Car accidents are common on Las Vegas highways. Being involved in a car accident can be a life-changing event. Depending on the type and severity of the accidents, victims may sustain serious injuries or lose their lives in the accident. Most car accidents are a result of negligence from motorists. Fortunately, you are entitled to compensation for injuries and losses incurred in a car accident and party causes.

If you are involved in a car accident, the compensation claim process may be challenging, especially if you are still recuperating. Often, the at-fault parties do not always accept liability for causing the accident. There may be a back and forth fight with insurance adjusters as you attempt to recover damages caused to you in the accident. Since the days following your car accident may be traumatizing, you will require guidance from a competent attorney to navigate the claim process.

Determining Damages in a Car Accident in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is full of fantastic entertainment and excitement that attract residents and even visitors worldwide. As a result, there is a significant influx of traffic congestion. This increases the likelihood of being involved in a car accident. Often, car accidents range from minor scratches on your vehicle to catastrophic head-on collisions. Depending on the severity of the accident, victims may suffer serious injuries or death.

Since most car accidents happen due to negligence, Nevada laws allow victims to recover damages from fault parties' insurance. Personal injury claims are intended for compensating you for the losses you suffered from the accident. Compensatory damage is financial compensation for the effects of your car accident. Even though the injuries and losses you suffer are easily noticeable, compensation is not always straightforward. 

Many factors and case circumstances could help determine the settlement you receive after a car accident. Therefore, it is impossible to tell the value of your claim without assessing each aspect. Some issues may arise during the case that may impact the settlement. Determining damages for a car accident claim in Las Vegas is putting a dollar value on things that cannot be equated to money on an everyday basis. The following are some factors that play a part in determining damages in your car accident claim:

  1. Value of Economic Damages

One of the essential factors in determining damages in a car accident in Nevada is the value of the economic losses you suffered due to the accident. Some of the economic losses associated with auto accidents include:

Medical Expenses

Depending on the type of car accident in which you were involved, you may suffer injuries ranging from minor whiplash to more severe injuries like traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries. Seeking medical attention is one of the steps you need to take after a car accident. This helps ensure all injuries are detected and treated on time. Also, seeking immediate medical care ensures all your injuries are recorded for rightful compensation.

Medical bills start to accumulate as soon as emergency responders take you in. The fault party is often responsible for the medical bills you incur when treating injuries from the accident. The amount you use for treatment is significant in calculating the overall value of your claim. Primarily, you seek medical care before a claim is settled. Therefore, you may need to cover your medical expenses with your medical insurance. The following are factors that could impact the settlement you recover for medical expenses:

  1. The severity of your injuries. More severe injuries like broken bones, spinal cord injury, and brain injury will require extensive treatment and prolonged hospital stays. The procedures used to treat such injuries are expensive and could increase your medical bills significantly. When determining the compensation for medical bills, the court will consider the severity of your injuries.
  2. Your health before the accident. When you file a claim to recover compensation for accident injuries, insurance adjusters may want to check your medical history dating five years before the injury. This ensures that the injuries for which you are seeking compensation resulted from the car accident. If you had preexisting injuries before the accident, your settlement would reduce significantly.
  3. Future medical expenses. Some of the injuries that result from a car accident may take a lifetime to recover. Therefore, you will require continued treatment and therapy even after other wounds have healed. If you have injuries that require future treatment, your compensation may increase to cater to these needs.

Lost Income

Some car accident injuries may require you to spend a significant amount of time in the hospital or nursing the wounds. Lost wages are the income you lose when you miss work due to accident injuries. The amount you lose in wages is significant when determining damages in your car accident personal injury claim. Lost wages could be in monthly income, bonuses, overtime, or even income from self-employment. Some of the factors that could impact the calculation of lost wages compensation include:

  • Your job title.
  • The number of hours you work per week.
  • The amount of money you earn each hour.
  • The number of hours you have missed from work while nursing your injuries.
  • Other perks which you would have enjoyed if you did not miss work.

Mostly, you can prove the above information by presenting a letter from your employer or your past tax returns if you are self-employed. Working with an experienced personal injury attorney is crucial in ensuring you recover rightful compensation.

Lost Future Earning Capacity

In Nevada, you are allowed to recover lost earning capacity in a car accident claim. Lost earning capacity is the loss of your ability to go back to work or make a living in the future due to accident injuries. If you suffer injuries that affect your ability to work in the future, the lost earning capacity is factored in when determining damages in your lawsuit. It is essential to understand that a permanent injury is not necessary to recover this type of compensation in Nevada.

Lost earning capacity is calculated based on the following factors:

  • Your age. A younger person is likely to lose more if their ability to work is affected. Therefore, the younger you are, the more compensation you may receive for lost earning capacity.
  • How long your injuries could last. The longer your injuries are likely to last, the more you may receive for lost earning capacity in your claim.
  • Amount of time remaining before you retire. When you lose your earning capacity, it may be challenging to return to the job position held before the accident. Therefore, the number of years you have left before retirement is crucial in determining the amount you are entitled to for the lost earning capacity.
  • Your prospects of promotion in your field. If you are likely to miss out on a potential promotion due to the health effects of the accident injuries, you can recover more damages in your claim.
  • The nature of your income. If your wages are performance-based, you may receive more compensation than you would receive if they were fixed. This is because your performance may be affected significantly by the injuries sustained.

  1. The Extent of Non-Economic Damages

Even though you cannot put a dollar value on non-economic damages, they are factored in when determining damages in your claim. Some non-economic damages that contribute to the overall compensation you recover in a car accident claim are:

Pain and Suffering

Involvement in a car accident could leave you with emotional and physical pain. Proving pain and suffering can be pretty complicated. You could increase your chances at a high compensation by presenting your medical records, photographs, or videos indicating the impacts of the accident. Also, testimonies from mental health professionals may be beneficial in proving how much you suffered from the accident.

