The 6 Things You Must Know
About Slip and Fall Accidents
Las Vegas, Nevada
The 6 things you must know
Here are the 6 things everyone must know if you get severely injured in a slip and fall accident in Las Vegas or Nevada.
1. You should report an accident to a business manager immediately.
Many clients ask, "When do I report my slip and fall accident?"
You and somebody next to you must report a slip and fall accident immediately to a designated person within the business where the accident occurred (e.g., a store supervisor, a hotel floor manager, or if your accident happened at school or university, call a school emergency responder.) The only exception to this rule is if you were transported to the hospital and were in an unconscious condition.
The designated person within the business on the same day should file an incident report with their insurance company.
In Nevada, most businesses have CCTV cameras and can later retrieve the recording of your accident. This recording will show the date and time when the accident occurred and many other facts surrounding your slip and fall accident. For example, if there was a water spill on a floor that caused an accident and how long.
2. You need to hire a lawyer if you suffer a severe injury.
No two slip and fall accidents are the same. Some result in a few scratches and minor bruises that will disappear quickly. And some result in severe injuries, like head injury, spinal cord injury, or broken bones, and require lengthy and expensive medical treatment.
If you suffered a severe injury, ended up in a hospital, or lost your ability to work for many days, you must hire a personal injury attorney. The attorney will investigate the facts surrounding your accident, request the business to preserve the evidence and file a lawsuit on your behalf to hold all responsible parties accountable. Some accidents are complex, with more than one party potentially liable. While no attorney can reverse the unfortunate event of a slip and fall accident that left you seriously injured, the attorney can help you get money to pay your medical bills and other damages.
We invite you to call us.
3. Money must be available somewhere for you to get a settlement.
Most large-size companies have commercial general liability insurance. This insurance usually has enough to pay for your injuries and, when necessary, long-term medical treatment. In addition, in some cases, more than one party is responsible for an accident, and attorneys file a lawsuit against multiple parties.
Different types of businesses are insured differently.
Hotels or warehouse clubs / wholesale clubs (e.g., Home Depot or Costco) are usually self-insured, which can affect the amount of money available to settle your accident liability claim.
Private schools and universities have commercial general liability insurance, but public schools and universities don't buy commercial insurance.
If your slip and fall accident happens in a public school (middle school, high school, or university), the attorney files the accident claim against the state government. There are caps on damages that the victim can collect when a liability claim is filed against the government. Currently, the cap is $100,000 per claim.
Finally, there is a chance that the business where your slip and fall accident happened had no liability insurance, and you are out of luck.
So, money must be available somewhere for the victim to collect injury compensation.
For more information or to discuss your case, call our office. When we know your accident's facts, we can recommend what to do next or if it makes sense to file a lawsuit.
We don't charge for consultations.
4. Beware of social media.
If you got seriously injured in a slip and fall accident, were hospitalized after the accident, missed many days at work, or couldn't perform your previous job after the accident, don't publish the images of your injuries on Strava, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media platforms.
Your posts are not private. They are public records. Not only will your friends, family members, or co-workers read your posts. The adjusters, private investigators, or attorneys representing a person or business you are suing will also read it. They will also compare what you tell your friends about your injury with what your slip and fall accident lawyer tells them.
In addition, you are not only responsible for your posts on social media but also for what your children, family members, friends, or co-workers write on social media about your accident and the settlement that you expect.
Bear in mind that even if you delete your posts on social media, in Nevada, the insurance company can still subpoena the content of your social media account and use your deleted posts, comments, images, and videos as evidence during the trial.
So, if you are suing somebody for your slip and fall accident or plan to file a lawsuit, we recommend you stop posting anything related to your accident on social media. In addition, ask your friends, family members, and co-workers not to discuss the accident, the status of your liability claim, or your expected settlement on social media.
Social media posts can destroy your lawsuit.
5. You can re-open an insurance claim within the first 30 days.
In Nevada, a slip and fall accident victim could take back a prior agreement with the insurance company and re-open the case if they accepted a settlement without the aid of an attorney. You can do it within the first 30 days. For details, call our office.
6. A pre-existing medical condition may affect your settlement.
A pre-existing medical condition may affect your settlement. You are still entitled to the accident compensation, but the pre-existing medical condition may lead to a smaller payment. We have an article explaining how attorneys and insurance companies usually handle accident liability claims when the victim has previous medical issues and what laws apply to these claims.
In Nevada, the plaintiff does not have a duty to disclose previous injuries before filing a lawsuit. Still, during the litigation, the attorney who represents the insurance company will ask, through interrogatories and depositions, whether there were prior injuries. They will subpoena previous medical providers for records to see if they can find anything.
We can help
Our law firm handles hundreds of slip and fall accidents every year.
We represent clients in Las Vegas and Nevada.
We work on a contingency basis which means - we do not require payment until you receive compensation for your injury.
For a free consultation, call us at 702-432-1000.
Last updated on February 3, 2024.
