Handling Accident

William Poremba was driving as part of his job for Southern Nevada Paving. While driving, he got into a car accident. See Poremba v. S. Nev. Paving, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 2 (Jan. 26, 2017). William later filed a workers’ compensation claim through his employer. Since the accident wasn’t his fault, William also made a personal injury claim against the driver that hit him. William ultimately settled his personal injury claim. As is typical in most settlements, the settlement agreement didn’t specify how the funds were to be allocated. For example, there was no mention how much of the settlement would go towards for pain and suffering, medical bills or lost wages.   After he was done treating and his personal injury case settled, William tried to go back to work.  However, when William tried to go back to work, he realized that he needed additional medical care through the worker’s compensation program. However, William’s request to reopen his worker’s compensation claim was denied....

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...

In a Las Vegas slip and fall case, a property owner is only liable for your injuries if there were on notice of the dangerous condition which caused your fall. Your Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney therefore has to prove that the owner was on “notice” of the dangerous condition. How is this done? The best way of showing this, is by finding evidence of prior similar falls. This evidence is required, because your Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer has to show that the at fault party “knew or should have know” that what caused you to fall, was a known hazard. One would think that the property owner would simply turn this evidence over. However, in your Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney’s experience, the at fault parties fight tooth and nail before turning over any of this potentially damning evidence. What this means, is that your Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney has to fight in court, to get a copy of this evidence. The good news, is that your Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney has b...

The Nevada high court recently changed the way Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyers conduct their trials in Nevada. In the past, each judge had different rules when it came time to picking a jury in personal injury trials. This meant different results, based upon which judge you had for your case. Considering there are over 20 different trial judges in Las Vegas, this was like spinning the roulette wheel of judges! In a recent case, the Nevada Supreme Court made two major announcements in personal injury trials. See Khoury v. Seastrand. 132 Nev. Ad. Op. 52 (2016). The first ruling by the high court, is that specific dollar amounts CAN be used during jury selection to uncover potential bias regarding verdict amounts. Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyers were sometimes blocked in ferreting out biased jurors. If your Lawyer wants to strike a potential juror because they don’t believe in people making claims for injuries, they can now put out hypothetical numbers and see if jurors have a person...

Today’s blog deals with the worker’s compensation platform and how that may affect your personal injury case. Let’s take an example that you are driving for a work related errand. While you are stopped for a red light, you are violently rear-ended by an inattentive driver. Due to the negligence of the at fault driver, you seek immediate medical attention. As a result of your injuries, you also miss time from work and have to get additional follow up medical care.  Since you were working at the time of the accident, you can make two claims. One claim would be for worker’s compensation benefits, to pay for your accident related medical care. The other claim would be against the at fault driver and their insurance. The claim against the at fault party can be for more than just getting your medical bills paid and instead can be for pain and suffering and other damages.  It is important to note that the worker’s compensation program gets a credit for any monies the at fault third ...

Having Medicare can save you a lot of money on monthly insurance bills. If you have Medicare, you may think that you can simply show your Medicare and supplemental insurance cards to the hospital after a traumatic car accident, and expect Medicare to pay the bill. However, it would surprise many Medicare recipients to know that the hospitals are not required to bill Medicare after a car accident . According to federal Medicare law, a hospital has the option to bill Medicare for the treatment you received as a result of a car accident. However, they can choose not to bill Medicare and instead wait for the proceeds of the personal injury settlement to pay your hospital bill. See Medicare Secondary Payer Manual, Chapter 2, section 40:   40.2 - Billing in MSP Liability Insurance Situations  A - Difference Between Liability Insurance and Other Primary Plans  Liability insurance differs from the other insurance policies or plans that, under §1862(b) of the Act, are primar...

After a serious car crash, you may be transported to the nearest hospital for immediate medical treatment.  If your injuries are life threatening, you may be taken to UMC hospital, since it is the only level 1 trauma center in Las Vegas.  UMC’s doctors and staff are equipped to handled the most serious injuries that typically happen in motorcycle and semi-truck accidents.   However, this type of emergency room treatment is costly.  If you do not have health insurance, then all major hospitals are required to reduce their bill by 30%. All hospitals in Las Vegas are considered “major hospitals”, except for the County run, UMC hospital. So, if you went to UMC, they are not required to reduce their bill by the statutory 30%.  This law is found in NRS §439B.260 , which allows for the 30% reduction and states in part: NRS 439B.260  Reduction of billed charges for certain patients and services; notice; resolution of disputes.       1.   A ...

