Las Vegas Injury Lawyers Blog

Most people use their cars or other types of vehicles (bicycles, scooters, etc.) to get to and from work. Many are required to use a car or other types of vehicle to perform their work. Workers required to use a car or other types of vehicle to perform their work are at risk for and may find themselves in a job-related car or other types of vehicle accident.

If a worker is injured in a job-related car or other types of vehicle accident that is the fault of your employer or co-worker, the worker should obtain the services of a workers' compensation attorney, even though a worker generally cannot sue an employer or a co-worker for job-related injuries. If a worker is injured in a job-related car or other types of vehicle accident that is not the fault of your employer or co-worker, the worker will also want a personal injury attorney. Though a successful personal injury award can be considerably more than the compensation received under a workers' compensation claim, workers injured in work-related car or other types of vehicle accidents in Las Vegas or Nevada will want to pursue both types of actions.

Under Nevada's workers' compensation statutes, employers not exempt by statute, provide workers' compensation insurance to their employees for injuries, which include work-related car or vehicle accidents, they sustain in the course and scope of their employment. NRS 616C.150(1). Under NRS 616A.020 exclusive remedy doctrine, in exchange for an entitlement to benefits, an employee cannot sue their employer and an employer cannot deny benefits to an employee for work-related injuries, regardless of whose fault caused the injury. Workers ' compensation covers medical treatment, compensation for lost work time due to temporary total or permanent disability, awards for permanent or total disability, death benefits to dependents, vocational rehabilitation, and other related expenses.

To establish a workers' compensation claim for a work-related car or other types of vehicle accident in Las Vegas or Nevada, a worker must give a written statement of the accident, and injuries, to his employer who will direct him where to go for initial care. An experienced workers' compensation attorney can help the worker then complete a C-4 form - Employee's Claim for Compensation/Report of Initial Treatment, which starts the workers' compensation process, and then find the best and appropriate care and treatment for injuries.

By starting a workers' compensation claim, along with a personal injury lawsuit, the injured worker will have access to immediate medical and compensation benefits not available with a personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury lawsuit can take months or years to be resolved. Furthermore, most liability insurers will not pay out any costs or awards until the full extent of the worker's injuries are known and the worker has completed treatment for his or her's injuries. But note, a worker cannot double dip for costs or awards. An injured worker subrogates his or her personal liability award to the employer's workers' compensation carrier . Once the personal injury award is received, the workers' compensation carrier will reimburse themselves for amounts paid to the injured worker, then pay over to the injured worker the balance left.

Continue reading "For Work-Related Car or Vehicle Accidents in Las Vegas or Nevada, Get the Right Attorney" »

With over a million visitors to Las Vegas each year, the city of Las Vegas has hundreds of parking lots and parking structures to accommodate motor vehicles. As such, parking lot accidents are bound to occur. But when a parking lot accident occurs in Las Vegas, who exactly is liable?

In Las Vegas, business owners have the responsibility to keep their premises which include their parking lot(s), safe from causing injury. If a Las Vegas business owner does not keep their premises safe, and a personal injury, such as a car accident, occurs, the Las Vegas business owner may be liable to the injured party(ies) if the injury was reasonable and foreseeable. To be liable the Las Vegas business owner must also owe a duty of care to the injured party(ies) and the injured party(ies) must show that the business owner breached that duty of care. Injured parties which can be owed a duty of care include customers, employees, and agents.

For instance, a Las Vegas business is aware there is a hole in their parking lot. They do not cover the hole, nor do they put a barrier around the hole. On the way to their car, a customer trips in the hole and suffers injuries. First, the Las Vegas business owner owes a duty of care to this individual because they were a customer. Second, it is foreseeable that a person, such as a customer, could be injured by the parking lot hole. Therefore a court could find that it is reasonable that the Las Vegas business should have taken steps to protect persons using their parking lot from injury. Furthermore, by not taking such steps to protect their customer, the Las Vegas business could be held liable for any injuries the customer sustained.

