Nobody plans on an injury during their vacation. A fun trip to Vegas is supposed to be an escape from the stress of everyday life. However, if an accident does occur, then it’s important to be aware of your options and the relevant Nevada hotel accident laws. Contact our Las Vegas personal injury lawyers for a free case review.
Your legal rights for hotel or resort injuries are largely those of Nevada’s premises liability laws. This is due to the fact that a hotel or resort is, regardless of the exact purpose, still under the management of a property owner.
The property owners are in turn required to uphold several responsibilities related to safety and oversight of people in their establishments. These responsibilities typically fall under the convergence of reasonable expectation and potential neglect.
In other words, your legal rights fall under legal invitee premises liability in Nevada. There’s some inherent expectation of safety when you’re invited into an establishment by the property owners. The term negligence refers to the extent to which the property owner has neglected to live up to that expectation. Hotel duty of care in Nevada is heavily defined by reasonable expectation.
Negligent security in Las Vegas hotel regulations is defined by a percentage of fault under a modified comparative negligence rule. The extent to which the property owner is at fault for an accident, as opposed to your responsibility as a guest, determines the liability for neglect. While the expectation of care is complicated, you can generally think about what you’d do to protect a guest on your own property. This includes removing safety concerns, mitigating potential risk factors, performing regular maintenance, and warning people of any dangers that can’t be fully controlled for. A hotel or resort is expected to provide that same level of care.
The type of injury also impacts legal liability. Slip and fall injuries are often judged differently than other categories. Some examples include assaults, mishaps with escalators and elevators, valet services, food services, and lack of security during altercations with other guests.
Again, one of the most important points to keep in mind is that liability involves expectation and responsibility. So the extent to which your choices and the choices of other guests impact the injury will typically result in less fault from the property owner.
Hotel injury in Las Vegas specifically falls under NRS 651.015. It’s one of the Nevada Revised Statutes that specifically applies to the keeper of a motel, inn, and similar properties.
NRS 651.015 protects the property owner from full fault when one guest attacks another guest. The extent of this protection is again dependent on the expectation of protection. Negligent security might cause the hotel owner to be more at fault even under NRS 651.015.
A hotel incident report in Nevada will be part of any of these claims. The report is something you’ll generally need to work on shortly after the incident. An incident report isn’t itself proof of liability.
The report ensures details of your claim are preserved, often includes statements from witnesses, and shows that the proprietor has been notified. It’s a basic first step for the claim. Contact our hotel injury lawyers for a free consultation.
The claim is important in part because evidence often disappears within days. A claim of lawsuit is generally needed to ensure surveillance video isn’t erased within the normal timeframe.
This video evidence will otherwise typically be erased within one to three days. Likewise, security or maintenance logs are often at risk of loss as time goes by. Written evidence of the incident helps prevent this loss.
Understanding resort liability in Nevada means understanding shared fault. Shared fault, partially codified in NRS 41.141, weighs compensation for damages by culpability.
If the plaintiff holds the majority of the fault, even if only by 51%, he won’t receive compensation. The more culpable the proprietor is, the more the plaintiff is owed.
If you or a loved one were injured in a Vegas hotel, contact us for a free consultation.
Legal issues are inherently complex. However, the following common questions can be answered by a general rule of thumb.
Yes, assuming that the claim is made within Nevada’s two-year statute of limitations.
A hotel’s liability waiver can’t be overly broad to the level of excusing gross negligence. As such, you might still have a case even if you’ve signed a liability waiver.
You have no legal obligation to file an incident report, but doing so will strengthen your case.
Your timeframe is generally equal to Nevada’s two-year statute of limitations.
The proprietor will typically still be held responsible. However, culpability may be shared by third parties responsible for organizing the event.
Disclaimer: The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict future cases. You may have to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees and costs in the event of a loss.
Pacific West Injury Law • Greater Las Vegas’ Award-Winning Injury Attorneys • #bluebearcares
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.