Car accidents are among the leading causes of wrongful deaths and serious injuries, and nearly half of the reported vehicle wrecks in Nevada happen in the Las Vegas metro area. If you sustained injuries in a crash, you could seek monetary damages to compensate you for your losses.
Working with our seasoned attorneys at LVNV Legal | Injury Law Firm can improve your chances of recovering full compensation either through settlement negotiations or trial. A North Las Vegas car accident lawyer at our firm can fight for you every step of the way, until you receive adequate compensation for the harm you suffered.
Colliding with another vehicle might be disorienting and traumatizing. However, taking the right steps immediately afterward could make a big difference later.
If you are able, you should check on others and render reasonable assistance without endangering yourself or anyone else. If possible, you should attempt to move the involved vehicles out of traffic. Nevada Revised Statutes §484E requires drivers to call the police whenever a crash causes injury or death. It is also a good idea to call local law enforcement as you could use the police report as evidence in an ensuing case.
Whether the police come or not, the law requires drivers to exchange their contact information and insurance policy information. If possible, it is wise to collect any witness’s names and phone numbers and take pictures of the vehicles and crash scene. If there is no police report, all parties have ten days to file an incident report with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
An individual who is in a car crash should seek medical attention without undue delay, even if they do not experience immediate symptoms. A medical record generated shortly after a crash could be valuable evidence later.
It is essential that you do not say anything that insurers and defense lawyers could misconstrue as an admission of fault. Contact a North Las Vegas attorney immediately after a vehicle wreck and refer any callers from insurance companies to your legal representative. Do not agree to any payout, settlement, or other resolution of the matter without getting legal advice first.
Nevada follows an “at-fault” system for vehicle accidents. The company that insures the driver who caused the crash must pay the damages of others who suffered losses in the incident. Nevada requires all drivers to have minimum liability insurance coverage of $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury to more than one person, and $20,000 for property damage. Uninsured motorist coverage is optional.
If the police issued a citation to one driver in the crash, that driver is usually at fault. However, in most cases, auto insurance adjusters and local attorneys must negotiate and provide evidence to prove who was responsible for the wreck.
Once a driver is designated at fault, their insurer is responsible for the losses others suffered because of the accident. If the at-fault driver’s coverage limits are insufficient to cover all losses, you could look at your own insurance or perhaps bring a civil suit against the responsible party.
In order to recover compensation for your losses stemming from the motor vehicle wreck, you and your North Las Vegas attorney must prove that the defendant was negligent. Potentially negligent parties include:
You only have two years to bring a claim for damages. However, beginning the process well before the cut-off date could be highly beneficial as cases are generally stronger when an attorney begins collecting evidence soon after an incident.
The laws around insurance, fault, and negligence are complex. Someone who is hurt in a vehicle accident needs representation by a professional who is comfortable with these complexities and knowledgeable about how the system works.
A North Las Vegas car accident lawyer at our firm could handle the business of securing appropriate compensation for your losses while you work on recovering your health. Call LVNV Legal today to get started.
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