Minimal Liability for Auto Insurers in Nevada

      This post is a follow up to the previous post discussing the situation where a driver does not cooperate with their insurance company. Since that topic covered some issues, I think it would be helpful to go into more specifics. One important point of discussion is the minimal liability in Nevada. In Nevada NRS 485.185 sets out that all drivers must have a policy of at least $15,000 per person and $30,000 per vehicle to cover bodily injury or death.
      Another important issue topic is that of absolute liability. NRS 485.3091(5)(a) sets out that an insurance company has complete liability whenever injury or damage occurs to another driver as far as the requirement to pay at least in the amount of minimum required coverage, which is as of this time $15,000 per person, and $30,000 per vehicle despite any statements that are made by the person covered under the insurance policy. So this means that if person who is covered under the insurance policy is found to be at fault for an accident then their insurance company will be required to pay out at least the statutory minimum amount of insurance despite what statements their insured makes.
    The Nevada Supreme Court just ruled on this issue in Torres v. Nev. Direct Ins. Co., 131 Nev.Adv.Rep.54, 2015 Nev. LEXIS 61 (July 30, 2015). Basically in that case an insurance company argued that they should not have to pay anything to a person who was injured by their insured another drive who is found not be at fault in an auto accident because their insured did not cooperate with them or give them a statement. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the insurance company is still required to pay out the minimum policy limits in Nevada regardless of whether or not the driver under their policy cooperates.
    So at least $15,000 per person and $30,000 per vehicle will be available for someone who is wrongfully injured by someone else who has an automobile insurance policy, even if that person does not cooperate with their insurance company. There may also be more money available depending on the particular situation.

If your or someone you know has been injured in a auto accident please visit our main website at www.accidentawardslasvegas.com or call us at 702-343-0494.

Insurance Companies in Nevada are always responsible when their insured cause an accident that is their fault

      It happens occasionally that when someone drives their car negligently and hits someone else causing them injury they will not notify their insurance company about it. This is a big problem because the main reason for having automobile insurance is that the insurance company will pay for it if one of their insured causes injury to someone else with their vehicle. Although the insurance company doesn't always pay out everything for a case depending on how big the policy is, this is what happens in the overwhelming majority of these situations.
    The problem is that if the insurance company is not notified of an accident, they can't take the steps necessary to handle the claim, and make sure the case gets resolved. Ideally, an insurance company will resolve a case before their insured has to get personally involved in it. Most of the time they can avoid having their insured be sued by settling the claim quickly and fairly.
    The good news is that the insurance company will still be responsible for paying out under the policy if their insured driver was at fault for the accident, even if the driver does not notify them. This has been clearly set out in the Nevada Statutes, and confirmed by the Nevada Supreme Court this year. So as long as the person that caused the accident has an insurance policy, that insurance policy must pay out.

If you or anyone you know has been involved in an accident please visit our website at http://www.accidentawardslasvegas.com or call our number at 702-343-0494.

STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS

     A structured settlement is basically where a settlement or award is given out in increments instead of being given out all at once. Usually an insurance company is used for these. These payments can be made either weekly, monthly or other such period as the client agrees on.
     The benefits of a structured settlement are that it can act like an annuity or retirement for a client to get periodic payments rather than one lump sum. It can essentially be used as a supplemental income. There can also be some tax advantages to doing a structured settlement that a tax advisor could elobarate on based on each person's unique circumstances.
     A structured settlement can also be especially helpful for minors who may not be able to handle a relatively large sum of money after turning 18. For all of these reasons a structured settlement is something that should be discussed with an attorney after receiving an award, and it is important that clients are aware of this option.

