Nevada’s statute of limitations to bring a slip-and-fall lawsuit is generally two (2) years from the date of the injury. For example, if you tripped and broke your leg in a Las Vegas casino on January 1, 2023, then you must file your lawsuit against the casino no later than January 1, 2025.
If you wait too long to file your lawsuit, your claim will be dismissed because it is too stale. In my experience, it is best to bring personal injury lawsuits as quickly as possible once we are confident we have a solid case. Otherwise, we risk:
- vital evidence disappearing,
- memories fading, and
- witnesses moving away or passing away.
Exceptions to the Two-Year Rule
There are limited situations where you have longer or shorter than two years to bring a slip-and-fall lawsuit:
- Minor children: If your minor child was the victim, the statute of limitations pauses (“tolls”) until they turn 18.
- Comas: If the fall causes you to fall into a coma, the statute of limitations tolls until you regain consciousness.
- Out-of-state defendant: If the at-fault party is not in Nevada, the statute of limitations tolls while they remain out-of-state.
- Wrongful death: If a slip-and-fall victim dies as a result of the fall, their family has only one year after the death to bring a wrongful death claim.1
Statute of Limitations for Injury to Property
Nevada law gives you three years to sue if your fall causes property damage, such as broken:
- eyeglasses,
- phones and tablets,
- watches,
- jewelry, or
- objects you were holding at the time.
If all you suffered was property damage, I would still encourage you to bring your case as soon as possible to maximize your odds of winning a large settlement.2
Winning Your Case
Most slip-and-fall lawsuits I handle involve you (the plaintiff) suing the property owner (defendant) for negligence on premises liability grounds. To prevail in these lawsuits, we would have to prove the following elements by a preponderance of the evidence:
- The defendant owns the premises or is in control of the place where the fall occurred;
- You were on the premises with the defendant’s consent;
- A falling hazard exists on the premises;
- Defendant caused, knew of, or should have known of the slip-and-fall hazard; and
- The falling hazard caused you to suffer an injury and/or other damages.3
Typical evidence in these cases includes any of the following:
- Video surveillance footage of the incident (especially if it took place in a store or casino);
- Eyewitness testimony
- Photographs of the aftermath of the incident and what you slipped on
- Medical records
- Samples of the substance you slipped on
- Your shoes
How Defendants Fight Your Claims
Depending on the circumstances of the case, defendants in slip-and-fall cases may try to argue the following in order to escape liability:
- The defendant adequately warned you of the falling hazard, such as by cordoning off the area;
- The falling hazard was open and obvious, and any reasonable person would have avoided it;
- Your injuries were caused by your preexisting conditions, not by the fall;
- You failed to exercise due care on the premises, such as by running too fast, or by texting while walking; and/or
- An intervening cause unrelated to the defendant caused the injury, such as a third party pushing you.
Do not be intimidated by their attacks. There are many ways we can show their claims are baseless or irrelevant.
What Money You Can Get
When negotiating an accident claim, I fight to recover enough compensatory damages to cover all your:
- Medical expenses, including hospital stays, clinical visits, telehealth appointments, braces, rehabilitation, medications, and home health care;
- Lost wages from being unable to work while recovering from the injury;
- Loss of future earnings if you can no longer work due to the injury;
- Pain and suffering, which is often the biggest expense.
Even if you were partially to blame for the fall, you should be eligible for reduced damages as long as you were no more than 50% at fault. (Learn more about Nevada’s comparative negligence laws – NRS 41.141.)3
Should the case reach trial, we can also ask the court to award punitive damages (NRS 42.005). If the compensatory damages are less than $100,000, punitive damages are capped at $300,000. Otherwise, punitive damages are capped at three times the compensatory damages. The sole purpose of punitive damages is to punish the defendant for the behavior that led to the accident.4
5 Steps to Take After a Fall
- Get medical help. See a doctor right away, even if you feel uninjured. Some injuries take time to manifest.
- Document everything. Use your phone to photograph the accident scene, your injuries, and anything else that might be relevant. Also keep copies of any receipts related to your fall, like medical bills.
- Gather eyewitnesses. If anyone saw the fall, get their contact information.
- DO NOT ADMIT FAULT. Even if you believe you were to blame, you could be wrong. Any admission of guilt could prevent you from recovering damages later.
- Contact an attorney. Insurance companies will try to discourage you by blame-shifting or offering a low-ball settlement, but I know their tricks and do not quit fighting until we achieve the best settlement possible under the law.
Additional Reading
For more information, refer to our related articles by our Las Vegas slip and fall lawyers:
- Can I sue if I had a slip and fall in a Las Vegas hotel? What to do if you are injured in a hotel.
- Can I sue after falling on a slippery floor at a Vegas nightclub? Your options if you are injured in a nightclub.
- How to file a slip and fall claim in Las Vegas – 5 key steps. Guide to bringing a slip and fall lawsuit.
- I had a slip and fall in a Las Vegas hotel. Can I file a lawsuit? Your options if you are injured in a hotel.