Handling Accident

Today’s blog talks about how bankruptcy can affect personal injury settlements. Recently, the Nevada Supreme Court had to decide whether a person could have more than one active personal injury claim while still in bankruptcy. See Kaplan v. Dutra, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 80 (2016). The high court determined that the injury party, who was also in bankruptcy, was entitled to get benefits from more than one personal injury claim.  In the Kaplan case, David Kaplan had two active personal injury claims. Kaplan was involved in a dog bite attack, where he injured his back. After the dog attack, Kaplan had back surgery. With a seemingly stream of bad luck, just six weeks later, Kaplan was rear-ended in a car accident. The car accident caused the need for Kaplan to undergo a second back surgery. Kaplan filed personal injury claims for both injuries. Kaplan later filed for bankruptcy. His two personal injury cases settled and he was set to receive his share of the settlement funds from both ...

An interesting case recently came out of our new Nevada Court of Appeals concerning pain and suffering. Behr v. Diamond , No. 66612 (Nev. App., 2015). Although an unpublished opinion, lessons can be learned from the trial and post-trial analysis. In the Behr case, the jury found in favor of the injured party. However, court struck down the jury’s award for future pain and suffering . In the accident, the injured party hit her head. She lost consciousness and later had a seizure. She suffered a concussion and doctors later diagnosed her with post-concussion syndrome. Later medical tests also revealed that her brain tissue was jolted and that she had a shoulder tear. The injured party later underwent two brain surgeries to alleviate her brain injuries. She also had surgery to repair the tear in her shoulder.  However, the at fault party claimed the injured party’s surgeries were not caused by accident. After hearing the evidence, the court found the brain surgeries were not related...

Las Vegas is on the cutting edge of technology. Designed by a French company, Las Vegas recently unveiled one of the first completely driverless vehicles on public roads. The automatic car was recently driving down the streets of downtown Las Vegas, with no one at the wheel. More importantly, there was no wheel. Las Vegas has created what is called an “Innovation District” in downtown Las Vegas. The completely driverless cars are just part of the innovation Las Vegas wants to create. Similar electric shuttles are being tested in Paris, Singapore, Qatar, New Zealand and Australia. What they all have in common, is that there is no wheel, no brake pedal and no driver. The shuttle uses cameras and sensors to navigate the road.  The shuttle operated on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. The Las Vegas shuttle only operated at 12 mph, for a few short blocks and in a dedicated lane. There was a “stop” button, where at least for now, an employee was on board while the shuttle was in moti...

Serving a foreign corporation with lawsuit documents would seem pretty straightforward according to the Hauge Convention. However, a recent case from the Nevada Supreme Court has shattered that picture. See Grupo Famsa v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 132 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 29 (2016).   In Grupo , the Nevada Supreme Court looked at whether service of process on a foreign company was done properly. On the facts of the case, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against a Mexican company. The plaintiff’s Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer then served the Mexican company with the lawsuit paperwork in Mexico, via the Hague Convention.   The Hague Convention requires all countries who are part of it, to "designate a “Central Authority” to carry out service of lawsuit documents on its own companies and people. It is up to the country’s “Central Authority” to serve the defendant according to local law. The local government then provides the official paperwork outlining who was served, how they we...

When you hire a Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer, your lawyer usually gets paid out of any settlement funds from your case. A recent case from the Nevada Supreme Court case came out with new guidelines for what your lawyer must do in certain cases to get paid. This happens when your medical bills are larger than your settlement amount and there is a dispute on how the settlement pie gets divided.  In the past, Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyers used to get paid first, before any medical providers, who may have treated you with a lien. However, since the law is constantly changing, this is not always the case anymore. Now, the law says a lawyer has to serve a “Notice” of their lien on the at fault party and their lawyers. As a client, you will sign and personally receive a copy of your lawyer’s lien. Then your lawyer must provide a copy of the lien to the at fault party, their insurance company and their lawyer.  Some people may ask, if someone has a lawyer, why serve the fault...

It may come as a surprise to many, but conversations that you have with your lawyer may not always be protected under the attorney-client privilege. When can this come up in your personal injury case? Two times. The first time is when you are giving your deposition. The second time is at the time of trial. Both times happen when you are providing testimony to the other side concerning your case. We are all familiar with a person getting on the witness stand at the time of trial. However, you may not be familiar with the deposition process. A deposition is simply a question and answer session concerning your case. The testimony you give during a deposition is similar to what you would do at the time of trial, in that you swear an oath to tell the truth. However, what you say at your deposition can be used against you at trial.  A deposition generally takes place in a more relaxed setting than a courtroom. A deposition is usually scheduled in the conference room of the opposing part...