Parking lot accidents which occur because of circumstances, such as weather, that are outside the control of the Las Vegas business owner, can preclude the Las Vegas business owner from being liable for injuries even to someone they owed a duty of care. In these circumstances, another person or even the injured party may be held liable.

For instance, a customer pulls out of a Las Vegas parking lot space without looking in both directions. The customer hits another customer walking through the parking lot or another car entering the parking lot. In these circumstances, while it is reasonable and foreseeable that car accidents will occur in the parking lot, the customers driving their cars or the pedestrian in the parking lot could be an intervening cause to exclude the Las Vegas business from liability.

Continue reading "Parking Lot Accidents - Business versus Driver(s) Liability" »

You're out on the Strip. Celebrating. Having a good time. Hours later when you and your buddy leave, whether your buddy is fit to drive is questionable. But you let them get behind the wheel, you climb into the passenger seat, and the unfortunate happens. An accident. And you're seriously injured.

Or ... you're out on the Strip. As you leave to go home you jaywalk or cross the street on a red light. You're hit by a drunk driver and sustain injuries.

Who's liable?

Under Cromer v. Wilson, 225 P. 3d 788 - Nev: Supreme Court 2010, the state's high court ruling would hold that the party driving, who was inebriated, AND the person not driving whether a passenger or pedestrian are both liable. The difference is the liability of the driver is taken into account in determining whether the driver is innocent or guilty of a criminal act, while the liability of the passenger or pedestrian is taken into account in determining how much damages are awarded if the driver is found guilty.

In Cromer, Cromer was a passenger in a car driven by Wilson when Wilson ran off the road. The car rolled several times and Cromer was seriously injured, suffering two spinal vertebrae fractures, four broken ribs, a broken wrist, and a broken collarbone. .

At the time of the accident, Wilson's blood alcohol content (BAC) registered 0.31. An ensuing toxicology report showed Wilson also had cocaine in his system. Subsequently, Wilson was found guilty of two felonies - a DUI and reckless driving (he was speeding when the accident occurred).

An incomplete quadriplegic, with severe disabilities in his legs, arms, and hands, Cromer sued Wilson for his injuries. He asked the court for a ruling of a summary judgment claiming under Nevada law Wilson's felony convictions automatically made Wilson liable for Cromer's injuries. In defense, Wilson pleaded comparative negligence, claiming that Cromer was legally responsible for his injuries.

Nevada's district court held that Cromer was not entitled to a summary judgment because, by Wilson pleading comparative negligence, whether there was liability, the amount of each person's liability, and the amount of damages now were a question of fact to be determined by a jury. At trial, a jury assessed fault as follows: 25% for Cromer, 75% for Wilson, and awarded damages of $4.5 million. Cromer appealed arguing the district court erred in not awarding him summary judgment and allowing Wilson to argue comparative negligence.

The Nevada Supreme Court agreed with Cromer.

Under NRS 41.133, "conviction of crime is conclusive evidence of facts necessary to impose civil liability for related injury. If an offender has been convicted of the crime which resulted in the injury to the victim, the judgment of conviction is conclusive evidence of all facts necessary to impose civil liability for the injury." As such, Wilson's felony convictions automatically made him liable for Cromer's injuries and a summary judgment to this fact should have been rendered.

Furthermore under NRS 41.141, "in any action to recover damages for death or injury to persons or for injury to property in which comparative negligence is asserted as a defense, the comparative negligence of the plaintiff or the plaintiff's decedent does not bar a recovery if that negligence was not greater than the negligence or gross negligence of the parties to the action against whom recovery is sought." As such, any negligence Cromer may have had should be taken into account in determining damages, not liability.

As the district court used an incorrect method, but did reach the correct outcome, the high court upheld the judgment.