Expenses of going to Trial

       One thing that I asked about often as a personal injury attorney is how much it will cost to go to trial. Going to trial can be pretty expensive. The biggest expense with trial is hiring expert witnesses. In cases where the Defendant denies that they are at fault you usually are required to hire expert witness that can show that the Defendant is at fault. The price for such a witness can add up. Typically they charge at least one hundred dollars an or more, often times much more for their testimony. You not only have to pay them this rate for their testimony at trial but also for their report which lays out their opinion. This report usually takes several hours to complete, and their bill will rack up that whole time.
    However, the most expensive expert witness is almost always a doctor, and most personal injury cases will require a doctor to give expert testimony. These doctors typically charge about 500 hundred dollars an hour for their time, and they must give an expert report. That is why getting a doctor for personal injury case is usually the biggest expense of taking a case to trial.
   On top of the expert witness costs there are numerous other costs such as court costs like filing fees, and the costs of doing depositions, etc. This is one reason why most personal injury cases settle. Neither side wants to keep paying these expenses. These expenses are a very important factor to be taken into consideration when the decision to file a lawsuit or settle a case is being made.


Check out our website at www.accidentawardslasvegas.com for more information on personal injury cases.

Employer's liability for employees purposeful actions

One interesting area of personal injury concerns where someone is injured by the intentional acts of an Employee of a business while they are on the job. If an employee injures a member of the public by his or her own intentional conduct then the business itself can be held responsible for the injury. The Nevada Legislature passed NRS 41.745, which is used to determine if an employer can be held liable for the intentional actions of an employee. This statute states that 1. an employer is not liable for harm or injury caused by the intentional conduct of an employee if the conduct of the employee: a) Was a truly independent venture of the employee; b) was not committed in the course of the very task assigned to the employee; and c) was not reasonably foreseeable under the facts and circumstances of the case considering the nature and scope of his or her employment.
So determining whether the employer is liable or not basically comes down to how far the action deviated from the performance or duties of the job. For example, a bouncer beating up a customer at a bar when there was no justification to do so, would probably create liability for the business owner. This is because the bouncer is hired to use force to protect other customers or the business, so using force to wrongfully harm someone is close enough to the job task, and it is foreseeable to the business owner that this may occur. Overall, whether an employer will be liable for the acts of an employee is usually a contentious issue and really depends on the facts of each individual case.

The Short Trial Program in Nevada

In 1999 the Short Trial Program was first enacted in Nevada. Since then it has become mandatory in certain cases. For personal injury cases it will be used for cases that are deemed to have a total value of less than $50,000 or if the parties agree to be in the Short Trial Program. Trials in the Short Trial Program can only last one day in length and have less jurors than a typical trial, and also less strict rules of evidence. However, the only problem with the Short Trial Program for Personal Injury cases is that Personal Injury Attorneys need more time to basically explain to the Jury that most personal injury claims are not fraudulent and that the Plaintiff is not faking injuries to get money. This is especially true for these smaller cases where the damage to the vehicles in the accident are not that great. Unfortunately, the public has this general perception that in many of these cases the Plaintiff is exaggerating their injuries or even making them up. This is not true at all. So few of these cases are like that its not even worth considering. However, the insurance industry spends vast sums of money convincing the public otherwise, and it is working. So for that reason I try to avoid the Short Trial Program when possible. Sometimes it may not be possible to avoid it though and this is a tough situation that you must be prepared to face. In these situations you just have to prepare as best you can and do as much as possible to try to weed out the members who will be on the jury.  Although the Short Trial Program may be great for certain types of cases it is not suited for personal injury cases at all.

How cell phones have affected personal injury cases

THE USE OF CELL PHONES HAS DRAMATICALLY CHANGED LITIGATION IN PERSONAL INJURY CASES

      Because cell phone use has become so common on roadways. It is becoming increasingly commonplace for attorneys to check the cell phone records of drivers involved in an accident. This is yet another reason why talking or especially texting on a cell phone is such a bad idea. If you were using your cell phone near the time of an accident you were involved in, there will be a presumption that you were not paying attention to the road and were at fault for the accident. On the other hand if you were in an accident and you believe someone was using a cell phone before the accident you will most likely be able to get their cell phone records and prove it. Therefore, it is very important to be aware that while driving if you use your cell phone this can be easily traced back to you.Another issue with cell phones is that sometimes people may use a “burner,” which is a cellphone that is bought with pre-paid minutes and its usage can’t be shown with records from the phone company.

If you or anyone you know has been involved in accident that was not your fault give our law firm a call at (702) 521-3794 or visit our website at www.accidentawardslasvegas.com.