Any car accident can take a great emotional and financial toll on its victims. If you or your loved ones suffered in a car accident because of another driver’s lack of care, you could be entitled to receive compensation for your suffering. Whether you suffered a physical injury, property damage, emotional distress, or the death of your loved one, you should not have to pay the costs of this accident alone.
The Nevada car accident lawyer at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm is here to help you. Our team might be able to help you recover compensation for a car accident that was not your fault. To set up a consultation on your legal options with no obligation to continue and no cost to you, reach out to us at (800) 223-5115.
Nevada Car Insurance Rules
The state of Nevada requires every driver to carry car insurance coverage. The Nevada Division of Insurance (DOI) explains that the minimum motor vehicle liability insurance coverage each driver must have is:
- $25,000 in bodily injury per person
- $50,000 in bodily injury per accident
- $20,000 in property damage
In addition to these minimums, drivers can also carry a variety of other insurance coverage types, such as collision, comprehensive, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
Since Nevada is a fault state, whichever driver is deemed to be at fault for the car accident is the one responsible for paying its costs. This responsibility typically transfers to the insurance provider of the at-fault driver.
Your ability to receive compensation for a car accident in which the other driver is at fault, however, may be limited by their insurance policy amounts. Additionally, insurance companies often try to settle with claimants for as small an amount as possible in order to protect their own financial interests.
If you have trouble recovering the payment you think an insurance company owes you, a Nevada car accident lawyer could help you by negotiating with the insurance provider or even filing a lawsuit against them, if necessary.
Civil Lawsuit Options
If you cannot recover sufficient compensation through car insurance, you may be able to pursue restitution for your losses in a car accident by filing a civil lawsuit. You have several possible options:
- File a personal injury lawsuit. Through this type of lawsuit, you could recover compensation for your physical injuries, property damage, and emotional trauma incurred in the car accident.
- File a wrongful death lawsuit. If your family member died in a car accident because of another driver’s negligence, you could be able to obtain payment through a wrongful death lawsuit.
In both car insurance claims and civil lawsuits, the amount of compensation you will be able to receive may be affected by Nevada’s modified comparative negligence law. Outlined in Nevada Revised Statutes §41.141, modified comparative negligence means that the award you are entitled to for your losses because of another person’s negligence will be reduced if you share a portion of the blame for the injury, and you cannot recover any award if your own fault or negligence is greater than the other person’s.
For example, if you are 20% at fault for a car accident, you are only eligible to receive 80% of the damage award. If you are 51% or more at fault for the accident, you cannot recover any award. Because of this comparative negligence system, it is crucial to show who was at fault for the car accident if you hope to recover payment for your losses.
At Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, we may be able to help you obtain a financial award by investigating the accident and collecting evidence of who was at fault for it. Types of evidence we could gather include:
- Police reports of the accident
- Video footage of the accident or the responsible driver’s actions
- Photos of the accident, the accident scene, and the resulting damage
- Analyses of the accident, such as tread marks, road conditions, and other details
- Witness statements
- Vehicle mechanical or maintenance records
Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today to learn more about how we may be able to help you after your car accident.
For a free legal consultation, call (800) 223-5115
Time Limits for Lawsuits
Civil lawsuits are regulated by a statute of limitations, which is a law that places a time limit on when you can pursue legal action for various offenses or wrongful events. If your car accident or the date of your loved one’s death occurred outside this time limit, you will most likely be unable to recover any compensation. Since there can be rare exceptions to statutes of limitations, you may want to contact a Nevada car accident lawyer to be sure of your legal options.
According to Nevada Revised Statutes §11.190, the statute of limitations is two years for cases involving injury and wrongful death, but it is three years for cases concerning property damage.
Recoverable Damages
The state of Nevada recognizes three main types of damages that you may be able to get through a civil lawsuit:
- Compensatory damages are those designed to compensate you for direct losses. These damages could include reimbursement for medical expenses, property damage costs, lost income, burial costs, and other out-of-pocket expenses.
- Non-economic damages provide you with payment for losses that cannot be directly calculated, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, impairment, disfigurement, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, and the loss of enjoyment of life. There is typically a limit to the non-economic awards you can recover.
- Punitive damages are used to punish the defendant. The court only awards these in cases of severe neglect when it wishes to deter the defendant from their actions, and a portion of the award may go to the court instead of the plaintiff.
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Find Assistance at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm
Navigating evidence of fault, modified comparative negligence, car insurance policies, the offers from insurance claims adjusters, and the requirements of the civil court system can be complicated. After a car accident, you should have time to rest and recover from your injuries. By entrusting your car accident case to the Nevada car accident lawyer at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, you can take the time you need to heal while we pursue compensation on your behalf.
Our team works on contingency, so you can rest easy knowing that you will never owe us anything unless we can earn a settlement for you. Call the team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today at (800) 223-5115.
Call or text (800) 223-5115 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form