Understanding Car Accidents in Nevada

Understanding Car Accidents in Nevada

Car accidents occur in Nevada each day. Thousands of people are injured or killed in motor vehicle accidents yearly. Sadly, most of the motor vehicle accidents in Nevada could have been avoided.

Common Causes of Nevada Car Accidents

The most common causes of Nevada car crashes involve driver negligence. Inattention and reckless driving behavior account for most car wrecks. 

Common causes of car accidents include:

Hazardous road conditions and poor weather conditions can contribute to the cause of some car crashes. Additionally, defective automobiles and parts could cause some car accidents. 

Car Accident Victims Sustain Severe Injuries

A car accident can result in traumatic injuries. Catastrophic injuries often result in fatalities and permanent disabilities. 

Car accident injuries include:

  • Broken bones and fractures
  • Internal organ damage
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Seatbelt and airbag injuries
  • Chest injuries
  • Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
  • Crushing injuries
  • Severe burns and scarring
  • Amputations and loss of limbs
  • Neck injuries, including whiplash
  • Nerve damage and soft tissue injuries
  • Back injuries, including broken vertebra, ruptured discs, and herniated discs

According to Justin Watkins, an experienced  Las Vegas car accident attorney, “Since Nevada is an at-fault state for car accidents, accident victims can sue the party or parties who caused the car accident”. Attorney Watkins explains it’s critical to consult your car accident case with a legal expert because the severity of the car accident injury directly impacts the quality of life, emotional well-being, physical health, and financial stability of car accident victims. 

Nevada drivers are required to have minimum liability insurance for automobile accidents. Therefore, most car accident claims begin by filing an insurance claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. If the insurance company refuses to accept liability for the accident or pay a reasonable amount for damage, you can file a lawsuit against the driver.

You Can Recover Compensation for Car Accident Claims

The compensation you receive for a car accident claim depends on the severity of your injuries and liability. Generally, car accident victims can recover compensation for their economic damages. 

These financial losses include:

Additionally, they can recover compensation for non-economic damages or “pain and suffering” damages. These damages include physical pain, mental anguish, and emotional suffering. Accident victims can also recover compensation for loss of enjoyment of life.

If a person sustains a permanent injury, they can recover future damages. Future damages include:

In some cases, a car accident victim might receive punitive damages if they file a lawsuit. A jury awards punitive damages to “punish” a defendant for malice, fraud, or oppression. Punitive damages are only awarded in a small number of cases. 

How Do You Prove Fault for a Car Accident in Nevada?

Before an accident victim can recover compensation for damages, they must prove negligence. The elements of a negligence claim are:

  • A party owed the accident victim a legal duty of care
  • The party breached the duty of care 
  • The breach of care by the at-fault party was the direct and proximate cause of the car accident which resulted in the victim’s injuries
  • The victim sustained damages because of the car accident 

The burden of proof is on the accident victim to prove fault, causation, and damages to establish liability. If the case goes to trial, the level of proof is by a preponderance of the evidence. The jury must find that there is a greater than 50% chance that the allegations against the defendant are true.

Can You Receive Compensation for Damages if You Were Partially to Blame for a Nevada Car Accident?

Nevada adopted a modified comparative negligence law for personal injury cases, including car accidents. Nevada Revised Statute §41-141 does not bar a victim’s recovery for damages unless the victim was 51% or more at fault for the cause of their injury. 

Therefore, you can be partially to blame for the cause of a car accident and still receive some compensation for damages. However, the amount you receive for damages is reduced by the percentage of your fault. For instance, if you are 20% at fault for the cause of a car crash, the court reduces your damages award by 20%.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer For Help With Your Case

Car accident victims should seek legal advice from a car accident lawyer if they have questions or need assistance with a car accident claim. An attorney can help accident victims better understand their legal options, such as the compensation they may receive for their injuries, pain and suffering, medical bills, lost income, and other expenses that may be incurred.If you’ve been in a car accident in Las Vegas, you should contact an experienced Las Vegas car accident lawyer to help you with your case.

How To Find the Best Personal Injury Attorney in Florida

How To Find the Best Personal Injury Attorney in Florida

If you’ve been in an accident in Florida, you may have realized that the bills pile up quickly. You may have medical expenses related to your injuries, but those same injuries might keep you from working and earning income. You might not know where to turn. A personal injury lawyer is a good start.

If someone else’s negligence is responsible for your injuries, they may be liable for your damages. A personal injury attorney can help you pursue those damages through a personal injury claim. They can help you obtain compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. They can help you move forward after an accident and regain a sense of financial security.

To be sure, there are a lot of personal injury lawyers in the Sunshine State. We put together this article to help you find the best attorney for your situation. 

Identifying Personal Injury Lawyers Near You

When you are looking for a personal injury lawyer, you should begin your search by gathering a handful of names. There are many sources that can help you.

Referrals from Friends and Family

Your family and friends may be one of your best sources for identifying a strong personal injury lawyer. If they had an injury case in the past, they can direct you to the attorney who got them a successful result. Alternatively, they may be able to help you steer clear of an attorney with whom they had a negative experience. Even if your family or friends have not had an injury case, they may still know of attorneys who practice personal injury law. 

