Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents on public corridors in Las Vegas

Clark Law Group reviews car accident claims in Las Vegas and in other parts of Nevada. Some public roads carry heavy traffic, such as I-15, I-215, and US-95. On these roads, cars merge, stop fast, and change lanes at high speed. A crash on one of these highways is not a different kind of legal case. It is the same as a crash on a city street. The same Nevada laws apply. What changes is the evidence: ramp cameras, skid marks, airbag data, and how fast the cars are moved.

This page does not make up crash stories or name private case facts. It explains how a car accident lawyer at this firm handles a case. Get the official report. Keep photos and witness names. Find every policy that may pay. Then answer the insurer's story about who was at fault.

The firm sees some causes often in new car cases. They include distracted driving, speeding, and running red lights or stop signs. They also include impaired (drunk or drugged) driving and drowsy driving. Unsafe lane changes and rear-end crashes in stop-and-go traffic are common too. Commercial trucks and rideshare vehicles can be part of the same crash. Those facts can add more policies. They do not change the two-year deadline to file or the fault rule.

Was the other vehicle a semi, a box truck, or another commercial vehicle? Then start with the truck accident page instead. Federal motor carrier rules may apply. If so, some records only have to be kept for a set number of months, not years. That timeline is different from a normal car claim. If you were on foot, not in a vehicle, see pedestrian accidents. If you were riding a motorcycle, see the motorcycle accident page. It covers helmet questions and bias against riders.

What a free consultation covers

A consultation is a review of what you have. It is not a promise that we will take your case. Bring the police report or exchange report and photos from the scene. Bring the other driver's insurance details. Bring any letter or voicemail from an adjuster. An adjuster is the person who handles the claim for the insurer. Also bring your medical records so far. Bring your own car insurance declarations page too.

Then the firm can explain which Nevada rules apply to your facts. We can tell you which policies may pay. We can also explain what it means if someone asks you for a recorded statement. The consultation is free. On personal-injury matters, there is no attorney fee if there is no recovery.

Why a car accident lawyer matters after the first adjuster call

Negligence means careless driving. When another driver's negligence causes a crash, it can lead to many problems. You may have doctor bills, missed work, and a damaged car. You may also get a pile of requests from the insurance company. The other driver's insurer can fight you on many things. It can say the crash did not cause the injury. It can say you did not need the treatment. It can fight about how much to pay. An early offer can look simple. But it can still leave later therapy, scans, or time off work unpaid.

A car accident attorney can look at the records. The attorney can explain how a claim is usually valued. The attorney can also negotiate for you while you get treatment. A car crash is one type of personal injury claim. But its police report, car damage, and insurance questions need their own review. If a fall, not a crash, is what hurt you, see slip and fall.

Car insurance language is easy to misread. The firm's understanding insurance page explains these terms in plain words:

• Bodily-injury liability
• Property-damage liability
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
• Medical-payments coverage
• Comprehensive
• Collision

The policy language still controls.

If an insurer asks for a recorded statement, the answer depends on who is asking. In general, no contract says you must help the other side's insurer. Many people say no until they get advice. Here is why. An early recorded comment about speed, distraction, or how you feel can be used later. It can be used to say you had a bigger share of the fault.

Your own insurance company is different. Policies usually have a cooperation clause. This means you must work with your insurer. So check your policy before you refuse anything. A subpoena or other legal process is different again. You cannot ignore it. Find out who is asking and why. Read your policy. Get advice before you answer.

How long do you have to file a car accident claim in Nevada?

The legal deadline to file a lawsuit is called the statute of limitations. In most Nevada car accident cases, you have two years from the crash date to file an injury lawsuit. This deadline is in NRS 11.190(4)(e). An insurance claim is not a lawsuit. Talking with an adjuster usually does not stop the deadline. Some claims follow different rules. Examples are claims against a government agency and claims by a minor (a child).

If you miss that deadline, it can end the case. In real life, the deadline is shorter. Video, car data, and what witnesses remember can be lost in days or weeks, not years. That is why the first steps after a crash are about keeping evidence.

What if you were partly at fault for the car accident?

In Nevada, you can still get money if your share of the fault is not more than the total fault of the people you sue. Nevada uses a rule called "modified comparative negligence" (NRS 41.141). In plain words, fault is split by percent. The money you get goes down by your percent of fault. If you are found more than 50% at fault, you cannot get money from them.

