A slip and fall injury can leave you with severe, life-changing injuries. If another party’s negligence caused your injuries, you may have the right to pursue a personal injury claim that will help you obtain compensation for your injuries and other non-economic damages.
The experienced slip and fall injury attorneys at Pacific West Injury Law in Henderson can help give you a better understanding of the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to learn more about your right to compensation after a Henderson slip and fall incident.
Types Of Damages You Can Collect In A Henderson Slip And Fall Injury Claim
After a slip and fall injury in Henderson, you may receive both economic and non-economic damages to account for the physical, emotional, and financial suffering you are facing. To be awarded compensation, you can file a personal injury claim. In this slip and fall lawsuit, you may receive compensation for:
- Your medical bills related to the slip and fall injury
- Lost wages when you miss time at work because of your injuries
- Loss of future wages if your injury will lead to long-term disability
- Pain and suffering, including emotional anguish, related to your slip and fall accident
This list of damages is far from exhaustive. An experienced slip and fall accident lawyer in Henderson can help identify all the damages that apply to your case.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are very rare in slip and fall accident cases. However, they might be awarded in extreme cases where the liable party acted in a criminally negligent manner or with the explicit intent of causing harm.
Who Is At Fault For A Henderson Slip And Fall Accident?
The liable party for a slip and fall accident may depend on where your accident occurred. To establish who bears liability for a slip and fall accident, your attorney will ask who bore a duty of care to you at the time of the accident and how a violation of that duty of care led to your accident and, by consequence, your injuries.
Most often, the owner of the premises where your slip and fall accident occurred will bear liability for your injuries. However, in some cases, an entity operating on those premises may be liable for the conditions that led to your accident.
You or your slip and fall lawyer will also have to prove that you were on the property with the property owner’s consent and that you were less than 50 percent to blame for the slip and fall injury.
Nevada’s Slip And Fall Laws
To receive full compensation for your slip and fall injuries in Henderson, it’s helpful to first understand Nevada’s slip and fall laws. Once you understand these regulations or work with an experienced Henderson slip and fall attorney who does, you will be better prepared to argue your case successfully.
Nevada Statute Of Limitations For Personal Injury Claims
In Nevada, the statute of limitations gives you two years to file a slip and fall accident claim after the injury occurs. It’s critical to get started on your case as soon as possible, which is why a Henderson personal injury lawyer can help while you recover from your injuries.
While there are exceptions that can extend the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit, there are also circumstances that could shorten your timeframe for filing. If you fail to file on time, you could find yourself out of options for recovering fair compensation from the liable party.
Nevada Law Regarding Premises Liability
According to Nevada premises liability law, the property owner must properly maintain that property in such a way that it does not pose an undue danger to visitors to that property, including workers and guests. That may mean properly maintaining stairs, flooring, and handrails, as well as choosing flooring that does not unnecessarily increase slip and fall risk.
Shared Liability And Comparative Negligence
In Henderson, multiple parties can share responsibility for the slip and fall accident. For example, the property owner may be 80% liable because they did not put a “wet floor” sign and other signage on a wet area, while the injured party may be 20% responsible because they could have walked more slowly and cautiously on the property.
Nevada is also considered an at-fault state, which means that all responsible parties are required to compensate the other for the damages they caused. However, Nevada’s modified comparative negligence rule states that you are only required to provide compensation for the other party if you are more than 50% responsible.
In other words, even if you are 20% responsible, you will be rewarded compensation.
Duty Of Care
A “duty of care” is defined as a specific, legal duty that a specific individual has to others. In premises liability law, for example, the owner of the property bears a duty of care to everyone who visits the property.
For example, a casino owner may need to take steps to create a safe environment, including taking care of carpeting and ensuring that electronic wires do not run across the floor, where they could create a trip hazard.
While visitors to the premises still bear responsibility for their own actions while they are there, the premises owner holds a high duty of care to create a safe environment. To make sense of Henderson’s slip and fall laws, turn to a personal injury lawyer in Nevada for guidance and legal consultation.
Where Do Slip And Fall Accidents Occur In Henderson?
According to OSHA, slip and fall accidents in Nevada can occur in a variety of settings, like:
- Construction sites
- Hotels and motels
- Casinos
- Around swimming pools
- On the sidewalk outside a building
Often, slip and fall accidents occur because of liquid on the floor. If the property owner fails to properly label and indicate those potential hazards or clean up messes properly, the premises owner may bear liability for a slip and fall accident in that area.
How To Get Compensation For Your Slip And Fall Injuries
Slip and fall injuries, which may include broken hips, broken bones in the hands and arms, and even traumatic brain injury, can lead to substantial medical bills as well as significant pain and suffering. To get your deserved compensation, you will need to take certain steps.
Contact A Henderson Slip And Fall Injury Lawyer
A Henderson personal injury lawyer can help you seek compensation for the losses you face due to slip and fall accident injuries. A slip and fall injury attorney in Henderson can help evaluate your claim, give you a better understanding of your right to compensation, and pursue the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
The sooner you contact an attorney, the sooner that attorney can start collecting evidence and providing vital legal advice that can help maximize your compensation.
File A Claim
A slip and fall accident claim can help you pursue the compensation you deserve. To file a strong slip and fall injury lawsuit, you will need to collect evidence that supports your story, such as:
- Photos of where the accident took place
- Medical bills
- Eyewitness testimonies
- Proof that the property where the accident took place was dangerous
Prove Fault In The Slip And Fall Case
Proving fault, particularly that you are less responsible for the slip and fall injury than any other involved party, is a crucial part of winning a slip and fall lawsuit. To prove fault, you typically have to establish at least one of these conditions:
- The property owner or manager knew about the hazard and did nothing about it
- The owner of the premises caused the hazard
- The property owner should have known about the possible hazard, because it was a reasonable occurrence
A Henderson slip and fall attorney will handle each of these steps for you to file your injury compensation claim.
How Much Does A Slip And Fall Injury Lawyer Charge?
Slip and fall attorneys generally work on a contingency fee basis. Under this setup, your lawyer will only charge you if you collect compensation from the liable party. If you do get paid, your attorney will collect a single fee as a fixed percentage of the money paid by the at-fault party.
This system ensures that the interests of your lawyer are the same as your own, since winning big means a significant payday for you both, while failure to recover compensation means that neither of you get paid.
How Long Does A Slip And Fall Settlement Take?
The length of time to settle a slip and fall accident case varies. Your attorney will start with a discovery and investigation period. Both your attorney and the liable party’s insurance company will investigate the circumstances that led to your accident and who may have contributed to it.
Then, you will negotiate for compensation. Often, you will need to go through several rounds of negotiation in order to reach a settlement that works for both you and the liable party. If you suffered severe injuries, which may cause you to need to ask for additional compensation, it can take longer to settle your claim.
If you end up needing to take your claim to court, it can take far longer than ending your case through a settlement.
Call An Experienced Henderson Slip And Fall Injury Attorney Today
If you suffered severe injuries in a Henderson slip and fall accident, contact Pacific West Injury Law as soon as possible. Our team has extensive experience winning slip and fall injury lawsuits in the Henderson area. We also have customer testimonials to show that we put the health of our clients first and get them the compensation they deserve.
Contact us for a free case review from qualified slip and fall law experts in Henderson, NV.