Slip and fall injury cases are among the most common lawsuits under the umbrella of personal injury law, and qualified attorneys are well acquainted with the ins and outs of these cases. However, because laws and ordinances vary from state to state, from county to county, and sometimes even from city to city, it is important to consult an experienced Las Vegas slip and fall lawyer who is based in the area where an incident occurred.

If you experienced a slip and fall in Las Vegas or the surrounding metro area, a local personal injury attorney from California & Nevada is the best choice to help you to argue your case. Dedicated Las Vegas slip and fall lawyer Craig Murphy has defended clients in Nevada courtrooms for decades, and we would be glad to help you to receive the compensation that you deserve.

Where and How Do Most Slip and Fall Injuries Happen?

There are countless factors that may create unsafe conditions, and any one of these or a combination thereof can lead to a slip and fall injury. Flooring issues are among the most common causes. A crack in a floor, a torn carpet, or a loose stair can easily lead a person to lose their balance and fall. Even if a floor is well maintained, slip and fall injuries may still occur when a surface is covered by a slick substance such as ice or leaking water.

In addition to all those potential hazards, fall accidents can occur due to factors such as poor lighting, worn-down doorjambs, detached handrails, and many other unsafe conditions. Each of these can contribute to a slip and fall accident that can lead to serious injuries, the need for medical treatment, lost wages, and other personal issues. Regardless of where your accident happened, you need a slip and fall lawyer in Las Vegas on your side.

Don’t hesitate to reach out for help after a fall accident. Timing could be everything in your case.

What’s the Timeline Following a Slip and Fall Accident?

There is no one-size-fits-all timeline after a slip-and-fall accident. There are certain time constraints, however, that everyone faces. For instance, victims face a two-year statute of limitations for filing a case after fall accidents occur. This may seem like plenty of time, but things really do go fast after suffering an injury. And even if you file a slip and fall claim before the deadline, the chances of receiving fair compensation from property owners goes down as time passes.

That’s because the burden of proof in slip and fall accident lawsuits is on the victim. The evidence has to be on your side if you’re seeking compensation for medical bills and other expenses. Unfortunately, evidence becomes more difficult to obtain over time. Witnesses of the incident may move away. Property owners could pass away or leave the area. There are a million and one things that could happen to ruin your premises liability claim, and the risk of every single one increases the longer you wait.

Once you have a slip-and-fall accident lawyer on your side, though, the timeline is a bit easier to predict. Your attorney will deal directly with the property owners or insurance companies in order to reach a fair settlement. If the other party isn’t willing to fairly compensate you for your injuries, having aggressive legal representation is important so you can further pursue the case in court. If it comes to this, having a trial lawyer with extensive courtroom experience on your side is ideal.

There’s no way to predict an exact timeline, but Murphy & Murphy Law Offices will strive to ensure you receive fair compensation as quickly as possible.

What Damages Are Available for Slip and Fall Accidents?

After a slip and fall incident, lots of people are excited just to hear that their medical bills will be covered. This is why so many victims accept unfair settlements from an insurance company without ever speaking with slip and fall accident attorneys. Unfortunately, this mistake can result in a large amount of compensation being left on the table. After all, who is going to reimburse you for lost wages, future medical expenses, and pain and suffering stemming from a serious injury?

It’s possible to recover all these damages — and more — after slip and fall incidents. For instance, courts grant special compensatory damages in slip and fall accident cases to reimburse victims for monetary loss. This can include the cost of medical treatment and even help recover lost wages. On the other hand, general compensatory damages cover non-monetary losses such as emotional distress and pain and suffering. It’s unlikely that an insurance company will offer these damages to accident victims who don’t have a legal team on their side.

In some situations, victims may even be entitled to receive punitive damages. This is an additional court award meant to punish the liable party for gross negligence or other extreme wrongful behaviors. The idea is that such damages will deter the liable party from allowing conditions to exist that could cause physical injury in the future. For instance, a person may suffer severe injuries if a property owner wets the floor with the intent of keeping people out of a certain area. Such willful disregard can lead to punitive damages.

Of course, you won’t know this until an experienced slip and fall lawyer in Las Vegas reviews your case. Murphy & Murphy Law Offices provide prospective clients with a free initial consultation, so you have nothing to lose by reaching out about your case.

Is There a General Structure to Slip and Fall Injury Cases?

