If you suffer a slip and fall in a Nevada store, you may have a valid legal claim against that business depending on the circumstances. This is because establishments that welcome the general public into their premises owe a legal duty to keep those individuals reasonably safe from harm. In other words, it need not matter if the establishment is a big box chain, another regional chain, or a mom-and-pop store; that business is obligated to take certain measures to keep their customers out of harm’s way. While a person who is hurt in Nevada in a slip and fall accident may have a valid legal claim, this does not mean the case will be easy.
Duty Owed by a Nevada Business
When a person is injured in a slip and fall accident at a business, that establishment may be held liable for injuries if the victim can show that the accident happened due to the property’s unsafe conditions. This is established by proving negligence. In other words, the store’s failure to maintain the premises ad keep its customers safe. The store’s responsibility, if any, will depend on the specific facts of the case. The basic elements of establishing fault in a Nevada slip and fall case include:
- The store must possess the land or premises where the injury occurred;
- The victim must be an invitee or licensee on the property (i.e., not trespassing, which has a different standard);
- The store must have been negligent or committed some wrongful act. Negligence is established by showing the store breached its duty owed to keep the premises safe and this breach was the actual and legal cause of the accident, which resulted in harm.
A store may be held liable if it created the unsafe condition or knew, or should have known, about the unsafe condition even if it did not create it and failed to take steps to remedy it. An injured victim will need to demonstrate that the unsafe condition was not so open and obvious that he or she should have taken steps to avoid it. Said differently, a customer must exercise reasonable caution to protect him or herself.
Nevada’s Statute of Limitations
Nevada law requires that a person injured due to a slip and fall must file the lawsuit against the at-fault property owner within two years of the accident. This same time frame applies in those cases in which a slip and fall accident causes the victim’s death and their surviving family members or a representative of the deceased’s estate wants to bring a wrongful death claim. In wrongful death cases, however, the two-year clock starts running on the date of the victim’s death which may or may not be on the date of the actual accident. When property damage is involved in a slip and fall, any lawsuit must be filed within three years of the accident to recover property damage (this does not lengthen the time of an injury statute).
If you fail to file a lawsuit within these time frames and try to proceed to court outside of the statute of limitations, your case will be dismissed.
Nevada Personal Injury Lawyers
If you or someone you know has been hurt in a Nevada slip and fall due to the negligence of a business, contact the skilled personal injury attorneys at H & P , who have years of experience representing the injured across the state of Nevada. Contact them today to learn about your rights and obligations under the law.
