverage. UM stands for "Uninsured Motorist" coverage. What does that mean? It means, if the person who caused your accident does not have any insurance or has very little insurance, UIM and UM coverage protects you. If you have just basic insurance, you are protecting everyone else on the road, except you! Most people think that they are "fully" covered, but if you do not have Underinsured (UIM)/Uninsured (UM) Motorist Coverage, you are driving around naked! When this happens most frequently is when someone else causes an accident you are in, and drives off, resulting in a hit and run. If you do not have Underinsured (UIM)/Uninsured (UM) Motorist Coverage, you will recover nothing. It is also very common for people to let their insurance ...

After you have been injured in a Las Vegas Accident , one of the most important things you can do is seek the appropriate medical care. Although your life has been turned upside down, your number one job is to get better. Many people tell their Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer that although they are in pain, they don’t feel that they really need to go to the doctor. There are a couple of major problems with this. First and foremost, most of the time, it will delay or stunt your healing, if you do not get the medical care you need. Secondly and also very important, is that your medical treatment is a window into your injury. If you do not go the doctor, the insurance company and juries will simply assume that you weren’t really that injured in the accident. So, if you have medical appointments, keep them. Relatedly, if you are going the doctor and are not getting better, you need to let your Personal Injury Lawyer in Las Vegas , know about what is going on with your treatment. ...

Immediately after a Las Vegas car accident , the one of the first questions you may have for your Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer is how you are going to get your car fixed. After you call your Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer , they will notify the insurance company that they can contact you directly to view your car, take pictures and coordinate the repair of your car. At that time, you will also be able to drive a rental car until your car is repaired. Of course, if you car was totaled in your Las Vegas car accident , then the insurance company will normally pay Kelly Blue Book value for your car. Your Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney will tell you that you may experience some frustration during this time period, since every hour you are without a car, affects your life greatly. But, your car issues are usually resolved smoothly and without too much delay. If you do experience problems, please contact your Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer to discuss your issue in more detail and t...

One of the most important jobs your Las Vegas personal injury attorney will do for you is coordinate your medical care. After a car accident you are in a lot of pain. You seek emergency care treatment and as time goes on you try to live with the pain. Work, family and the everyday stresses and demands of life seem to take over, while you put your medical treatment on the back burner. Although you are still in a lot of pain after your Las Vegas auto accident , you try and just live with it for the time being. Your Las Vegas personal injury attorney at von Magdenko & Potucek, will make sure that you receive the continued care you need. You may need physical therapy, pain management, chiropractic care or even surgery. The last thing you want is being unable to pay for the medical care you need. Your personal injury attorney will make sure that you get the care you need without any out of pocket expense. During my next series of blogs, I will discuss the different types of...