Handling Accident

This month’s blog is a follow up to our previous discussion of the Behr case, on what damages can be awarded to an injured party at trial. As readers may recall from last month’s blog post, the Behr case dealt with an alleged brain injury following a car accident. See the unpublished opinion from the Nevada Court of Appeals. Behr v. Diamond , No. 66612 (Nev. App., 2015).   The Behr court determined that a claim for future pain and suffering on subjective injuries must be supported by expert testimony. Expert testimony is needed to establish that "[F]uture pain and suffering is a probable consequence rather than a mere possibility." Lerner Shops of Nev., Inc. v. Marin , 83 Nev. 75, 79-80, 423 P.2d 398, 401 (1967).  A subjective disability was defined as one that was not visible to others. Common examples of subjective injuries were: headaches and low-back pain, as well as mental worry and distress. See Gutierrez v. Sutton Vending Serv., Inc., 80 Nev. 562, 566, 397 P....

In a somewhat typical car accident , Doron York, caused a car accident. As a result of York’s negligence, Emmett Smith was injured in the accident. See York v. Smith, 367 P.3d 821 (Nev., 2010).  When the case didn’t settle, Smith sued York. At trial, the jury agreed that Smith had been injured the accident and awarded him damages.  After hearing all of the evidence, the jury awarded Smith damages for both past and future damages.  The future damages were allocated to allow Smith to pay for a possible future ankle surgery. Not liking the award, the at fault driver appealed the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court. The Nevada high court determined that the jury was indeed out of bounds for making its award. We will go into detail about what happened at trial. At trial, the injured party, Smith, put a medical expert on the witness stand. Smith’s expert stated that future surgery was just one of many possible future treatment options for Smith. The expert also noted that Smi...

Sometimes after an accident, you don’t have the money to rent a replacement car while your car is getting repaired. Also, if your car is “total loss” and you are waiting weeks for the insurance company to pay for the loss of your car, you might have the funds to pay for a rental. In both scenarios, if you did not receive a rental car, you can ask for “loss of use” damages, for not being able to use your car. If your car was fixed, but sustained extensive damages, you can also ask for “diminished value” damages to your car.  The Nevada Supreme Court has said that a party is entitled to have the jury consider her “loss of use damages.” See Dugan v. Gotsopoulos, 117 Nev. 285, 289, 22 P.3d 205, 208 (2001).  In Dugan, our high court held, that the lower court’s refusal to permit a party to testify as to rental car costs and its refusal to permit the jury to consider loss of use damages, was reversible error. Id. Moreover, courts have permitted the party to testify about rental car ...

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...

Today’s blog deals with the issue of whether a “physical” injury is needed to make a personal injury claim. While at first blush, this may seem like a silly question, the answer may surprise you. Your Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer will tell you that a “physical” injury is not always necessary in asserting a Las Vegas personal injury claim. A recent decision from our state’s high court explores this issue.  You may remember the outbreak of hepatitis C that struck the Las Vegas Valley a few years ago, when a medical facility was accused of re-using syringes and vials. This was the Sadler v. Pacificare of Nev., Inc. ,130 Nev. Ad. Op. 98 (2014). To make things easier, we’ll just call it the “Hepatitis C” case. In the Hepatitis C case, patients who had been treated at the medical facility were scared that they may have been exposed to hepatitis C. Through their Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer, they wanted the at fault medical facility to pay for their diagnostic testing and monit...

After being involved in a serious accident or injury event, many people continue to feel anxiety or fear. If you have been through a traumatic injury or witnessed a fatality in a car accident, these feelings are common. This is called post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD for short. If you are wondering if you could be suffering from PTSD after a serious accident or injury, here is some information to guide you:   PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD can present itself through continued feelings of Anxiety, Stress, or Fear, that simply will not go away. These symptoms are one of the most common reactions to a traumatic event. At the time of the event, you may have an overwhelming experience of fear-- of being physically injured or even of being killed. This can and oftentimes does carryover after the trauma has stopped. Common symptoms of PTSD include:     •    Being afraid to go anywhere where a similar event can take place.     ...