Lawyers (in other practice areas), judges, and paralegals can also be great sources of information for determining which injury lawyers have a strong reputation in your community.

Legal Directories

Legal directories are another excellent place to locate skilled personal injury lawyers in your area.

The most helpful legal directories are:

  • Avvo – rates attorneys on a scale of 1 to 10 based on profile information and public data available on the attorney. 
  • Martindale-Hubbell – rates attorneys based on peer reviews of the attorney
  • FindLaw – rates lawyers according to the average of all ratings submitted for the lawyer or organization.
  • Justia – rates lawyers based on peer-to-peer reviews

You should look for an attorney who has high ratings on these directories. Ideally, you should look for an attorney who has favorable ratings from colleagues and former clients. For example, Bill Allen, an experienced Gainesville personal injury lawyer, enjoys a “9.8 – Superb” rating on Avvo and an “AV-Preeminent” rating on Martindale Hubbell.

Gainesville Personal Injury Lawyer Bill Allen Avvo Rating

As a Florida personal injury lawyer, Bill is proud to earn high marks from legal rating services because they reflect his experience, skill, and ethics in Florida personal injury law.

Lawyer Referral Services

The Florida State Bar has a lawyer referral service for the public. When you use this service, you will briefly describe your legal situation and provide the service with a way to contact you. 

The service will match you with a lawyer based on your needs and geographic location. You can then connect with that lawyer to discuss your injury claim. Keep in mind the service may not necessarily screen lawyers for quality. It’s focused more on location and practice area.

Online Searches

Search engines are always a nice place to find information about lawyers in your area. However, the law firms that appear first on Google may not be the best for your legal situation; they may just have the biggest marketing budgets.

Therefore, you shouldn’t only rely on Google rankings to make your decision. Instead, examine the attorney’s reviews and ratings on legal directories as mentioned above.

Meet With Prospective Attorneys – Most Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Offer a Free Consultation

After you have identified a few potential lawyers in Florida, you should schedule free consultations with each attorney. Speaking to multiple lawyers will help you get a feel of what you want and don’t want in a lawyer. It will help you find an attorney that is compatible with your legal needs.

You should use the free consultation to get as much information as possible about your injury claim. You should also ask specific questions about the lawyer’s services.

Consider asking:

By asking these questions, you will be able to set clear expectations about your case and attorney. These questions will also facilitate a healthy relationship with your attorney and minimize misunderstandings and miscommunications.

Selecting the Right Florida Personal Injury Attorney to Represent You

To have the best odds of a successful personal injury claim, you should make sure your attorney has certain skills. These skills can be the difference between receiving maximum compensation for your injuries and receiving nothing at all.

Organization Skills

There are a lot of moving parts in a personal injury case. There are filings, investigations, deadlines, etc. Your lawyer needs to be able to manage each stage and filing of a case effectively. Missing a deadline or hearing can have disastrous consequences for your claim.

You also need to make sure your lawyer has the skills to organize and track all documents and evidence in your case. This evidence will be critical for helping you prove liability in your case and achieving a favorable result.

Knowledge of Florida Personal Injury Law

Your lawyer needs to understand and apply Florida injury and insurance law to make the most of your case. These laws, including comparative fault rules and statutes of limitation, can be highly technical. You may not want a lawyer who is a generalist or who typically practices criminal law.

Experience Handling Your Type of Accident Case

You don’t only want a lawyer who has experience in personal injury law. You also want a lawyer who has experience handling your type of personal injury case.

Not all personal injury cases are created equal. Some arise from motor vehicle accidents. Some from medical malpractice. Some from other incidents. 

You need a lawyer who understands the nuances of your injury case and knows what proof they need to offer to win your claim.

Excellent Communication and Negotiation Skills

Most personal injury claims settle. Insurance companies and other defendants prefer not to risk trial if they can settle for a reasonable sum. Therefore, your lawyer needs high-level negotiating skills. They need to be able to leverage their skills and the evidence in your case to make the at-fault party pay fair compensation.

Your lawyer also needs to be able to explain technical legal concepts simply. If they can do this for you in a free consultation, it’s likely that they can do it in front of a judge and jury, also.

Hire a Top Florida Personal Injury Lawyer for Your Case

Hopefully, this guide has equipped you with strategies for finding the best Florida personal injury lawyer for your case. If you choose the right attorney, your case should proceed smoothly through the different stages. It may take a few tries to find the right attorney, but the effort will have been well worth it if the attorney helps maximize your compensation after your accident.

How To Find the Best Personal Injury Attorney in Nevada

How To Find the Best Personal Injury Attorney in Nevada

You could face expensive treatment and therapy when you get injured in an accident. At the same time, your injuries might disable you from working. This puts you in a difficult position. You need medical treatment so you can work, and you need to work so you can pay for medical treatment.