Even though a physical injury is not required to recover compensation for pain and suffering, your damages could increase under the following circumstances:

  • You suffered permanent disfigurement or loss of function
  • You incurred high medical expenses to treat your injuries
  • You can verify the severity of your injuries using medical tests
  • Your injuries took a while to recover

Diminished Quality of Life

Compensation for diminished quality of life is more than just the pain and suffering you experienced. Some of the injuries you suffer from the accident may prevent you from doing some fun activities you enjoy doing or carrying out your normal life activities. Even though you cannot value the quality of life, compensation can help you ease the accident’s impact. Quality of life damages could include:

  • Emotional stress.
  • Physical discomfort.
  • Inability to engage in some activities.
  • Loss of an organ.

Depending on the specific factors of your claim and the losses you suffered, the court could consider these factors in calculating your damages.

Loss of Consortium

The consortium is a variety of interests that a registered domestic partner or a spouse has in the welfare of their partners, including sexual relations, solace, love, and compassion. If your spouse is injured in a car accident, you are entitled to compensation for the lost consortium. Proving lost consortium can be quite complicated since you may be required to expose details of your personal life. Prevailing on a claim for lost consortium requires you to prove:

  • A valid marriage or domestic partnership.
  • Wrongful injury to your partner.
  • You suffered the loss of consortium.
  • The loss of consortium resulted from the injury. 

  1. Fault for the Accident

Even when you are an efficient driver, you may find yourself in a car accident at least once in your life. Most car accidents result from negligence from the negligence of different parties. Fault for your car accident often plays a significant role in determining the damages you recover from your claim. Nevada is a fault state, and the person found to be at fault for your accident will be held responsible for the losses and injuries arising from the collision.

Determining fault in an accident is a complicated thing, and insurance adjusters need to collect as much information as they can to justify your settlement. It is essential to understand that being partially at fault for an accident in which you were injured could affect the damages you recover for your losses. 

Fault for a car accident in Las Vegas is often based on negligence. Before you recover compensation, you have to prove that the other party was negligent, and as a result, you suffered. Some of the elements that could make a difference in your car accident lawsuit and help establish fault include:

  • Weather conditions at the time of the accident.
  • The condition of vehicles involved in the accident.
  • Conditions of the roads and traffic signs.
  • Police reports and witness testimonies.
  • The speed of all vehicles involved in the crash. 

Negligence is a reckless disregard for the safety of other people and is established by proving the following elements:

  1. The defendant owed you a duty of care. Each road user must ensure they do not cause harm to others. Therefore, it is not difficult to establish that the fault party owed you the duty of care.
  2. Breach of duty. Owing a duty of care is not enough to establish that the defendant is responsible for your injuries in a car accident. You must prove that they breached the duty. A breach of duty occurs when one acts recklessly and puts other people in harm's way.
  3. Causation. After establishing that the defendant breached their duty of care towards you, you must show the link between the defendant's actions and the accident.
  4. Damages. Before you recover compensation, you must establish the injuries and losses you suffered from the car accident. The effect of the accident on your health and finances is crucial in determining the compensation you will receive in your claim.

Often the defense will present their counter-evidence that may try to put you at fault for the accident. If the courts find that you are partially responsible for the accident, your settlement could reduce significantly.

If you are dealing with the aftermath of a car crash in Las Vegas, you need to know that the fault party's insurance company will try everything not to pay a large settlement. After the accident, they may contact you and try to steer you into admitting partial fault for the accident. This could significantly reduce the amount you receive as compensation. Therefore, you should avoid speaking to the insurance adjusters without guidance from your injury attorney.

  1. Insurance Coverage

Automobile insurance plays a significant role in resolving a personal injury claim after a car accident. From the beginning to the end of your claim, your automobile insurance and the fault party are always involved. Each driver in Nevada is required to have an insurance policy. The type of auto insurance each driver carries will significantly impact the number of damages you recover in your claim.

To receive compensation, you need to obtain information on other parties involved in the accident. You can gather the addresses, contacts, and insurance information. Also, you should notify your auto insurer of the accident as soon as it happens. If liability is established in your claim, the fault party's insurance is responsible for compensating you for property damage and injuries from the accident.

After an accident, the insurance company may attempt to offer you compensation out of court that is often less than what you deserve. It is not a good idea to accept the first settlement offered. An insurance adjuster could ask you to provide a recorded statement. The insurance providers could use this statement against you to reduce the amount you receive in damages. Therefore, you should consult your attorney before making arrangements with insurance companies.

If the fault party does not have auto insurance or their policy is too low compared to the losses you suffered, you have to rely on your insurance for compensation. Since you have a contract with your insurer, they have a responsibility to negotiate and settle your claim, a failure to which you can file a lawsuit for breach of contract. Sadly, even when you deserve millions in compensation, and there isn't enough insurance, there will be no source to obtain the money.

Find a Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney Near Me 

Involvement in a car accident is often devastating. The accident’s aftermath could take a toll on your life physically, emotionally, and financially. Whether or not you will receive compensation for your losses, chasing compensation is always a thought lingering in your mind. Valuing your claim is a crucial part of recovering the compensation you deserve for your losses. Understanding how damages are calculated and determined after a car accident in Nevada will help you gather the necessary information required to ensure you recover the compensation you deserve. 

Some of the factors that determine damages may be confusing to understand. Therefore, it would be wise to seek guidance from a knowledgeable legal representative. At Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney, we offer top-tier legal guidance and representation if you or your loved one is involved in a car accident in Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact us today at 702-996-1224 and allow us to guide you through this claiming process.