Continue reading "DUI Injuries Determine Damages, Not Guilt" »

Life and death are important things for us to deal with. Our families and loved ones are some of the most important people in our lives. When they are hurt we turn doctors, the caretakers and healers of this world. Doctors posses the power to save those we love and remove our own ailments. Our society is reliant upon having second, third or more chances that are given by a doctor.

When children think of respectable and important jobs it is always doctors and lawyers who get named. A doctors' position is one of respect, duty and prestige but what happens when a doctor fails to live up to that duty? When a doctor deviates from accepted standards of medical practice during the performance of their job they can unnecessarily endanger patience. This act of endangerment is known as medical malpractice and it can cause serious injury or death. Most of the time this malpractice is due to medical error but occasionally it is due to negligence and other causes.

For doctors one error can result in never being allowed to work again as malpractices lawsuits can be extremely costly. Many doctors have chosen medical malpractice insurance, which helps protect them against lawsuits. Even though this insurance can protect them from being put out of business it still has a hefty price. To help fight the rising costs for doctors the state of Tennessee has passed a law that puts caps on how much claimants are allowed to receive.

Continue reading "Capping Medical Malpractice In Tennessee " »

A child's laughter may very well be the happiest sound in the world. It seems to sooth the soul and melt away grown up hardships, the world becomes an innocent and happy place. On the opposite side of the spectrum a child's death can be one of the most traumatic events a family and community can experience. To take away someone's future to live a happy life or contribute to society isn't just a crime against one person it's a crime against the nature of humanity.

We all have the right to life but it is most cherished when it regards children. Mark DiBona was four years old when he had his right to life taken away in Auburn Mass. The circumstances behind his death are atrocious and point at many failures of the safeties our modern society enjoys. Mark was getting onto a mall escalator, like so many American families do on a daily basis, while holding the handrail he was pulled between an opening in the plexiglass barrier. Mark then fell to his death, landing on a display casing. A person can only imagine the pure terror going through a child's mind and the horror the parents felt as they watched their son die. Mark's death was not in complete vain though, his heart was donated in order to save the life of another child.

The issue we face, as a community is as dire as it is imperative that we fix. The hole that Mark went through was not due to a design flaw it was due to an oversight flaw. The fact is the escalator had been designed with a much smaller gap that would have prevented Mark from falling through. The plans for the escalator were approved with the appropriate sizing but the construction requirement was not met when it was built. Several employees at the Department of Public Safety were released from their positions with others pending investigation.

What was discovered was this oversight was not a one-time accident but in fact a reoccurring issue and discovered at other escalators statewide. The problem was that plans were drawn correctly and then the contractor would neglect to follow them and the site inspector would come in and write off on them. This kind of corruption is directly linked with a downfall of public safety. There is all sorts of conjecture that could explain why this incident happened but preventing it from reoccurring is more important.

Those who signed off on an illegal structure need to be punished as well as those who built it incorrectly in the first place. To many times in our society people are killed and injured by design flaws, but this case was not one of them. This could have been prevented if several people had performed their job honestly and correctly. Our hearts go out to the family who has suffered an unnecessary and painful tragedy.

A full article can be found here: Family Sues In Boy's Escalator Death At Auburn Mall

Our law firm does not represent anybody in this incident. The commentary is for educational purposes only. If you or someone you know has been injured or hurt at the fault of another and would like justice done, contact our lawyers for a free confidential case review and receive a response within hours. Call Toll Free 866-414-0400.

Safety is of the utmost importance with every product anyone buys. American citizens have the right to purchase a product and use it reasonably within its means and not worry about death or dismemberment. In fact to establish a system contrary to this right would invariably lead to a society constantly suffering injury.

It is this right which is so strongly believed and upheld that on June 7, 2011 $30 million was awarded to a plaintiff who was injured in a disturbing boating accident. The amount was awarded by a Butte County jury who were able to not only sympathize with the plaintiff but understood the importance their award. This award acts not only as a means of compensation but also as a deterrent to other companies from making similar mistakes.
The public requires the company whom the ruling was issued against, MasterCraft Boat Co., to be held to the same standards as any individual; which is that they are not allowed to take actions that kill or mutilate anyone.

