If you were injured in an elevator accident in Las Vegas, the attorneys at Drummond Law Firm will fight to recover the compensation you deserve. Elevator malfunctions in casinos, hotels, and commercial buildings cause serious injuries that can require surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
If a property owner, elevator manufacturer, or maintenance company’s negligence caused your injury, you may be entitled to damages for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Our attorneys handle elevator accident cases throughout Las Vegas and offer a free consultation. Call (702) 366-9966 to get started.
Elevator Accident Attorneys Serving Las Vegas
Drummond Law Firm represents elevator accident victims across Las Vegas with direct, attorney-led legal representation from the moment you reach out. Every client works with a licensed attorney who evaluates the facts of your case and identifies every liable party before building a strategy to recover the full value of your claim. We will never hand you off to a paralegal for the decisions that count.
Elevator accidents injure approximately 17,000 people per year across the United States, and Las Vegas properties account for a disproportionate share of that risk. The city’s concentration of high-rise casinos and hotels puts millions of elevator trips per day on aging equipment that demands constant maintenance.
Attorney Craig Drummond, a former U.S. Army Captain and Bronze Star recipient, brings military discipline and a proven trial record to every case his firm handles. As an elevator injury attorney with experience litigating against property owners, manufacturers, and corporate defense teams, he ensures your case is prepared for trial from the start.
What Sets Drummond Law Firm Apart?
Elevator accident claims in Las Vegas often involve multiple defendants, including property owners, elevator manufacturers, and third-party maintenance contractors. Each defendant carries a separate insurance policy and retains its own legal team, and each will pursue a different strategy for avoiding responsibility. Most personal injury firms lack the resources to litigate against all of them at once, but Drummond Law Firm has the trial experience to take on every defendant in your case.
Attorney Craig Drummond has stood across from well-funded corporate legal teams and will not back down when a casino or manufacturer refuses to accept fault. Your case is managed by an attorney who coordinates the investigation across all defendants, not just the easiest target.
Our Reduced Fee Guarantee® ensures the attorney fee will not exceed your net recovery, and you will not pay a fee unless we win your case. That commitment applies no matter how many defendants are involved.
When the stakes are high, you need an attorney who’s already been tested under pressure.
Types of Cases We Handle in Las Vegas
Our firm handles elevator accident cases involving malfunctions, entrapments, and falls on commercial and residential property throughout Las Vegas and Clark County.
- Door Malfunctions: Elevator doors that close too quickly, fail to retract, or reopen unexpectedly are the most common source of passenger injuries. These incidents cause crush injuries to hands, arms, and shoulders, and they frequently occur in casino and hotel elevators that handle thousands of riders per day.
- Mis-Leveling and Sudden Stops: When an elevator fails to align with the floor landing, passengers trip or fall while stepping in or out of the cab. Sudden stops caused by motor failures or faulty electronic components can throw riders off balance and result in back injuries, broken bones, and head trauma.
- Entrapment: Passengers trapped in stalled elevators between floors face the risk of heat exposure and panic-related injuries, as well as harm from attempts to self-rescue. Extended entrapment in a malfunctioning elevator can also cause lasting claustrophobia and anxiety.
- Falls Into Elevator Shafts: Falls into open or improperly secured elevator shafts account for 56 percent of all elevator-related fatalities in the United States. These incidents most often involve maintenance workers, but guests and employees can be exposed when shaft doors are left unsecured.
How Nevada Law Affects Your Elevator Accident Case
Nevada holds property owners liable for elevator injuries under the state’s premises liability framework when negligence on their property causes harm to a lawful visitor. Under NRS 41.130, casino operators, hotel owners, and commercial landlords have a legal obligation to maintain safe conditions, including the elevators and escalators their guests use every day.
Nevada’s elevator safety code under NAC 455C adds a regulatory layer that strengthens your claim. NAC 455C.526 requires property owners to report any elevator accident involving a bodily injury to the Mechanical Compliance Section within eight hours. If the accident may have been caused by a malfunction, the elevator must be shut down immediately and cannot return to service until the state has investigated.
An owner who fails to report or who restores an elevator to service before the investigation is complete has violated state administrative code.
Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule under NRS 41.141. If the property owner argues that your own conduct contributed to the accident, and a jury finds your fault exceeds 50 percent, you are barred from recovering any damages. Even partial fault reduces your award proportionally.
Why Are Elevator Accidents Common in Las Vegas?
Las Vegas has one of the highest concentrations of high-rise elevators in the country. The Strip alone contains dozens of casino resorts and hotel towers, each operating multiple elevator banks that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That volume creates wear on mechanical systems that require consistent inspection and maintenance to remain safe.
Over 40 million tourists ride casino and hotel elevators each year across the Las Vegas Valley, and a casino elevator accident often means litigating against a corporate defendant with significant legal resources.
Many of these visitors are unfamiliar with the properties, moving through crowded lobbies with luggage, children, and limited attention to their surroundings. The sheer number of daily trips multiplies the risk of injury when equipment is not properly maintained.
In 2025, a woman sued the Palms Casino after an elevator allegedly dropped 22 stories, naming both the property and Otis Elevator Company as defendants. In 2026, the estate of Theodore Webber filed a wrongful death suit against the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin. A fall near a malfunctioning elevator left Webber paralyzed, and he died from his injuries weeks later.
