Handling Accident

When a minor is involved in a car, motorcycle or any other type of accident, they cannot hire an accident attorney on their own, unless they have been emancipated from their parents.  For the typical child or teenager, their parent or guardian must be the one to hire the injury attorney on behalf of their minor child. A minor is anyone who is less than 18 years of age.   This means that the parent or guardian is the one who signs legal documents on behalf of their child. Additionally and more importantly, special procedures need to be followed when the case is settled. Specifically, the Court MUST approve any settlement that involves a minor. The law governing minors involved in personal injury accidents is set forth in Nevada Revised Statute, (“NRS”) §41.200.          NRS §41.200 provides in full: NRS 41.200  Compromise by parent or guardian of claim by minor against third person; requirements of court petition; establishment of blocked fi...

When you are injured a car accident and seek medical treatment, at some point, you will be released from active care. After clients have completed their active medical treatment, clients wonder what is the next step in their case. The first thing you should do is call or email your car accident attorney and let them know that you are done treating. Your attorney will then be able to contact your treatment providers and request your completed and updated medical records.  Once your final medical records are requested from your treatment providers, it usually takes 2 to 4 four weeks for your personal injury attorney to actually receive them. Upon receiving your final medical records, your accident attorney will thoroughly review them.  After they have been reviewed, your attorney will prepare what is called a ‘Settlement Demand Package’ and send it to the at fault party’s insurance company.    The Settlement Demand Package outlines the accident, your injuries, your me...

Clients sometimes ask what are the differences between mediation and arbitration. So, today we will discuss the similarities and contrasts between the two methods of alternative dispute resolution. Both are a means to resolve a civil legal dispute without the need to have a jury to decide your fate. Mediation is an informal process, where the parties meet with an independent third party, called the mediator. The mediator attempts to bring the parties together to resolve their disputes. By contrast, arbitration is a more formal process, akin to a mini trial, where the parties present evidence and an arbitrator renders a decision. Since arbitration is more formal, the arbitrator issues a formal written decision concerning his findings. In personal injury cases, such as car accidents and slip and falls, mediation and arbitration are regularly used by your personal injury attorney to resolve disputes. Since they are so common, each will be discussed more in depth. Mediation is something t...

Whether someone is deemed an expert in court in Las Vegas, Nevada, is based upon a variety of factors. These factors are laid out in Nevada’s statutes, which are created by the state legislature and case law, which is written by our Nevada Supreme Court. There are three main Nevada statutes which govern experts. We will take a look at each one, including their case law counterparts. The first we will take a look at is NRS 50.275 entitled “Testimony by experts”. It provides in full:       If scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of the fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by special knowledge, skill, experience, training or education may testify to matters within the scope of such knowledge. The Nevada Supreme Court has held that an expert witness need not be licensed to testify as a expert. Freeman v. Davidson , 105 Nev. 13, 768 P.2d 885 (1989). The witness must simpl...

When someone is involved in an accident, they are sometimes unable to return to work immediately. When this occurs, your treating doctor will write you an “off work” slip, which you can take to your employer. This will document your temporary inability to perform your work duties. If this happens and you are temporarily off work, then your lost wages will be part of your damages in your personal injury case. If you missed a few days or even a few weeks of work, then your Las Vegas personal injury lawyer , may ask you to provide your most recent pay stub, to establish your lost wages. The head of your human resources department will also be asked to provide a letter concerning your hourly rate and how many days of work you missed. All of this information and documentation will be provided to the insurance company to establish your damages and before your case is resolved.   But what happens if you are in a very serious accident and unable to return to work permanently? To establish ...

In Las Vegas car accident cases, the at fault party is usually pretty clear. However, in slip in fall accidents, who is ultimately held responsible for a person’s injuries, is sometimes disputed. Traditionally, in Nevada, if a danger was “open and obvious”, then the owner of the property where someone fell, historically would not be liable for a person’s injuries after a fall. Additionally, if there was ‘no time’ for the property owner to find out about the danger, then the property owner usually was not held to be liable. An example is when a patron is walking, drops something, and causing the person walking behind them, to slip and fall. In the above example, the property owner would deny any culpability and it would be up to the judge and jury to assign blame.  However, there are two well known exceptions to the traditional slip and fall rule just discussed. The first exception is often referred to as the recurrent risk approach. The recurrent risk approach was laid out in the...

When you are involved an auto accident, through no fault of your own, having your car repaired is second only to getting immediate medical care for the injuries you may have suffered. Your Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer will tell you that when you are selecting a company to repair you car, you have many options to choose from.  After an accident, the ‘at fault’ driver’s insurance company may attempt to contact you and have you get your car or truck repaired at one of their facilities. This may seem like an easy option, but remember that the insurance company has only one person’s interests at heart: theirs.  Based upon how most insurance companies operate, they will usually send you to a car repair facility that uses used car parts and non-certified repair personnel. The insurance company’s car repair shop will also just repair visible damage and typically not try to locate any hidden damage to the car’s frame or other latent parts of your vehicle. Since the insurance compa...