How Does Comparative Fault Work in Nevada Car Accidents?

How Does Comparative Fault Work in Nevada Car Accidents?

If you’re hurt in a car accident in Nevada, the concept of comparative fault is almost assuredly going to affect your case. Liability in the context of car crashes is rarely black and white, as both parties are often to blame in some measure for either failing to prevent the accident or failing to minimize the severity of the accident and its resulting accident-related damages. Comparative fault takes this shared liability into account, directly penalizing your level of liability by reducing the amount of financial damages you can recover for.

Comparative Fault Systems

Comparative fault systems, AKA comparative negligence systems, dictate each state’s handling of shared liability within an accident and how that affects the compensation of all liable parties. Every state has its own definitions and policies, so to understand where Nevada stands, let’s first look at the three primary categories of comparative fault:

  • Pure contributory negligence: Liable parties cannot recover any compensation at all if they are even 1% to blame for the accident.How Does Comparative Fault Work in Nevada Car Accidents?
  • Modified comparative fault: Liable parties can recover if they are less than either 50% or 51% at fault, but will have their compensation reduced in direct proportion to their level of liability.
  • Pure comparative fault: Liable parties can always recover, even if they are 99% at fault, but will have their compensation reduced in direct proportion to their level of liability.

Nevada’s comparative fault law (Revised Statute 41.141) classifies Nevada as a modified comparative fault state, specifically using a 51% bar rule. This means that you can recover if you’re equally at fault with another party, but that you cannot recover if you shoulder the majority of the blame, even by one percent. If you’re able to recover, your compensation will then be reduced in direct proportion to your fault. For example, if you have $10,000 of damages between your auto repair and hospital bills, but were 25% to blame for the crash, you could only recover $7,500 even if you won the case.

Proving Liability for Nevada Auto Accidents

Under Nevada’s comparative fault system, it’s vital that you gather as much evidence as possible to prove that you were, at the very least, equally to blame for the accident as the other party or less so. A Las Vegas car accident attorney can conduct a thorough investigation on your behalf, giving you the strongest chance to receive as much compensation as possible. This evidence will relate not only to your own conduct but to demonstrating the negligence of the other party and how their actions directly led to the accident and your injuries on the whole.

Aaron Law Group has extensive experience with every stage of the investigation and claims process, so we can help you get back on your feet and work around the limitations of comparative fault in Nevada. Give us a call today at (702) 550-1111 to schedule a free consultation with one of our Las Vegas auto accident attorneys, and we’ll answer any questions you might have about car accidents and the claims process overall, before working with you to ensure that you can stabilize your financial and physical well being.


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