Here is an example. A driver found 20% at fault gets 20% less money. A driver found 51% at fault gets nothing. Insurance companies know where that line is. So fights about lane changes, merges, and rear-end crashes often turn into fights about percents. That is why photos matter. Take photos of the damage points, traffic signs and signals, and the road. They matter as much as the story in the report.

What are Nevada's minimum car insurance requirements?

A Nevada car liability policy must pay at least $25,000 when one person is hurt. It must pay at least $50,000 for injuries to two or more people in one crash. It must pay at least $20,000 for property damage (NRS 485.3091). Those are minimums. Many drivers carry more. But a serious injury can use up a minimum policy fast.

In a serious car accident, one hospital stay can use up the minimums. Your own UM/UIM coverage may fill the gap. That means uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. It can help when the at-fault driver has no policy or only the minimum. Nevada insurers must offer you that coverage. The amount must match the bodily-injury limits they sold you (NRS 687B.145(2)). But you may or may not have bought it. Your declarations page is the summary page of your policy. We review it as part of the first look at your case. The understanding insurance page explains each coverage in plain words.

Nevada car accident claim: key deadlines and coverage

C. Jared Clark, Esq., the designated responsible attorney, reviews personal-injury and car accident matters for the firm. He earned a Bachelor of Science from UNLV. He earned a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. He interned for Judge John A. Houston in the Southern District of California. He also interned for the San Diego Public Defender's office. He has lived in Nevada since 1988. He is a member of the State Bar of Nevada, the American Bar Association, and the Nevada Justice Association.

How fault is proved in a car accident file

Fault is proved with evidence, not with the loudest version of the story. A Las Vegas car accident lawyer usually looks for:

• The official crash or police report, and how to get it from the agency that came to the scene
• Photos of the cars, broken parts on the road, the road itself, and injuries you can see, taken when it is safe
• Names, phone numbers, insurance company names, and policy numbers for the drivers
• Contact details for witnesses who were not part of the crash
• Video from traffic signals, businesses, or dashcams, before it is erased
• Data from each car's event data recorder, when the cars still have it and access is legal

This list is a starting point. It is not a promise that every item will exist. Crashes on I-15, I-215, and US-95 can involve high speeds and many vehicles. The shared-fault rule still applies. The insurance company may try to split the blame. Strong proof that the other driver caused the crash protects the money you can recover.

Some crashes add a second layer. Was the other driver impaired? See how a drunk driving accident claim is different from the criminal case. Did that driver have no insurance, or too little? Then the claim may be against your own policy, as an uninsured motorist claim. People on bicycles who are hit by a car have their own rules. See the bicycle accident page.

What compensation a car accident claim can cover

Every case is different. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes. The law calls money for your losses "damages." These types often appear:

• Medical bills: emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, therapy, prescription drugs, and future treatment the records support
• Lost pay, and lower earning ability if the injury changes the work you can do
• Property damage: repair or fair replacement of the car and other damaged property
• Pain and physical limits caused by the crash and the recovery, when the facts support those damages

Clark's published case results include selected legacy motor-vehicle amounts. They are not a value for your claim. Value depends on who is at fault, your injuries, and the policies that really apply.

Medical bills and lost pay are only part of the picture. Some losses are harder to measure. The page on pain and suffering in Nevada explains how Nevada treats them.

What to do immediately after an automobile collision

1. Call for help. Call 911 for an emergency or 311 for a non-emergency. Ask the agency that comes how to get the accident report.
2. Get medical care. Ask for emergency care when needed. Some injuries are not clear at the scene. A gap in treatment gives insurance companies room to say the injury was not from the crash.
3. Find out who was involved. Get names, addresses, and phone numbers. Get insurance company names and policy numbers. Get witness contacts when it is safe.
4. Record the scene. When it is safe, take photos. Get the cars, the road, traffic signs and signals, injuries you can see, and the area around you. Keep those files with your claim papers.
5. Call Clark Law Group before you give a recorded statement. Call 702-330-3272 during business hours or contact the firm. The office is at 2320 Potosi St, Las Vegas, NV 89146.

Sources

• NRS 11.190 — periods of limitation, including the two-year period for injury actions
• NRS 11.250 — disabilities that can affect the running of a limitation period
• NRS 41.141 — comparative negligence
• NRS 485.3091 — minimum motor vehicle liability policy limits
• NRS 687B.145 — required offer of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

This page is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice. Statutes change, and how any of them apply depends on the facts. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.