If your injuries resulted from someone else’s negligence, you have another option. You can hire a personal injury attorney and pursue a personal injury claim in Las Vegas and throughout Nevada. Your compensation will cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity. This will help you meet your daily needs while focusing on your health.

Here are some suggestions about finding the best personal injury attorney for your case in Nevada.

Gather Names of Personal Injury Lawyers Near You

Gather names of lawyers who practice injury law. You have many sources for names, including:

Lawyer Recommendations from Friends and Family

Talk to friends, family members, neighbors, and co-workers about the lawyers they used for their cases. Former clients often provide the most accurate reviews of lawyers because they have direct experience seeing their lawyers in action.

If you do not know anyone who had an injury case, talk to people about lawyers they know. Legal professionals often know who has a good reputation even if they practice in a different field. If possible, gather names of Nevada personal injury lawyers from judges, paralegals, or other attorneys.

Also, look for non-recommendations. If someone has heard negative things about a lawyer or had a bad experience with them, exercise caution if hiring that lawyer.

Legal Directories

Many legal directories, like Avvo and Martindale-Hubbell, give lawyer ratings based on algorithms or peer reviews. Lawyers are rated on Avvo from 1 to 10. A score of six or more is considered a good rating. You should look for an attorney who has an Avvo rating of 9 or higher, such as attorney Justin Watkins, who practices personal injury law in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer Justin Watkins Avvo Rating

As a Las Vegas personal injury attorney, Justin takes pride in earning high ratings from legal directories because they reflect his knowledge, experience, and ethics in the Nevada personal injury law field.

These legal directories also provide client review ratings. Since prior clients can speak directly to a lawyer’s client-handling skills, you might also find these ratings helpful.

Lawyer Referral Services

The State Bar of Nevada operates a lawyer referral service. When you contact this service by phone or online, the service will help you identify the type of lawyer you need. The service then provides the name of a lawyer you can contact for a 30-minute consultation for $45.

The benefit of the lawyer referral service is that participating lawyers are members of the Nevada Bar and have malpractice insurance. The downside is that the referral service does not screen lawyers based on quality. You could receive the name of a good lawyer or an average lawyer from the referral service.

Online Lawyer Searches

Online searches can often identify the law firms with the largest and most successful practices in your area. But sometimes clients want more than the firm that advertises the most. The firms that have the most prominent websites do not always provide the most personalized service.

And online reviews are not always accurate. There is no way to verify that a Google or Yelp review was left by a client. Sometimes losing parties or other non-clients leave negative reviews to try to tank a lawyer’s online rating.

Meet With Your Prospects – Most Nevada Personal Injury Lawyers Offer a Free Consultation

After gathering the names of prospective lawyers in Nevada, schedule free consultations with as many of them as possible. The more lawyers you speak to, the better the chances are that you will find a lawyer compatible with you and your case.

During your free consultation, discuss your case and the lawyer’s process for representing you. 

Ask questions like:

Ideally, you will ask enough questions that you will have no surprises after you hire the attorney. You will have a much better relationship with your lawyer if you minimize the risk of misunderstandings.

The Process of Selecting a Nevada Personal Injury Attorney To Represent You

To pick a lawyer, you must understand what your lawyer will do in your case. When you know the skills your lawyer needs, you will have an easier time picking one.

Some skills your lawyer needs include:

Organizational Skills

Your lawyer will investigate your case and gather evidence. This evidence will help you prove the liability of the at-fault party and the losses you suffered. The law firm and lawyer you hire will need to keep your evidence organized so they can use it in your case.

Your lawyer will also need to keep track of the deadlines in your case. Missing a deadline can have catastrophic consequences, so your personal injury attorney must ensure that your filings and hearing dates get handled on time.

Knowledge of Personal Injury Law

You need a lawyer with knowledge of the law. The lawyer must take the facts of your case and apply the law to determine the likely outcome and value.

Experience Handling Your Type of Claim

The lawyer must have the experience to anticipate what will happen in your case and deal with it. While the same legal principles apply to most personal injury cases, you want a lawyer with experience dealing with your case’s specific issues.

For example, if you were injured due to medical malpractice, you should probably not hire a lawyer who focuses only on car accidents.

Excellent Communication Skills

Lawyers must have skills in two forms of communication. When talking to you, the lawyer must objectively assess your case and provide unbiased legal advice. When negotiating with insurance adjusters or arguing before a judge or jury, the lawyer must advocate for your position.

When you have your free consultation, note the lawyer’s ability to explain the law and how it fits your case. If a lawyer can explain things clearly to you, they will probably do a good job explaining things to a claims adjuster, judge, or jury.

Hire the Best Nevada Personal Injury Lawyer for Your Case

When you settle on a lawyer, ask for a copy of the lawyer’s fee agreement. Under Nevada’s Rules of Professional Conduct, the agreement must explain how the lawyer will calculate their fee and what you will owe at the end of the case. Review the agreement carefully and discuss any questions with the attorney.

Once you sign the fee agreement, the lawyer will start working on your case. If you choose the right lawyer, you should have a productive relationship as you pursue fair personal injury compensation.