Occasionally there are public outcries of placing caps on awards. One argument for a cap may be that no one deserves an award of $30 million, but let us look at the facts. The day of the accident both Niki Bell and Bethany Wallenburg had been enjoying a nice day out at Lake Oroville. They were with a group of friends some of which were wakeboarding. When the boat made a slow turn at roughly 4mph to retrieve a wakeboarder in the water the bow of the boat dipped taking on water. Both plaintiffs then found themselves in the lake and as the boat continued its turn a propeller tore out the eye of Ms.Bell and carved her skull open penetrating her brain while Ms.Wallenberg was left with severe back lacerations and scars.

Such a painful incident isn't awarded an amount of money based solely on compensation but also for punishment and protection of US citizens. It is obvious that such a travesty should be compensated but it is equally obvious that it should be prevented from ever happening again.

When a business fails to leave the public unharmed from its products it is failing a responsibility. If liability were removed completely we would be living in a world where any product could have the lethality of a hand grenade.

Capping awards the hinders the ability for the public to protect the public. With a cap the sanctity of human life is reduced to a number. It becomes an equation which reads: If I produce a product that kills or dismembers consumers how many people will have to die or be dismembered for my product to not be profitable? This is a problem because as long as profits out weigh the costs of paying death and disfiguration penalties the product will be made and the public will continue to suffer.

The liability for this accident was deemed to lay 80% with the manufacturer MasterCraft and they have paid a price but they have also performed a cruel form of public service. Through this verdict they have announced that it is in fact a crime to not properly engineer a product and that a heavy price will be paid for failing to perform adequate testing and research. In our country justice and liberty isn't just for the brave, it is for all.

A full article can be found here: Jury Awards $30 Million to Chico Woman for Boat Accident

Our law firm does not represent anybody in this incident. The commentary is for educational purposes only. If you or someone you know has been injured by a product or would like to speak to someone about your rights, contact our lawyers for a free confidential case review and receive a response within hours. Call Toll Free 866-414-0400.

It seems lately that there have been numerous pedestrian accidents in and around the Strip and an annual report came out last week claiming that Las Vegas ranked number six on the list of most dangerous metropolitan areas in the nation for pedestrians. Among metropolitan areas with more than 1 million residents, Las Vegas ranked second on the list, falling only behind Riverside.

The report indicates that major arterial routes such as Tropicana Avenue, Flamingo Road and Sahara Avenue have the highest concentration of fatalities but Boulder Highway and Lake Mead are also major trouble areas.

Pedestrian safety has been a focus area for government officials and the Nevada Department of Transportation, and with 541 pedestrians killed in Las Vegas over the last ten years, it is easy to see why.

The full article can be found here: Report: Las Vegas 6th most dangerous metro area for pedestrians

If you have been injured in an accident or would like to speak to someone about your rights, contact our lawyers for a free confidential case review and receive a response within hours, or call toll free 866-414-0400.

A customer was detained, battered and assaulted at a casino on the strip after vocalizing displeasure with the machine he was playing. The costumer, who was also an employee at the casino, complained that the machine was not paying out.

The customer then called over a technician who informed him that the machine was working correctly. Dissatisfied with this response and insisting that the machine was broken he asked to speak with a supervisor.

Several security guards arrived to assess the situation and began conversing with the customer. He retold the security guards of that machine's problems and they instructed him to contact the Gaming Control Board. Afterwards the customer got on the phone and when he walked back to the machine he was confronted by head of security. Next the customer was restrained with his arms behind his back, forced to the ground and detained.

Upon inspection of the machine regulators confirmed that the machine was in fact broken. The casino was charged with assault, battery, false imprisonment and a jury granted the customer a $250,000 award.