You are approaching a four way stop, and you and another car get to the intersection at the exact same time. Let’s assume you are being a nice person and you wave the other person to go first. But, the other person is waving for you to go first! Who really has the right of way to go first? It is the person on the “right” and is set forth in NRS 484B.250: NRS 484B.250  Vehicle approaching or entering intersection.       1.  The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle which has entered the intersection from a different highway.       2.  When two vehicles enter an intersection from different highways at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.       3.  When two vehicles enter an intersection at approximately the same time, one vehicle traveling on a highway which ends at the interse...

When an ambulance or other emergency is on the road and they are involved in a car accident , the outcome can be catastrophic, due to the high speeds in which emergency vehicles tend operate. When an ambulance or other emergency vehicle is on the roadway, they have to follow certain rules before ‘breaking’ the normal traffic laws. These rules are set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) 484B, entitled “Rules of the Road”.  The relevant sections of NRS 484B are laid out below: NRS  484B.700  Privileges granted to driver of authorized emergency vehicle, official vehicle of regulatory agency or vehicle escorting funeral procession; application of privileges; limitation of privileges.       1.  The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle or an official vehicle of a regulatory agency, when responding to an emergency call or when in pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law or when responding to but not upon returning from a fire ala...

What happens in a Court case, when the other side wants to introduce irrelevant evidence into a trial? Your accident attorney will file what is called a “Motion in Limine”. In a Motion in Limine, your attorney will outline every irrelevant fact or argument the other side may make at trial, and ask the Court to rule, before the trial starts, to not allow this irrelevant evidence into the trial. Examples could be prior unrelated accidents, criminal arrests and improper arguments to the jury.   The applicable Nevada state law on this issue is Nevada Revised Statute (“NRS”)48.035. NRS 48.035(2) states that “[a]lthough relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.” When preparing a Motion in Limine, NRS 48.035 is often cited.   Motions in Limine are designed to see...

Las Vegas has one of the highest accident rates in the western states. If you are a parent and your teenager is preparing to get their driver’s license, you may have more to be concerned about besides their safety on our roads. If you buy your teenager a car and are the legal owner of that car, special responsibilities come with that arrangement. In Nevada, as a parent owning a car that their teenager is involved in a car accident , means the parent can be held liable for any property damage or personal injuries that their minor child causes. This is called the “Family Purpose Doctrine” and is set forth in NRS 41.440: LIABILITY OF OWNER OF MOTOR VEHICLE FOR NEGLIGENT OPERATION BY IMMEDIATE MEMBER OF FAMILY NRS §41.440. Imposition of liability. Any liability imposed upon a wife, husband, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister or other immediate member of a family arising out of his or her driving and operating a motor vehicle with the permission, express or implied, of such own...

Which costs are allowed in a court case is determined by law.  Costs have been determined to mean a wide range of items, from copy charges, witness fees and legal research. NRS 18.005 defines costs in Nevada:   NRS 18.005  “Costs” defined.   For the purposes of NRS 18.010 to 18.150 , inclusive, the term “costs” means:       1.  Clerks’ fees.       2.  Reporters’ fees for depositions, including a reporter’s fee for one copy of each deposition.       3.  Jurors’ fees and expenses, together with reasonable compensation of an officer appointed to act in accordance with NRS 16.120.       4.  Fees for witnesses at trial, pretrial hearings and deposing witnesses, unless the court finds that the witness was called at the instance of the prevailing party without reason or necessity.       5.  Reasonable fees of not more than five expert witnesses in an amount o...

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...

If a lawsuit needs to be filed in a personal injury case, your injury attorney will be doing much of the work. Your job is get the medical care you need and recover from your injuries.  However, there are three main times in a lawsuit where the client’s involvement is critical. Prior to any lawsuit being filed, you will have initially met with your injury attorney and had many interactions prior to any lawsuit being filed. These three times of client involvement are what happens after a lawsuit has been filed. Interrogatories. Soon after a lawsuit is filed, you "the client", will need to answer and sign written questions that the at-fault party’s attorney has submitted in your case. These are called interrogatories. Your answers to the at-fault party’s written questions will be based upon your medical history, medical records and the facts of the case. Your injury attorney will go over the questions with you, so you fully understand what is being asked of you. You will make...

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...