After being in a car accident , you may be faced with the task of finding the right lawyer for you. To help you guide you through the process, here are the 5 Top Questions to ask an attorney in your personal injury case:     •    Will you be the actual person handling my case? At some larger firms, during your initial consultation, you will have a quick meet and greet with your lawyer, yet never see them again. During your first meeting, ask who will be your contact? And ask who will be the person handling your case? Many firms will route you to the paralegal, even if you would like to speak with your attorney on a certain issue. Make sure that you have access to your lawyer when you need them.     •     What is your contingency fee? Most personal injury lawyers will not require you to pay for any attorney’s fees out of your pocket. The typical fee ranges from 25-50% of the ultimate recovery. You are paying for an attorney’s skill a...

Southern Nevada is a wonderful place to live. Given our sunny days, it is home to many children and adults riding bicycles on our roadways. However, according to ThinkFirstNevada.org: • In the year 2000, 690 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles. • In that same year, 51,000 bicyclists were injured in traffic-related crashes. • More than 373,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries in the year 2000. Bicyclists are vulnerable to severe injuries when they are involved in accidents . Today’s discussion is on the rights and responsibilities of both car drivers and bicyclists. The rules governing bicyclists on our roadways, are set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) 484B, entitled “Rules of the Road”.  The relevant sections of NRS 484B are set forth here:    NRS 484B.270  Vehicles, bicycles and electric bicycles: Driver’s duty of due care; additional penalty if driver is proximate cause of collision with person ridin...

In most car accident cases, the liability of the at-fault driver is clear. If you are stopped at a red light and a drunk driver crashes into the back of your car, then everyone will generally agree that the drunk driver was 100% at fault for the accident. However, not every personal injury case in Nevada is that straightforward. In cases where the other side might argue that you, as the injured person, were at fault, we apply “comparative negligence” law in Las Vegas personal injury cases. “Comparative negligence” law  in Nevada means, that the jury will “compare” and assign fault percentages to both the injured and at-fault parties. Nevada courts have held that “the purpose of the comparative negligence statute [is] to eradicate the harsh effect of a plaintiff's contributory negligence whenever such negligence is not greater than that of the source against which recovery is sought.” Mizushima v. Sunset Ranch, 103 Nev. 259, (1987).   The applicable statute is NRS §41.14...

We have all experienced taking a trip or doing an activity, where you are required to sign a waiver before participating in the activity. Normally, we sign the waivers because we do not think anything bad will actually happen. But, what happens if you are injured in an activity after you sign a waiver? Whether the waiver will bar you from making a claim will depending on the unique facts of your case. It will be up to the judge in your case, to determine if you can present your personal injury case to a jury.  Historically, in Nevada there first must have been voluntary exposure to the danger. Sierra Pacific v. Anderson, 77 Nev. 68, at 71-73, 358 P.2d 892, at 894 (1961). Second, there must have been actual knowledge of the risk assumed. The Nevada High Court previously stated that “A risk can be said to have been voluntarily assumed by a person only if it was known to him and he fully appreciated the danger.” Id. , quoting Papagni v. Purdue, 74 Nev. 32, 35, 321 P.2d 252, 253 (195...

Las Vegas is an exciting and wonderful city. We live in city that also attracts a lot of visitors. These visitors often rent cars. Given the amount of visitors we regularly have in our city, we have perhaps more rental cars on the road than other average cities. But, what happens when one of these car rental drivers causes an accident to one of our residents?  What is the car rental company’s liability in this scenario? There are two main statutes and three cases that have come out of the Nevada Supreme Court, that tell us what the rights and responsibilities are for rental car companies in these situations.   The first statute is NRS §482.295 . This statute requires car rental companies to have insurance before their rental cars hit the road. In these cases, car rental companies are called “lessors”, while the driver’s who rent these cars (via a short term lease), are called the “lessees”: NRS §482.295. Registration by short-term lessor: Proof of financial ability to respon...

Most personal injury cases are filed in State Court. However, there are times when the at-fault party (aka ‘defendant”) may attempt to transfer (in legal terms “remove”) the case from State Court to Federal Court.  State court generally assumes that one or both parties to the action, are residents of the state in which they are being sued. However, if the at-fault/defendant is not a resident or does not do business in Nevada (if it is an insurance company), the defendant can seek to have the case transferred to Federal Court. When the defendant is not a Nevada resident or business, then the Federal removal is based upon “Diversity Jurisdiction”.  However, the case has to have a value of more than $75,000.00. This is generally called the “amount in controversy”. Relevant case law says that Diversity Jurisdiction exists only "where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs ... " (formerly $50,000). 28 USC§ 1332(a); See Arbau...