A full article can be found here: Gambler wins $250,000 lawsuit against Imperial Palace

Our law firm does not represent anybody in this incident. The commentary is for educational purposes only. If you or someone you know would like to speak to someone about your rights please don't hesitate to contact our lawyers for a free confidential case review. Call us toll free at 1-866-414-0400.

A case recently settled in Clark County District Court and the ruling awarded a Palms customer $6.6 million after he was injured at the casino. The suit stated another man dove after a water bottle that had been thrown by a "Palms Girl" promoter and knocked him to the ground. He sustained multiple injuries as a result ranging from knee pain, neck pain and back pain to sleep apnea, depression and obesity. Evidence was given by medical experts, which substantiated his claims.

The Palms claims that such actions go against their policy and a staff meeting was held instructing employees not to throw items into a crowd. However, despite these claims the Palms had a goal post constructed in its sports book when the Palms girl, who was an independent contractor, threw the water bottle.

The $6.6 million dollars awarded against the Palms for negligent supervision included past and future medical expenses, past and future pain and suffering, past and future lost income, pre-judgment interest as well as legal fees and costs.

The full article can be found here: Palms faces $6.6 million judgment over patron's sports book injuries

Our law firm does not represent anybody in this incident. The commentary is for educational purposes only.

Just over a year since the BP Oil Spill, an estimated 500,000 lawsuits have been filed due to one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in history. Attorney Kenneth Finberg has been assigned by BP to administer the compensation fund of the Gulf Oil Spill.

Recently, the federal judge overseeing this intense litigation made a ruling on the case regarding Feinberg. He is now required to disclose that he is, in fact, not a neutral and independent of BP while overseeing the $20 billion fund set up to compensate victims of the Gulf Oil Spill and can not tell claimants they do not need a lawyer.

Disclosure is an important part in any litigation and attorneys who mislead clients can be held liable. In this case, non-disclosure was apparent when Feinberg instructed claimants to sign a full release against all potential defendants before obtaining their payment in full. Feinberg was being paid a salary by BP in this matter and should have fully disclosed that fact to all claimants.

The full story can be found on the American Association for Justice's website: Feinberg, oil spill fund are not neutral, MDL judge says.

Our law firm does not represent any entities or individuals involved in this incident. The commentary is for educational purposes only. If you would like to speak to someone about your rights, contact our lawyers for a free confidential case review and receive a response within hours, or call toll free 866-414-0400.

Abuse among the elderly is becoming increasing common in nursing homes, assisted living homes, hospitals, hospices, rehab facilities and even their own households. This problem has been going widely unnoticed though due to poor public awareness. Education and awareness campaigns are helping family members to identify the problem and giving them an outlet to voice their concerns and resolve this growing issue in Nevada.

Abuse happens in many forms including physical, emotional, sexual, financial, verbal abuse, neglect and invasion of privacy. These problems can be hard to identify but the warning signs are there. Asking the right questions and talking to the right people are key factors in acknowledging if someone you know is being abused. 550,000 seniors are victims every year but only 1 in 5 cases are even reported.

Laws are in place to protect the elderly and taking the right steps is the only way to resolve this rapidly growing problem. If you feel you or someone you love is suffering from neglect or abuse websites like the National Center of Elderly Abuse (www.ncea.aoa.gov) can help. The personal injury lawyers of Parker Scheer Lagomarsino care about our clients and can help resolve elderly abuse or neglect cases. If you or someone you know are affected by any of these issues and would like to speak to someone please don't hesitate to contact our lawyers for a free confidential case review. Call us toll free at 1-866-414-0400.

A 20-year-old man was catastrophically killed and taken to University Medical Center after tumbling from a moving vehicle in North Las Vegas. His 17-year-old brother was the driver. The young man suffered significant head trauma from the event that ultimately resulted in his brother's death.

A full article is featured in the Las Vegas Sun: Man, 20, dies from injuries after 'car surfing' in North Las Vegas

Incidents like this in Nevada raise serious liability concerns. The driver, even though it is his brother, could faces charges after the police finish their investigation. The car insurance company or even the victim's health insurer could also hold some liability depending on the negligence factor.

