Personal Injury

Negligence

At the Law Office of William H. Jackson, we handle personal injury claims involving negligence. Contact us if you have been injured by another person, we promise you prompt action and personal attention.

In general, a party is liable for negligent conduct. Legally, negligence means duty, breach, causation and damages. For any lawyer to accept a case, a victim must show each of these elements. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff, or victim, to show each of these elements. From a practical standpoint this means someone did something they should not have done and caused an injury.

In general, a person must bring a suit within two years of the date of an accident. Things that can extend a statute of limitations includes injuries to a minor or situations where you did not know there was negligence. This is called the discovery rule. You would, in general, file suit within two years of discovering negligence.

In Nevada we have “modified comparative negligence” or “51% rule” This means that if the injured party was 50% or less at fault, he or she may still recover damages. if an injury victim is more than 50% to blame for the accident, they lose. If a plaintiff is somewhat at fault, their claim is reduced by the amount of their negligence. So, if a person has a $10,000 claim, for which they are 25% at fault, their claim is reduced by 25%. In this case 25% would be $2,500, leaving a claim of $7,500.

Comparative negligence is most commonly seen in “T-Bone” accidents involving vehicles which collide into each other in the middle of an intersection and backing accidents where two vehicles back into each other in a parking lot. When the insurance companies are unable to determine which vehicle had the right of way, they usually either deny liability outright or accept 50% of the fault. Under the “51% rule” a client may still be compensated for 50% of their damages even if the insurance company determines that they are 50% at fault.

Please note, passengers in an at fault vehicle are never at fault for an accident so they are never precluded from being able to receive full compensation for their damages.

The Law Office of William H. Jackson handles negligence claims throughout Las Vegas. Negligence claims can involve simple negligence like an automobile accident or a slip and fall claim, animal attacks or something more complicated, like a professional negligence claim.

Damages recoverable through negligence include loss of pay, past and future, pain and suffering, past and future, loss of enjoyment of life, (also known as disability), medical bills, past and future, loss of consortium (loss of the ability to enjoy sexual relations). Sometimes in negligence cases the parties will have to hire an expert to predict the future loss of a person.

If you have an injury claim contact us at the Law Office of William H. Jackson. We are so confident in our ability to win we handle these claims on a contingent fee. We offer free initial consultations. All of our clients get prompt action and personal attention. See what our clients have to say on our Testimonials page.