According to official Nevada records, 69 pedestrians died on our roadways last year. See, http://www.zerofatalitiesnv.com/pedestrian.php for more information on fatalities and injuries on our roads.  The rules governing pedestrians on our roadways, is codified in Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) 484B, entitled “Rules of the Road”.  Two relevant sections of NRS 484B are set forth here:   NRS 484B.280 Duties of driver of motor vehicle to pedestrian; additional penalty if driver is proximate cause of collision with pedestrian.       1.  A driver of a motor vehicle shall:       (a)  Exercise due care to avoid a collision with a pedestrian;       (b) Give an audible warning with the horn of the vehicle if appropriate and when necessary to avoid such a collision; and       (c) Exercise proper caution upon observing a pedestrian:         ...

A little known fact in Nevada, is that when an injured party lives out of state, the at-fault party is allowed to make a demand for “security costs” in Las Vegas personal injury cases. There is no similar law for Nevada residents. The law allowing this is NRS 18.130 and provides in full: NRS 18.130  When plaintiff may be required to secure costs; affidavits of sureties; dismissal of action if undertaking not filed.       1.  When a plaintiff in an action resides out of the State, or is a foreign corporation, security for the costs and charges which may be awarded against such plaintiff may be required by the defendant, by the filing and service on plaintiff of a written demand therefor within the time limited for answering the complaint. When so required, all proceedings in the action shall be stayed until an undertaking, executed by two or more persons, be filed with the clerk, to the effect that they will pay such costs and charges as may be awarded against th...

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...

In most personal injury cases, a client does not pay for their medical treatment out of pocket. Instead, client’s usually treat on what is called a “lien”. A lien is generally defined as a security interest in items of property, to secure the payment of a debt.  In the instance of a personal injury case, it means, the medical providers who provide medical care with no up front payment, can put a lien on your personal injury case. A the end of your injury case, your attorney must honor all liens. Your attorney will pay your medical liens from the proceeds of the case. Today’s blog discusses your lawyer’s obligations to satisfy medical liens in personal injury cases and explains those liens. There are two types of medical liens that we typically see in personal injury cases: statutory and contractual. All statutory liens can be found in chapter 108 of our Nevada Revised Statutes. A statutory lien is a lien that arises solely as a result of a statute. In personal injury cases, NRS 10...

The disclosure of damages in Nevada injury cases is mandated by our Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure. Specifically, Rule 16.1 (a)(1)(c) requires that once litigation is ongoing, your personal injury lawyer is required to disclose all of your damages. When does this happen? After an Answer to the Complaint (lawsuit) is filed, then your injury attorney and the other side, will personally meet for an Early Case Conference, to agree on discovery dates and discuss your case. At this Early Case Conference or within 14 days thereafter, your accident attorney will disclose your damages to the other side. There is a continuing obligation to update your computation of damages, so the other side has this information well before any trial date is set.   What do your “damages” consist of in your case? Your damages would be your past and future medical bills, lost wages and any loss you sustained as result of the accident. These are called your “special” damages. Your attorney will also ...

When you need to disclose expert witnesses in Las Vegas injury cases, the first place to look is Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure, (usually shortened to “NRCP”) Rule 16.1.  Rule 16.1 provides in part: RULE 16.1.  MANDATORY PRETRIAL DISCOVERY REQUIREMENTS (a) Required Disclosures.  (2) Disclosure of Expert Testimony.                    (A) In addition to the disclosures required by paragraph (1), a party shall disclose to other parties the identity of any person who may be used at trial to present evidence under NRS 50.275, 50.285 and 50.305.                    (B) Except as otherwise stipulated or directed by the court, this disclosure shall, with respect to a witness who is retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony in the case or whose duties as an employee of the party regularly in...

A car accident happens in Las Vegas. One car is going over the speed limit. The injured party is going 55 in a 45 zone, when another car makes a left hand turn in front of them. The left hand turn driver attempts to argue that if the injured party had been going the speed limit, then the parties would never have collided. This argument is not allowed pursuant to Nevada law. The seminal case from the Supreme Court of Nevada is almost 100 years old and titled Bawden v. Kulinski, 48 Nev. 181 (1924).  This case held excessive speed cannot be used in this manner. Courts have determined that when a driver has the right of way, and his speed does nothing but bring his vehicle to the same location as the other driver, his speed is irrelevant. Regardless of the injured party’s speed, the injured party had the right of way, and the right to assume that no one was going to invade it and cut him off.  Courts have held this way because, saying that a driver’s speed caused a collision, can...