Our law firm does not represent anybody in this incident. The commentary is for educational purposes only.

Accidents come in many forms: automobile, boating, plane, train, slip and fall, dog bites, work related and defective products just to name a few. The most important thing in any accident is to immediately call 911, and not another number like 311 or a medical response company according to county and health district officials. No mater how common or rare an accident is, reporting it should be one of the first things that happen after an accident.

An accident occurred at a Las Vegas casino a couple years ago and they were fined for their failure to do so after a man fell 40 feet to his death. A major reason this is so important is the Southern Nevada's dual response system that sends a fire department and a paramedic team simultaneously to the scene of an accident.

If you have been injured in an accident or would like to speak to someone about your rights, contact our lawyers for a free confidential case review and receive a response within hours, or call toll free 866-414-0400.

Implied authority is that which the agent reasonably believes himself to possess, as a result of representations by the principal or acts of the agent permitted by the principal over a course of time in which the principal has acquiesced. Coblentz v. Riskin, 74 Nev. 53, 57, 322 P.2d 905, 907 (1958). Incidental authority is that which is reasonably necessary, proper and usual to carry into effect the main authority granted. See id. Implied authority is inherent in an agent's position and is proven by circumstantial evidence. See Amcore Bank, N.A. v. Hahnaman-Albrecht, Inc., 759 N.E.2d 174, 182-83 (Ill. App. 2001); see also, Heil-Quaker v. Swindler, 255 F.Supp. 445, 448-49 (D.C. S.C. 1966) (implied authority is actual authority circumstantially proved, or evidenced by conduct). Implied agency, in other words, is one that may be inferred from the dealings between the principal and the agent. See Gardner v. Rensmeyer, 557 P.2d 1258, 1261 (Kan. 1976). This type of authority has been further defined as follows:

Implied authority of an agent is, in fact, actual authority evidenced by conduct, that is
the conduct of the principal being such as to justify a Jury in finding that the Agent
had actual authority to do what he did. This may be proved by evidence of
acquiescence with knowledge of the Agent's acts, and such knowledge and
acquiescence may be shown by evidence of the Agent's course of dealing for so long
a period of time that acquiescence may be assumed.

Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Enjay Chemical Co., 316 A.2d 219, 222 (Del.Super. 1974). Under implied authority, the general rule is that an agent employed to do an act is deemed authorized to do it in the manner in which the business entrusted to him is usually done. See Masuda v. Kawaski Dockyard Co.

Generally a handbook or guide regulating the responsibilities and conduct of a person within a position demonstrates control leading to actual authority. State of Hawaii v. Hoshijo, 76 P.3d 550, 562 (Hawaii 2003). In Hoshijo, the University of Hawaii was sued when a student manager on a basketball team yelled racial slurs during a basketball game. Id. at 554. The Court held that the handbook regulated the conduct of student managers and therefore subjected the student to the control of the University of Hawaii, and he was therefore an agent of the University. Id. at 562.

Continue reading "Nevada Employers Can Be Held Responsible For Their Employees' Actions If The Employee Acts Wrongfully On The Job" »

Recently the Nevada Supreme Court ruled on a case involving the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino and an employee who was injured on the job. Kathryn Phillips, an employee at the casino for 17 years, walked up and down two flights of stairs six times every eight-hour shift. One day she fell down them and fractured her ankle. Her workers compensation claim was denied and she was forced to take her case to court.

The lawsuit made its way to the Nevada Supreme Court at the end of 2010 and the decision from a lower court was upheld. The Courts ruled that she deserved to receive her benefits. The frequency in which she was required to use the stairs put her at a greater risk of injury than faced by the general public. An "increased risk test" should be used to determine whether an employee is entitled to benefits when injured on the job.

The full article is featured in the Las Vegas Sun: Court Rules in Las Vegas Casino Industrial Injury Case.

Continue reading "Employers Putting Employees at Risk" »