People injured because of a dangerous condition in a Las Vegas, Nevada casino can bring a lawsuit for negligence. Casinos injuries result from many types of accidents, such as:
- Slip-and-fall,
- Food poisoning,
- Swimming pool drownings,
- Shuttle-bus accidents,
- Burns from hot drinks or bathwater, and/or
- Assaults from security or other patrons
Victims of casino injuries in Nevada may be eligible for financial compensation to cover their
- medical expenses,
- pain and suffering, and
- lost wages from being unable to work.
The statute of limitations to file a personal injury lawsuit is usually two years after the accident.
To help you better understand lawsuits for claims against casinos, our Nevada personal injury lawyers discuss:
- 1. Who can I sue if I am injured in a Las Vegas casino?
- 2. How do I prove a casino’s negligence under Nevada law?
- 3. What is the duty of care owed by a Las Vegas casino?
- 4. When is a casino liable for its employees’ actions?
- 5. What damages can I recover for a Nevada casino injury?
You may also wish to review our related articles on Lawsuits for Nevada Hotel Injuries and Claims for Nevada Restaurant Injuries.
Las Vegas hotels and casino floors are the site of many slip and fall accidents that cause severe hand, hip, leg, neck, back, and traumatic brain injuries.
1. Who can I sue if I am injured in a Las Vegas casino?
Patrons injured in Las Vegas casino accidents and hotel accidents may have a claim against several parties. Potentially liable people and entities include:
- The casino,
- The casino’s employees,
- The casino management and casino owners,
- The casino’s property owners,
- The hotel in which a casino is located,
- The parent company of the hotel or casino (often a large corporation),
- The casino’s liability insurance company,
- A third-party company providing security for the casino, or
- A company or individual who provided the casino with a defective product in Nevada.
2. How do I prove a casino’s negligence under Nevada law?
Four elements need to be proved in order for a plaintiff to win a negligence claim against a Nevada casino:
- The casino owed the patron a duty of care;
- The casino breached that duty;
- The breach was the legal cause of the patron’s injuries; and.
- As a result of the breach, the patron suffered damages.1
3. What is the duty of care owed by a Las Vegas casino?
Nevada premises liability law requires casino operators to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition. This duty extends to all areas of the casino, including parking areas, bathrooms and walkways.
Furthermore, casinos have the duty to reasonably protect against all foreseeable injuries. Fortunately for plaintiffs, Nevada courts take a relatively broad view of foreseeability with regard to premises liability claims. Specifically:
NRS 651.015 precludes [owner or innkeeper] liability unless the wrongful act that caused the injuries was foreseeable…a wrongful act is not foreseeable unless the owner or innkeeper failed to exercise due care for the safety of the patron or other person on the premises or had notice or knowledge of prior incidents of similar wrongful acts on the premises … Foreseeability based on the failure to exercise due care does not depend solely on notice or knowledge that a specific wrongful act would occur, but instead is about “the basic minimum precautions that are reasonably expected of an owner or innkeeper.” … And foreseeability based on notice or knowledge of “[p]rior incidents of similar wrongful acts,” … requires a case-by-case analysis of similar wrongful acts, including, without limitation, the level of violence, location of attack, and security concerns implicated.2
For example, casinos must (without limitation):
- Take all reasonable food preparation and storage precautions to ensure food safety and prevent food poisoning, E. coli, and salmonella,
- Not serve alcohol to severely intoxicated patrons, whether in casinos, dining areas, or nightclubs,
- Keep the fixtures and furniture stable and in good repair (particularly if they see heavy use such as restaurant tables),
- Maintain safety of chairs, whether at gaming tables, bars, restaurants, buffets, arenas, stadiums, showrooms, or bathrooms,
- Clean up spills promptly to prevent slip hazards,
- Maintain adequate security,
- Maintain even floors and grounds (no loose carpet),
- Maintain elevators and escalators (which could cause people to fall suddenly should they malfunction and stop short),
- Provide adequate lighting in parking structures,
- Keep hotel rooms free of bed bugs,
- Keep water from any faucets at a lukewarm temperature to prevent burns,
- Maintain safety of casino garages and ground transportation (such as shuttles and buses) for pedestrians and passengers to prevent car accidents,
- Be able to provide reasonable aid in an emergency, and
- Comply with state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
Broken stools and spilled beverages are common causes of claims against Las Vegas casinos
