Quick Answer
You likely have a Nevada personal injury case if you can prove four essentials:
- someone owed you a legal duty,
- they breached that duty,
- the breach caused your injuries, and
- you suffered damages.
Nevada courts describe these as the core components of negligence, which is the basis for many injury cases (Turner v. Mandalay Sports Entm’t, LLC, 124 Nev. 213, 180 P.3d 1172 (2008)). Nevada’s comparative negligence rules also matter because your recovery can be reduced, or barred, depending on your share of fault (NRS 41.141; Warmbrodt v. Blanchard, 100 Nev. 703, 692 P.2d 1282 (1984)). Finally, you must be within the filing deadline, which is two years for many Nevada injury claims (NRS 11.190(4)(e)).
Step 1: Did you suffer an injury with provable damages?
A personal injury “case” requires actual damages. Damages usually include:
- medical expenses (past and future),
- lost wages and reduced earning capacity,
- pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life,
- out-of-pocket expenses, and sometimes
- punitive damages in narrow circumstances (NRS 42.005).
Nevada recognizes that non-economic damages like pain and suffering are typically questions for the factfinder and are not locked to a strict mathematical formula (Stackiewicz v. Nissan Motor Corp., 100 Nev. 443, 686 P.2d 925 (1984); Brownfield v. Woolworth Co., 69 Nev. 294, 248 P.2d 1078 (1952)).
Health insurance paying is not the end of the damages analysis
Nevada’s collateral source rule generally prevents a defendant from reducing their liability just because insurance paid some bills (Proctor v. Castelletti, 112 Nev. 88, 911 P.2d 853 (1996)).
Be aware of mitigation arguments
Defendants often argue the plaintiff failed to mitigate damages. Nevada case law places the burden of proving failure to mitigate on the defendant (Dillard Dep’t Stores, Inc. v. Beckwith, 115 Nev. 372, 989 P.2d 882 (1999)).
Step 2: Is there a legally responsible person or company?
Nevada’s personal injury liability statute reflects the general principle that someone who causes harm through wrongful act or neglect can be liable in damages (NRS 41.130).
The next question is whether you can identify a person or entity that owed you a duty and breached it. Examples:
- A driver who caused a crash.
- A property owner who failed to use reasonable care to keep premises safe.
- A business that created a foreseeable risk and failed to address it.
- A manufacturer that sold an unreasonably dangerous product.
Nevada recognizes strict products liability in appropriate cases, meaning defect and causation can establish liability without proving traditional negligence (Shoshone Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Dolinski, 82 Nev. 439, 420 P.2d 855 (1966)).
Step 3: Can you prove duty and breach?
This is where many “do I have a case?” questions are decided.
A) Duty, the legal starting point
Duty is often treated as a threshold legal question (Turner v. Mandalay Sports Entm’t, LLC, 124 Nev. 213, 180 P.3d 1172 (2008)). In premises cases, Nevada rejected the idea that “open and obvious” eliminates duty automatically, instead it is part of the overall reasonableness and comparative fault analysis (Foster v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 128 Nev. 773, 291 P.3d 150 (2012)).
B) Breach, what did the defendant do that was unreasonable?
Breach is usually proven through evidence like:
- scene photos and video,
- witness statements,
- maintenance logs, policies, training records,
- accident reconstruction, and
- expert opinions when needed.
C) Negligence per se can strengthen breach proof
Nevada recognizes negligence per se in appropriate cases, meaning a statutory violation can establish duty and breach if the statute was designed to protect the plaintiff’s class from the type of harm that occurred (Anderson v. Baltrusaitis, 113 Nev. 963, 944 P.2d 797 (1997); Barnes v. Delta Lines, Inc., 99 Nev. 688, 669 P.2d 709 (1983); Sagebrush Ltd. v. Carson City, 99 Nev. 204, 660 P.2d 1013 (1983)).
Step 4: Can you prove causation?
Causation is where insurers and defense lawyers focus, especially when there is:
- delayed treatment,
- gaps in care,
- prior injuries, or
- subjective symptoms without objective findings.
Nevada requires competent proof of medical causation when the issue is outside common knowledge, and expert medical testimony is often required (Morsicato v. Sav-On Drug Stores, Inc., 121 Nev. 153, 111 P.3d 1112 (2005)).
Practical point: consistent, well-documented medical care often makes causation disputes easier to resolve.
Step 5: How does Nevada comparative negligence affect your case?
Nevada uses modified comparative negligence. If your negligence is greater than the defendant’s negligence, recovery is barred. If your negligence is not greater, damages are reduced proportionally (NRS 41.141; Warmbrodt v. Blanchard, 100 Nev. 703, 692 P.2d 1282 (1984)).
This matters even if you “mostly” were not at fault, because comparative negligence changes settlement value and trial risk.
Step 6: Are you within the deadline to file?
Many Nevada personal injury cases must be filed within two years (NRS 11.190(4)(e)). Some case types have different deadlines, including medical malpractice (NRS 41A.097) and wrongful death (NRS 41.085; NRS 11.190(4)(e)).
Negotiating with an insurance company does not automatically extend the deadline.
Step 7: Practical signs you likely have a strong Nevada injury case
While every case is fact-specific, these factors often correlate with strength:
- Clear liability evidence (video, strong witnesses, clear statutory violation).
- Prompt medical evaluation and consistent treatment.
- Objective findings (imaging, documented fracture, measurable impairment).
- Good documentation of wage loss and functional impact.
- Insurance coverage and collectible assets sufficient to pay the damages.
Nevada legal authorities cited
- NRS 11.190(4)(e).
- NRS 41.085.
- NRS 41.130.
- NRS 41.141.
- NRS 41A.097.
- NRS 42.005.
- Turner v. Mandalay Sports Entm’t, LLC, 124 Nev. 213, 180 P.3d 1172 (2008).
- Warmbrodt v. Blanchard, 100 Nev. 703, 692 P.2d 1282 (1984).
- Anderson v. Baltrusaitis, 113 Nev. 963, 944 P.2d 797 (1997).
- Barnes v. Delta Lines, Inc., 99 Nev. 688, 669 P.2d 709 (1983).
- Sagebrush Ltd. v. Carson City, 99 Nev. 204, 660 P.2d 1013 (1983).
- Morsicato v. Sav-On Drug Stores, Inc., 121 Nev. 153, 111 P.3d 1112 (2005).
- Foster v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 128 Nev. 773, 291 P.3d 150 (2012).
- Shoshone Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Dolinski, 82 Nev. 439, 420 P.2d 855 (1966).
- Stackiewicz v. Nissan Motor Corp., 100 Nev. 443, 686 P.2d 925 (1984).
- Brownfield v. Woolworth Co., 69 Nev. 294, 248 P.2d 1078 (1952).
- Proctor v. Castelletti, 112 Nev. 88, 911 P.2d 853 (1996).
- Dillard Dep’t Stores, Inc. v. Beckwith, 115 Nev. 372, 989 P.2d 882 (1999).
If you need assistance with your personal injury case, don’t hesitate to contact Friedman Injury Law.
Friedman Injury Law
375 N. Stephanie St., Ste. 1411
Henderson, NV 89014
P: (702) 970-4222
W: blakefriedmanlaw.com