Who Is Liable for an Elevator Accident in Las Vegas?
Property owners bear primary liability for elevator accidents, but they are rarely the only party responsible. Elevator injury claims in Las Vegas frequently involve multiple defendants, and identifying all of them is essential to recovering everything your case is worth.
- Property Owners and Operators: Casino and hotel operators owe their guests the highest duty of care as invitees under NRS 651.015. When an owner knows about an elevator defect, receives maintenance complaints, or ignores a failed inspection and allows the elevator to continue operating, that owner becomes liable for the injuries that follow.
- Elevator Manufacturers: Companies that design, manufacture, and install elevator systems face liability when a defect in their product causes injury. Faulty door sensors, defective braking systems, and inadequate safety mechanisms are all grounds for a product liability claim against the manufacturer.
- Maintenance and Repair Contractors: Many properties outsource elevator servicing to third-party contractors. If the company responsible for servicing the elevator failed to meet its contractual obligations, it bears responsibility alongside the property owner for the resulting injury.
The only Nevada personal injury firm with a federally trademarked Reduced Fee Guarantee.®
How Do You Prove an Elevator Accident Claim in Nevada?
You must prove that negligence, a defective product, or inadequate maintenance caused your injury. Each elevator accident case requires a different legal theory depending on who caused the failure. Drummond Law Firm matches the right approach to each responsible party.
Maintenance logs, inspection records, and surveillance footage are central forms of evidence in these claims. Expert testimony from elevator engineers can establish what failed and who bore responsibility for addressing it.
Establish the Property Owner’s Negligence
The property owner must have known or should have known about the elevator hazard before your accident occurred. Prior complaints from guests, internal maintenance requests, and failed inspections conducted by the Mechanical Compliance Section all demonstrate the owner’s knowledge.
The owner’s failure to act on that knowledge proves breach of duty. A casino that receives repeated service calls about an elevator malfunction and continues to operate it rather than shutting it down has breached its obligation to protect the people on its premises.
Pursue a Product Liability Claim
Elevator manufacturers can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by defective equipment under Nevada’s product liability framework. Design defects, manufacturing flaws, missing safety features, and inadequate warnings all support a claim against the company that built or installed the system.
Nevada law does not require you to prove the manufacturer acted negligently. If the product was defective and the defect caused your injury, the manufacturer is liable regardless of how carefully it was designed or tested. Identifying the manufacturer often requires subpoenaing installation and maintenance records from the property owner.
Hold the Maintenance Company Accountable
Maintenance companies that fail to inspect, service, or repair elevators on the schedule required by their contract are liable for injuries that result from their neglect. Missed inspections, deferred repairs, and failure to replace worn components are the most common failures.
Service contracts and maintenance logs reveal whether the company met its obligations. Both the maintenance company and the property owner who hired them may share responsibility, and pursuing claims against both broadens the pool of available insurance coverage for your recovery.
What Compensation Can You Recover After an Elevator Accident?
Nevada law allows elevator accident victims to recover economic, non-economic, and punitive damages through a civil claim against the property owner, manufacturer, maintenance contractor, or any combination of liable parties. Economic damages cover emergency medical treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, lost wages, and any future care your recovery will require.
Non-economic damages account for the harm that has no fixed dollar amount but changes the course of your daily life. Elevator accidents can leave lasting physical limitations, chronic pain, and psychological trauma. These effects reach into how you go about your daily routine and whether you feel safe in the buildings where you live and work. We understand how deeply that loss of security reaches.
Nevada places no cap on non-economic damages in elevator accident cases.
Punitive damages may apply when the property owner or maintenance company ignored known hazards or deferred required maintenance despite repeated warnings. If the evidence shows an owner knew about a documented safety hazard and chose to defer required repairs, the court may impose additional damages. Operating an elevator with a known defect rather than shutting it down is exactly the conduct these damages are meant to punish.
How Long Do You Have to File an Elevator Accident Lawsuit in Nevada?
Nevada gives you two years from the date of the accident to file an elevator accident lawsuit under NRS 11.190(4)(e). Once that deadline passes, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case regardless of how strong your evidence is.
Two years may sound like enough time, but elevator accident claims require securing maintenance and inspection records, consulting elevator engineers, and coordinating with medical professionals. Building a case across several defendants compounds the challenge. An elevator accident can leave you overwhelmed and focused on your physical recovery. But the evidence your case depends on does not wait.
Claims involving government-owned buildings follow a shorter timeline. Nevada law requires a formal Notice of Claim within 180 days of the incident before you can file a lawsuit against a government entity. Missing that administrative deadline permanently bars your case even if the two-year statute of limitations has not yet expired.
Contacting an elevator accident attorney in Las Vegas early gives your legal team the time it needs to investigate, document, and prepare your case before any deadline passes.
How Drummond Law Firm Can Help
Drummond Law Firm provides attorney-led representation for elevator accident victims across Las Vegas and the greater Nevada area. Craig Drummond, a former U.S. Army Captain and Bronze Star recipient, brings more than 15 years of trial experience to every case his firm handles. His team has recovered tens of millions of dollars for clients across Nevada.
Our Reduced Fee Guarantee® ensures we will never take more than the client receives in a settlement. You will not pay a fee unless we win your case, so call the Captain today at (702) 366-9966 to schedule a free consultation.