Mediations and settlement conferences are one of the most useful tools in your injury attorney’s tool belt to settle Las Vegas litigation cases. Both are ways to settle your case and avoid trial. In Las Vegas personal injury cases, a mediation is meeting, with an experienced personal injury attorney and/or former judge, to possibly settle your case.  All of the parties and their attorneys will be present during the mediation.   Prior to the mediation, each parties’ attorney will submit confidential mediation briefs, discussing the case and providing all necessary supporting documentation. The mediator will have received and reviewed these briefs prior to the date and time set for the mediation. This way, the mediator will have a thorough understanding of your case, before you even walk into the door to meet the mediator. During the mediation, the mediator will meet with each side privately in an attempt to bring the parties together for a successful resolution of the cas...

The law governing how to file an exemption from the Nevada’s mandated arbitration program, is set forth in the Nevada Arbitration Rules (“NAR”), Rules 3 and 5. In personal injury cases, if your case has a case value of $50,000 or more, then your injury attorney will file a petition for exemption from arbitration (“petition”). This is done so your case is funneled into southern Nevada’s regular litigation channels and where there is no cap on the amount of damages that you can claim.  This petition must be prepared and filed within 20 days after the at-fault party files its answer to the complaint (aka your initial lawsuit paperwork). The petition will included a brief summary of the accident and your injuries, together with a quick synopsis of your medical treatment and the amount of your medical bills.   Your injury attorney will have to set forth in the petition that your case fits into one of the categories for exemption. Once the petition is signed and filed by your...

When a lawsuit is filed, your injury attorney will have to state causes of action that apply in your Las Vegas car accident case. A “cause of action” is a set of facts that, if proved, entitle you to relief. In Las Vegas, typical causes of action in personal injury cases are negligence, negligence per se and negligent entrustment. The elements of each cause of action will be discussed.  Negligence. The most common cause of action in an auto accident case is Negligence. The legal elements of Negligence are (1) defendant (at-fault party) owed a duty to plaintiff (injured party); (2) defendant breached that duty; (3) defendant’s breach caused plaintiff’s injury; and (4) plaintiff suffered damages. So, each party has a ‘duty’ to act reasonably. If they ‘cause’ an accident, then they ‘breached’ that duty. If you were injured in the accident, then you sustained “damages”. Negligent Entrustment. In a car accident case, where someone was driving another person’s car and they caused an a...

Being involved in an accident presents a lot of challenges. But, if you are on Medicare then that is another issue that must be addressed after your accident. However, it is important to note that your personal injury lawyer will handle that aspect of your case for you. When you come in for your initial visit, your accident lawyer will have you sign a Medicare form, to determine whether you are currently on Medicare. If you are not on Medicare, you will simply sign the form, indicating that you are not on Medicare. But, if you are on Medicare, then you will be required to provide your Medicare number. The reason this is done, is due to the fact that the at-fault party’s insurance company will require this before any settlement funds can be distributed.   Your injury attorney will want to make sure the end of your case goes as smoothly as the beginning case. As such, your efficient accident lawyer will want you to sign this form at the start of your case. Your attorney will th...

When a Las Vegas personal injury case is settled with the insurance company, the insurance company will require you to sign a document, called a “Release of All Claims”. This document is often referred to as a “Release”. A Release is a document which completely ends your personal injury case against the other party. The Release spells out all of the settlement terms, in writing. As such, the Release sets forth the date of the accident and the amount of settlement for the injuries you sustained in the accident. The Release will also state that the settlement being offered, is the full and final amount you will receive from the at-fault person and their insurance company.  A Release is usually a short document discussing the above. However, before you sign it, your accident attorney will review and go over the Release with you. The insurance company will usually require that you sign the Release in front of a Notary Public, which your personal injury attorney will have available. O...

There are special rules on how you can give lawsuit paperwork to someone, and who can receive the lawsuit paperwork. Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4, section (6) governs regular service of lawsuit paperwork upon individuals. Today’s discussion is service of lawsuit paperwork on adults, as opposed to corporations or minors. When you are serving a lawsuit on someone, you, the injured party, are known as the ‘plaintiff; and the at-fault party, the one being sued, is called the ‘defendant’. Service of lawsuit paperwork is legally called “service of process”. Rule 4 of the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure requires that to legally serve a lawsuit on a person, it must be done: “. . . to the defendant personally, or by leaving copies thereof at the defendant’s dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein . . .” This rule requires that a defendant be “personally” served. Although there are special rules for a defendant when...