Every day innocent victims are injured or killed in Nevada auto accidents. Our attorneys can help you to get justice and compensation.
Auto Accidents
Every day innocent victims are injured or killed in Nevada auto accidents. Our attorneys can help you to get justice and compensation.
Premises Liability
Nevada law requires property owners to maintain safe conditions. When they fail to do so, and people get injured, our lawyers are here to help.
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And we do not handle any cases outside of California.
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When lifeguard negligence contributes to an accident in Nevada, the victim’s family can sue the water park or hotel/casino where it occurred because pool owners are “vicariously liable” for its negligent lifeguards.
In a recent case, Henderson’s Cowabunga Bay water park paid a $49 million settlement to the family of a boy who sustained catastrophic brain damage after nearly drowning due to insufficient lifeguards on duty.1
In Nevada, lifeguards must have
“satisfactorily completed a Red Cross Advanced Lifesaving Course or the equivalent.”2
These courses require several hours of training and coursework including water rescue, first aid, CPR, and AED.
Certification is valid for two years. To avoid a lapse in lapse in certification, lifeguards should apply for recertification 30 days before their certification’s expiration date.3
Nevada law requires enough lifeguards at public pools to be
“adequate to maintain continuous surveillance over the bathers.” 4
At the Cowabunga Bay water park in Henderson, only three lifeguards were on duty when the near-drowning victim sustained brain injuries. The Southern Nevada Health District said there needed to be 17.
Homeowners and tenants who have private pool parties are encouraged to hire at least one lifeguard for every 15 guests. If you are going boating, everyone should wear a life jacket.
To prove a lifeguard (the “defendant”) was negligent in Nevada, you (the “plaintiff”) need to show:
The most common causes of lifeguard negligence that my team of personal injury lawyers see are:
You can bring a legal action against the individual lifeguards if their negligence caused your swimming pool injury or drowning accident. Though chances are they have little money and are therefore judgment-proof.
It is much more common to bring a personal injury claim against the companies that owned, managed, and/or maintained the swimming pool or water park where your injury took place.6 These companies are liable for their negligent lifeguards under the legal doctrines of:
If the lifeguard was uncertified or otherwise unsuitable for the job, you can also sue the companies on the basis of negligent hiring, supervision, or retention.
You may also have grounds to sue the companies that manufactured the swimming pool itself or any swimming equipment that may have malfunctioned and contributed to the injuries. In these cases, you would sue on a products liability basis rather than for negligence.
In lifeguard negligence cases, my team of accident attorneys fight for all the standard compensatory damages:
Many of the cases I see involve victims who sustained such catastrophic injuries that they need 24/7 care, so I pursue settlements that will cover all future medical bills for the life of the victim. In my experience, the defendants’ insurance companies are willing to settle without a trial in order to avoid bad publicity.
If you were partly at fault for your accident – such as by trying a dangerous stunt on a water slide – you can still recover damages as long as you were no more than 50% at fault. Your final monetary reward would just be reduced by your degree of fault.7
Example: Max is at a water park when he nearly drowns, sustaining $100,000 in medical bills. He sues the water park because the lifeguard was slow to rescue him. The court finds Max 50% at fault for being intoxicated. Therefore, Max could recover $50,000 (half of $100,000).
In the lifeguard negligence cases I see that involve child victims, the defendant tries to avoid responsibility by blaming lack of supervision by the parents. So my team of personal injury attorneys rely on such evidence as surveillance video and eyewitness accounts to show that the parents did nothing wrong, and that all fault lies with the venue.
Learn more about Nevada’s comparative negligence law.
The statute of limitations in Nevada personal injury cases is typically two years after the accident. Though if the victim was a minor, the statute of limitations does not start running until they turn 18 years old – which means they would have until their 20th birthday to sue (18 plus 2).8
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.