A slip and fall might not sound like a serious accident, but those who have been involved in serious slip and falls know the truth. If you break a bone, hit your head, or strike something on the way down, your injuries can be very serious.
Getting full compensation for your injuries may be possible through an insurance claim. However, insurance companies often refuse to cover damages in full, and the only way to get your costs covered may be to take the property owner or operator to court. Our lawyers are not afraid to take on property owners, businesses, and even powerful hotels and casinos throughout Las Vegas.
For help with your case, call our slip and fall attorneys at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law today at (702) 702-2622.
How Fault is Determined for Slip and Falls
Slip and falls fall into the category of “premises liability” law; that is, injury cases dealing with dangerous conditions on someone’s property. These cases are usually analyzed as follows:
Property Owner/Operator is Responsible
The owner of the property is typically responsible for conditions on the property. This makes it their duty to keep things safe for guests, customers, patrons, etc.
If the property is rented – which is the case with many commercial properties, apartments, and businesses – then some of the day-to-day duties might fall to the operator instead.
Liability Defined
A defendant property owner is liable for an accident on their property if the following conditions are met:
- The defendant owed the victim a legal duty, usually based on the relationship between the owner and the visitor to the property.
- The defendant breached that duty, usually by failing to clear, clean, or repair a dangerous condition.
- The breach caused the accident, in this case, a slip and fall.
- The victim suffered injuries and damages in the accident.
Duty in Slip and Fall Cases
The specific duty the property owner owes you may be different depending on your status and reason for being on the property.
Cases sometimes deal with the distinction between a “trespasser,” a “licensee,” and an “invitee”:
- Trespassers are owed no duty, except to avoid intentionally injuring them.
- Licensees are owed only the barest duty to keep the property safe from hidden dangers.
- Invitees are owed a high duty to warn of hidden dangers and seek out dangers that might injure them.
Prior Knowledge
A big complication arises from the fact that owners cannot clear dangers they do not know about. If the dangerous condition – e.g., a spill – just happened, and the owner did not know about it yet, they cannot be expected to clear it up.
This often means showing that the owner/staff either
- Had a prior report about the danger and did not clear it up/warn about it in a reasonable time.
- Had a reasonable time that they should have discovered the condition, but they did not find it nor clean it up/warn about it.
How This Works in Practice
Casino guests and bar patrons are often invitees, and bars/casinos owe them a high duty to look for hidden dangers, mop up spills, put out “Wet Floor” signs, and otherwise actively prevent slip and falls.
Victims who slip or trip and fall in a business, in someone’s home, or in a casino or bar often have a case against the property owner if the owner knew about and should have cleared the danger.
How Does Intoxication Affect Your Slip and Fall Case in Las Vegas?
Many slip and falls happen in casinos and bars on the Strip, and the patrons who suffer injuries are not always sober when they fall. Just because you were a bit tipsy – or even flat-out drunk – when you fall, that does not necessarily stop you from getting compensation for your injuries.
Liability for Overserving Patrons
In Nevada, NRS 41.1305 explicitly blocks bars from being responsible for injuries their drunk patrons cause third parties. However, this law says nothing about whether the overserved patron can sue the bar.
Unfortunately, the law usually considers voluntary intoxication just that: a voluntary action. This means our slip and fall lawyers often cannot sue a bar simply for overserving you, though being drunk does not typically kill your case either.
Shared Fault
If you were drunk, you might be considered partially at fault. However, this does not stop you from suing in Nevada as long as your fault was less than the defendant’s (i.e., your fault is 50%, max).
If your voluntary intoxication contributed to your accident, your damages can be reduced by your share of the fault. However, the defendant is still responsible for their share of fault and damages.
Bar/Casino Still Bears Blame
If the bar or casino still did something dangerous, like fail to mop up a spill or repair a broken handrail, then they are still responsible for that danger. Even when patrons are drunk, this does not absolve them of their legal duties.
FAQs for Slip and Fall Cases in Nevada
Do You Sue or File with Insurance?
Homeowners, renters, and most businesses have insurance to cover things like slip and falls on their property. This means you can often file an insurance claim, but you should do so with the help of an attorney and know that it might not cover your case in full.
If the insurance company refuses to pay full damages, do not accept a settlement! We can instead negotiate for better damages and go to court if they refuse to pay in full.
Do You Have to Sue in Las Vegas?
Most of the time, injury lawsuits are filed where they happened. If you were hurt while here on vacation or at a conference, you will typically need to keep your claim filed here in Las Vegas.
However, we can handle much of the case here without you present, and more and more cases today allow for remote appearances. Plus, if the case settles, it might never need to see the inside of a courtroom anyway.
How Long Do You Have to Sue for a Slip and Fall?
Nevada law typically gives victims 2 years from the date of injury to get their lawsuit filed.
Call Our Las Vegas Slip and Fall Lawyers Today
If you were hurt, call the slip and fall lawyers at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law at (702) 702-2622 to discuss your case.