Whether someone is here in the United States legally or not, is not admissible evidence in a Las Vegas personal injury action. So, whether someone is here on vacation from another county or has outstayed their visa, they both can recover if they were injured while in Las Vegas, through no fault of their own. For those wanting to look at specific cases, a New York court held that a plaintiff's immigration status was properly excluded in a case involving a construction worker who fell two stories through an improperly covered hole in the roof of the defendant's construction project. Angamarca v. New York City Partnership Housing, 2011 NY Slip Op. 5361, 2011 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5251 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. June 21, 2011).  However, if someone is from another country and they have sustained lost wages, then their immigration status may be relevant for the limited purpose of their wage loss claim. The reason for this is because the law states that a wage loss claim for a non-U.S. citizen ...

The Nevada Arbitration Rules (“NAR”) govern arbitrations in Clark County, Nevada. Rule 6 describes how an arbitrator is actually selected in your personal injury case. First, the arbitration commissioner gives both parties identical lists of 5 arbitrators. These 5 arbitrators are randomly chosen from the arbitration commissioner’s global list of approved arbitrators in Las Vegas. Each party only has 10 days to strike up to 2 arbitrators on the list. If both sides strike 2 different arbitrators each, then the remaining fifth arbitrator will be the arbitrator that decides your case. If both parties have stricken the same arbitrators on the 5 person list, then the arbitration commissioner will randomly pick an arbitrator from the remaining names.   It is important to note that the parties are able to bypass this 5 arbitrator list if they choose to do so. This is done by the parties jointly selecting an arbitrator from the arbitration commissioner’s global list or a private arbitrator...

A common question your personal injury attorney gets asked, is what happens after a case is successfully exempted from Nevada’s arbitration program? Today’s blog sheds light on the start of the general litigation process and what clients can expect during this process.   Once a case is successfully taken out of Nevada’s mandatory arbitration program (which is designed for smaller personal injury cases), then the larger, non-arbitration cases, must comply with the strict requirements of the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure. The first thing that happens, is that your injury attorney and the attorney for the at-fault party, will schedule a meeting to discuss the case in person and develop a timetable for discovery (discovery = the exchange of documents and witness lists). This meeting is called the “Early Case Conference”.  After the Early Case Conference is held, the attorneys will prepare what is called a “Joint Case Conference Report.” This report outlines the attorney’s time...

  If you have read my prior posts, you know that Las Vegas personal injury cases with a value of $50,000.00 or less, must go into Nevada’s court mandated arbitration program. The initial purpose of the program was to provide a speedy and cost-effective option for smaller personal injury cases. To further that end, once the case has been accepted into the program, the general strict rules of discovery as set forth in Nevada Rule of Civil Procedure, Rule 16.1, do not apply. See Nevada Arbitration Rules (“NAR”), Rule 4.  Instead, NAR, Rule 11 applies. According to NAR Rule 11, within 30 days from the appointment of the arbitrator, the parties’ attorneys will usually have a telephone conference with the arbitrator, to create a streamlined discovery plan. Because NAR Rule 11 says that discovery cannot be costly or burdensome, the written discovery is typically limited, as is the length of time a deposition can last.   During the actual arbitration hearing, the arbitrator wil...

A common question that comes up in my law practice is how a personal injury case is valued. There are many variables that go into a case valuation. Each of the main variables are discussed today. Medical Bills. Your medical bills make up the first part of how your case is valued. Any accident related treatment you have received would be considered past medical bills and figure into the analysis. Additionally, if you have any future medical costs that have been attested to by your doctor, then those future medical costs will be part of your case valuation.   Lost Income. The next part of the analysis is if you have sustained any lost wages or other monetary losses. So, if you were off work due to accident related surgery, then those losses would be considered part of your past monetary loses. There must be documentation of your past lost income, which may include a letter from your employer and your prior and current tax returns. In serious cases, if your ability to work has been al...

When a motorcycle rider is involved in an accident on our Las Vegas roadways, serious injuries or fatalities often result. Motorcycle accidents are different from car accidents in Las Vegas, Nevada  and present with special issues. Without the protection of the interior of a car, it is just the rider and the road in a motorcycle accident. If a motorcycle rider is lucky enough to walk away from the accident, their body may have suffered internal damage, which they are unaware of immediately after the accident.  Immediately after a motorcycle accident, the first feeling experienced is usually shock. It is important to get immediate medical attention, given the high potential for internal injuries after a motorcycle accident. Hiring an experienced motorcycle injury attorney is also important. If it is safe and you are physically able, it is important for you or someone you have called immediately after the accident, to take photographs of the accident scene. These photos will d...