4. When is a casino liable for its employees’ actions?
Under Nevada casino accident laws, the property may be liable for injuries caused by employees based on:
- Nevada’s respondeat superior law (vicarious employer liability), or
- Nevada’s law on negligent hiring, retention or supervision.
A casino is vicariously liable for injuries caused by employees when:
- The employee was performing his or her regular job duties, and
- The employee was negligent.
Example: Ben suffers a spinal cord injury and brain injury after he slips on a wet floor at a Las Vegas casino. Ben’s fall injury could have been prevented had the waitress working the floor cleaned the spill immediately. But because she was negligent, Ben has the right to hold her responsible for his serious injuries. Cleaning up drinks is part of a wait person’s job. Therefore, the casino can be held liable under Nevada’s doctrine of respondeat superior.
A casino negligently hires, retains or supervises an employee when:
- The casino fails to conduct a reasonable background check to ensure an employee is fit for the position;
- The casino keeps an employee after being given notice that the employee may be dangerous; or
- The casino fails to exercise adequate supervision over an employee’s activities.
Example: A casino receives complaints from several female customers about a security guard who has sexually harassed them. The casino ignores the complaints. Later, the security guard sexually assaults a customer in the parking lot. Sexual assault is not part of the guard’s job. However the casino can be held liable because it negligently retained his services after receiving notice that he posed a danger.
5. What damages can I recover for a Nevada casino injury?
Patrons who have been injured as the result of a casino’s negligence are entitled to recover compensatory damages under Nevada law. Compensatory damages for a personal injury claim can include (without limitation):
- Payment of medical bills, including hospitalization, rehab, and medicines,
- Lost wages from missed work,
- Lost earning capacity,
- Pain and suffering, or
- Medical bills and funeral expenses under Nevada’s wrongful death law.
Additionally, patrons who have been injured by an intentionally wrongful action of a casino may be entitled to recover punitive damages under Nevada law. Punitive damages may also be appropriate if the casino knew about the hazards but chose to do nothing to fix them.
Note that casinos may present a low-ball offer at the outset to make the case go away. And if victims refuse, casinos may try to intimidate them with their bullying team of litigators and risk managers.
That is why injury victims are encouraged to retain an experienced personal injury attorney to fight for the largest settlement possible under the law. Our Las Vegas personal injury attorneys help you determine what damages you may be able to cover as the result of casino negligence.
Injured at a Las Vegas casino? We can help…
If you or a loved one has been injured at a Nevada casino, we invite you to contact our Las Vegas, NV law firm for legal advice.
Our Las Vegas casino injury lawyers work with a team of talented investigators, safety experts and doctors. Together we collect all the evidence necessary to maximize the odds of you getting all the compensation you need and deserve.
Best of all, you pay our accident attorneys nothing until we win or settle your personal injury case. Most of the time, we can resolve matters to your benefit out of court. But if necessary, we draw on our decades of courtroom experience to fight for you at trial.
To schedule your free initial consultation, call us, or, for an even faster response, complete the form on this page. Our legal team will get back to you right away.
Legal references:
- Turner v. Mandalay Sports Entertainment, (2008) 124 Nev. 213, 180 P.3d 1172; Scialabba v. Brandise Construction Co., (1996) 112 Nev. 965, 921 P.2d 928; Perez v. Las Vegas Med. Ctr., (1991) 107 Nev. 1, 4, 805 P.2d 589.
- Humphries v. New York, New York, (2017) 133 Nev. Advance Opinion 77; see, e.g., NRS 651.015 on the civil liability of innkeepers for injury or death to non-employees.