In every case involving a slip and fall accident, the same two parties exist: the injured person and the property owner or manager. It is important to note that, even though the average slip and fall case will focus on proving that the property owner or manager was at fault, a case can lose some validity if the injured party was under the influence of drugs or acting in a reckless manner at the time of the incident.

A dangerous condition on the property might have exacerbated the risk of injury, but the property owner’s lawyer could argue that the injured party’s conduct was also a contributing factor. Because no personal injury case is airtight, it is critical that you inform your slip and fall attorney about your behavior at the time of the accident. This way, by the time you file a lawsuit, your attorney will be better able to argue on your behalf.

Slip and fall cases come down to determining the responsibility of the property owner or manager for failing to prevent an unsafe condition. This concept, known as “premises liability,” directly affects exactly how much an injured party is able to recover in damages. To prove liability, your Las Vegas slip and fall lawyer has to demonstrate that at least one of three issues was in play at the time of the accident:

• The property owner created the unsafe condition
• The property owner knew that the condition existed and didn’t fix the problem
• The unsafe condition existed for so long that the property owner should have known about it and corrected the issue

Following slip and fall accidents, the most important of these three issues may differ based on whether the incident happened on a commercial or residential property. Still, these are the basic arguments that a personal injury case will rely upon. To illustrate the above, we may consider the case of a tourist who suffered a slip and fall accident in the hallway of a Las Vegas casino. The tourist was not intoxicated or behaving carelessly, and she tripped over loose carpeting on her way across the lobby.

Her attorney may argue that the casino’s owner or manager inadvertently created the unsafe condition by failing to completely nail the carpeting to the floor or trim the excess fabric. If the owner or manager claims that the issue with the carpeting was known and had been fixed, the slip and fall attorney may demand to see documentation showing when or if the repair ever took place. If the owner or manager denies knowledge, the tourist’s attorney can call upon other casino employees or patrons to testify about approximately how long the carpeting issue has existed. All of these arguments will help to prove liability in this kind of slip-and-fall case.

Are Slip and Fall Injury Cases Any Different in Las Vegas or Nevada?

Laws regarding slip and fall accidents can vary by state and locale. Statutes can affect potential outcomes based on the injuries sustained, the condition of the liable person’s property, and many other factors. One of the major differences between Las Vegas, NV, and other areas is that — according to the Nevada Revised Statutes — a person who was injured in a slip and fall has two years to file a claim. This is the statute of limitations discussed earlier.

In addition, Nevada personal injury law contains a “comparative negligence” rule. This dictates that the injured party in a slip and fall accident can receive compensation proportional to the percentage of fault of the liable party. For instance, a court may find that an injured person was 10% responsible for their own accident. Perhaps the individual was intoxicated when they tripped over a loose carpet. In such a situation, the property owner’s negligence would still stand at 90% — and this means the victim would receive 90% of the awarded compensation.

There have been cases, however, where juries decided that injured victims were more than 50% responsible for the fact that the accident occurred. In such a situation, the property owner’s failure to maintain safe conditions would not matter. Nevada law does not allow recovery of losses — ranging from emotional distress to medical care expenses — when accident victims are more than 50% responsible for their own injuries.

It’s important to remember, though, that this isn’t an estimate you should make on your own. Slip and fall accidents are complex cases, so even if you think an injury was mostly your fault, you should research slip and fall attorneys to get advice on your case.

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Contact An Experienced Las Vegas Slip and Fall Lawyer

The Las Vegas metro area, due to the legalization of gambling, is a unique region of the United States. Because of local laws and the popular tourism industry, the risk of experiencing a slip and fall in a casino, a hotel, or a theater is unusually high in Las Vegas. That means both residents and vacationers alike should practice caution in order to avoid injury.

If you or a loved one was injured during your most recent trip to Las Vegas, though, your precautions likely matter less than the negligence of the property owner. After a slip and fall accident, you will benefit from the support of a Clark County-based personal injury firm. An experienced attorney can help you get a fair settlement from the insurance company, and if that isn’t possible, they can take your case to trial to help ensure justice is served.

Craig Murphy is a slip-and-fall lawyer in Las Vegas who has been on both sides of the aisle. He has defended companies and insurers against fall injury claims, and he now uses that experience to help victims get the compensation they deserve. Murphy & Murphy Law Offices will assist you every step of the way during your slip and fall injury case.

Contact us today at (702) 369-9696. Because you deserve compensation when injured because of someone’s negligence, and our law firm is ready to help.