Negligence is a term that tends to get casually thrown around but what does it actually mean in the practice and context of , and how can you be compensated in a personal injury case when someone else is negligent? In the context of a personal injury claim, negligence typically refers to someone acting in a careless manner and causing an injury to another person. For example, an inattentive driver who causes a collision and injures another driver. By failing to pay proper attention to the rules of the road, which exist for the protection of other drivers, the careless driver acts in a negligent manner. Negligence, then, can generally be viewed as a mistake that would not have occurred had the negligent actor been more careful and taken appropriate precautions to guard against other people’s safety. 

In order to prove negligence in a personal injury case, the best personal injury attorneys are able to establish that the negligent actor owed a “duty of care,” or a legal obligation to act in a safe manner towards you. For example, Nevada law imposes a duty of care on all drivers to obey the rules of the road and operate their vehicles in a safe and reasonable manner, so as not to unreasonably injure others. The negligent driver, therefore, violates or “breaches” his or her duty of care towards others on the road by operating his or her vehicle in an unsafe, unreasonable manner, thereby causing injury to another.  

Causation within the context of a personal injury car accident case generally refers to two related concepts. First, it is said that the negligent driver “caused” the accident, meaning that it was the negligent driver’s fault that the accident happened. Hence, the phrase “at-fault driver.” Second, causation refers to the link or legal “nexus” between the mechanism of injury (e.g. car accident) and the injuries sustained by the car accident victim. Injuries arising solely and exclusively from the car accident are said to have been “caused” by the accident; and, therefore, the negligent actor.

In addition to duty, breach and causation, in order to prove negligence and recover damages in the form of monetary compensation in a personal injury case, the best personal injury attorneys must also establish that their client suffered damages, such as economic damages in the form of medical bills, lost wages and out-of-pocket expenses, as well as non-economic damages, including pain, suffering and a diminished quality of life from physical and/or emotional injuries.

Economic: Economic damages, also known as monetary damages, refer to monetary losses or out-of-pocket expenses that can be readily ascertained and established with reasonable certainty. Economic damages are designed to compensate an injured person for financial losses incurred as a result of their injuries sustained by the subject incident. These include:  

Medical Expenses: Individuals injured by the negligent or reckless conduct of another are entitled to payment for costs incurred for medical treatment, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, physical therapy, mental or emotional therapy, and other necessary and reasonable healthcare services to make the injured person whole.  

Lost Wages: Compensation to compensate for loss of income as a result of the inability to work due to suffering debilitating injuries. Lost wages can include loss or reduction in salary, wages, bonuses or commissions that the injured person would have earned but for the injury

Loss of Earning Capacity: Loss of one’s earning capacity refers to expected loss or reduction in future income as a result of ongoing physical or mental impairment caused by the defendant’s actions. A person suffering permanent injury from the negligent or reckless conduct of another may be eligible to be compensated for loss of earning capacity. 

Property Damage: This subcategory of damages refers to costs related to repairing or replacing damaged personal property such as vehicles, personal effects or belongings and other physical property that has a reliable cost of replacement.

Household Services: If an injured person is suddenly unable to perform regular or routine household tasks due to debilitating injuries caused by a careless actor, they may be entitled to compensation for the cost of hiring a third party to perform those tasks.

In order to bring a successful personal injury case, you must be able to demonstrate that you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence. This typically means that you have suffered monetary loss and/or pain and suffering following an injury caused by a negligent actor. 

A personal injury claim refers to the process of resolving the claim before having to file a lawsuit, usually through submission and negotiation of the claim with the at-fault actor’s liability insurance carrier. The personal injury claim remains in the “claims stage” as long as the claim remains pending with insurance. A personal injury lawsuit, on the other hand, refers to the filing of a lawsuit in court alleging negligence and other applicable causes of action against the negligent actor(s). The “Plaintiff” in a personal injury lawsuit is the injured person who files the lawsuit, while the “Defendant” is the allegedly negligent actor responsible for the injuries asserted by the Plaintiff.   

In short, you need a loyal advocate on your side who champions your rights and interests as an injured victim, and understands how to compete and win against an insurance labyrinth designed to downplay your injuries, limit your compensation and force you into an unfair settlement. Studies have shown that injured claimants who are represented by competent personal injury counsel can recover as much as 3.5x more in compensation than claimants who try to navigate the system on their own. In addition, hiring a personal injury attorney to handle your personal injury claim can facilitate peace of mind knowing that your claim is being handled by effective counsel whose sole priority is to protect your interests and compete against an adversarial party to get you the compensation you deserve.    

In Nevada, owners of premises owe a duty of reasonable care towards their guests to keep the premises reasonably safe and free from dangerous or hazardous conditions. Owners of premises can be found to be in breach of their duty to keep the premises safe for their guests if they created the dangerous condition themselves, or when they knew or should have known that a dangerous condition existed and failed to act, resulting in the dangerous condition causing injury to a guest. 

Some examples of slip-and-fall situations where a business owner may be liable for negligence under a premises liability theory include:

• Restaurant employee spills food on the floor and fails to clean it up
• Hotel operator aware of a leaking water feature and ignores it;
• Casino operator allowing a spilled drink to be on the floor for an extended period of time
• Grocery store leaving produce on the floor for an extended period of time
• Big box wholesale distributor having inadequate lighting in the parking lot
• Business center failing to maintain its faulty elevator
• Concert venue failing to implement proper crowd control measures
• Nightclub failing to warn of a dark step down
• Bar bull ride operator increasing intensity of the machine
• Fight event operator witnessing and failing to respond to an altercation between guests

Nevada law defines a battery as an intentional and offensive touching of a person who has not consented to the touching. Due to the intrinsic nature of their job, a nightclub bouncer has significant interaction with the public and is often placed in confrontational situations. If a nightclub operator hires a bouncer known to have violent tendencies, and the bouncer commits a battery, it may be a breach of the night club’s duty to ensure that their employees are fit for the job and do not pose a danger to the public. Nevada law defines a battery as an intentional and offensive touching of a person who has not consented to the touching.

A catastrophic personal injury claim refers to situations where a negligent actor causes a severe, debilitating injury which often renders the injured person unable to function on their own without substantial life care support or assistance. Examples of catastrophic injuries include traumatic brain injuries, loss of limbs, spinal cord injuries, paralysis, and more.      

Underinsured motorists (UIM) are drivers who have auto liability insurance but cause an accident that results in injury costs, judgments and/or property damage that exceed their auto liability policy limits. In general, UIM motorists do not have sufficient personal assets to cover the excess costs, thereby leaving the injured person less than whole unless the injured person has sufficient and applicable UIM coverage of their own. Nevada law requires insurance companies to offer UIM coverage but stops short of mandating that motorists purchase UIM coverage. As a result, the percentage of UIM motorists in Nevada is relatively high compared to other states.