You should absolutely get a lawyer.
Even when the other driver clearly caused the accident, getting a lawyer is one of the smartest decisions you can make. Under Nevada’s fault-based insurance system, the other driver’s insurance company owes you compensation, but that does not mean they will pay what your case is worth without a fight.
Insurance adjusters are trained to find ways to reduce payouts regardless of the circumstances. A car accident lawyer protects your rights and works to ensure you recover what you are actually owed. If you were in a car accident in Las Vegas that was not your fault, call Drummond Law Firm at (702) 366-9966 for a free consultation.
Why Being “Not at Fault” Does Not Mean Your Case Is Simple
Many people assume that because the other driver caused the accident, the insurance process will be straightforward. It rarely is. The at-fault driver’s insurer has no obligation to make this easy for you, and their adjusters will challenge the severity of your injuries and the value of your claim.
The at-fault driver may deny responsibility entirely or claim you contributed to the collision. Even in rear-end accidents where fault seems obvious, insurers will raise arguments about sudden braking, lane changes, or distracted driving to shift a portion of the blame onto you. Under Nevada’s comparative negligence law, even a small percentage of assigned fault reduces your total recovery, so these arguments carry real financial consequences.
Being right about who caused the accident is not the same as being able to prove it. The other side has a team of professionals working to pay you as little as possible.
How Nevada’s Fault-Based Insurance System Works
Nevada is a fault state, not a no-fault state. This distinction matters because it determines how you pursue compensation after a car accident. In a fault state, the driver who caused the accident is financially responsible for the other driver’s damages. You file a claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance, not your own.
Nevada requires every driver to carry minimum liability coverage of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $20,000 for property damage. These minimums are often not enough to cover serious injuries, which is why many accidents require negotiation or litigation beyond the initial policy limits.
If the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured, you may still have options. Uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy can step in to cover damages that the other driver cannot pay. Nevada has a relatively high rate of uninsured drivers, so carrying this coverage is worth considering even though state law does not require it.
What the Other Driver’s Insurance Company Will Try to Do
The other driver’s insurance company is not on your side, no matter how reasonable the adjuster sounds on the phone. Their job is to protect their company’s financial exposure, and they do that by paying you as little as possible.
Adjusters often contact accident victims within days of the collision and offer a quick settlement before the full extent of the injuries is known. That early offer is almost always far below the actual value of the claim. Once you accept it, you lose your right to pursue additional compensation even if your injuries turn out to be worse than they initially appeared.
They may also request a recorded statement. This is not a neutral fact-finding exercise. Adjusters are trained to ask questions that lead you into saying something they can use against you later.
A casual remark like “I feel fine” becomes evidence that your injuries are not serious. A description of how the accident happened becomes an opening to question your account of what happened.
What a Car Accident Lawyer Does for Your Case
A car accident lawyer handles the insurance company, the evidence, and the legal strategy so you can focus on your recovery. If you were not at fault, the work centers on proving the full value of what the accident cost you and making sure the insurer pays it.
Your attorney investigates the accident by gathering the police report, interviewing witnesses, reviewing medical records, and consulting accident reconstruction professionals when the circumstances are disputed. Without it, the insurer has a much easier time shifting blame or undervaluing your claim.
Lawyers also calculate damages that most victims do not think to include. Future medical treatment, lost earning capacity, and the long-term impact of chronic pain are all recoverable, but they require documentation and expert support to quantify. The Insurance Research Council found that victims who hired an attorney recovered approximately 3.5 times more than those who handled claims on their own. That gap exists because attorneys know the difference between a fair settlement and a lowball offer.
How Comparative Negligence Can Affect Your Recovery
Even when the other driver caused the accident, Nevada law allows them to argue that you share some of the fault. Nevada law calls this comparative negligence, and insurers use it more than any other tactic to reduce what they owe you.
Under NRS 41.141, your compensation is reduced by your assigned percentage of fault. If a jury or insurance adjuster determines that you were 20 percent at fault on a $100,000 claim, your recovery drops to $80,000. If your fault exceeds 50 percent, you are barred from recovering anything at all.
Insurance adjusters routinely inflate the victim’s fault percentage during settlement negotiations. They may argue that you were following too closely, failed to brake in time, or were not paying attention in the seconds before impact. These arguments are not always supported by evidence, but they can stick if you do not have an attorney who knows how to counter them.
A lawyer reviews the accident report, the physical evidence, and the witness statements to ensure your fault percentage reflects what actually happened.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
If you were not at fault for a car accident in Nevada, you may recover economic, non-economic, and in certain cases punitive damages from the driver who caused the collision.
Economic damages cover the financial losses you can calculate directly. These include medical bills, hospital stays, prescription medications, physical therapy, lost wages from missed work, and future treatment costs for injuries that require ongoing care. Property damage to your vehicle is also recoverable from the at-fault driver’s liability policy.
Non-economic damages account for pain and suffering and the broader harm that goes beyond your bills. A car accident can disrupt your daily life in ways that are difficult to put into words. Chronic pain that keeps you from sleeping and anxiety that follows you every time you get behind the wheel are common lasting effects. We understand how far that impact can reach.
Nevada places no cap on non-economic damages in car accident cases, so a jury is free to award the full amount it believes your suffering warrants.
Punitive damages may apply when the at-fault driver’s conduct was especially reckless, such as driving under the influence or fleeing the scene.
What Should You Do After a Car Accident That Was Not Your Fault?
The period right after a car accident in Las Vegas can feel chaotic, but what you do in those first hours and days shapes the strength of your entire claim. Taking the right steps early protects both your health and your legal position.
Call 911 and stay at the scene until law enforcement arrives. A police report is one of the most important pieces of evidence in any car accident claim because it documents the officer’s observations, the statements of both drivers, and any citations issued at the scene. If you leave before the police arrive, you lose that documentation.
Seek medical attention as soon as possible, even if you feel fine. Soft tissue injuries, concussions, and internal damage do not always produce immediate symptoms. Medical records created shortly after the accident connect your injuries to the collision, and gaps in treatment give the insurer an opening to argue your injuries came from something else.
Document everything you can at the scene. Photograph vehicle damage, road conditions, traffic signals, and your injuries. Collect the other driver’s name, insurance information, and license plate number. Get contact information from any witnesses.
Do not apologize, speculate about fault, or give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company without speaking to a lawyer first.
How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Claim in Nevada?
Nevada gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit under NRS 11.190(4)(e). Once that deadline passes, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case regardless of how clear the other driver’s fault may be.
Two years may seem like plenty of time, but the strongest claims are built early. Witnesses forget details, footage gets overwritten, and the physical evidence that could prove your case disappears. Working with a car accident lawyer in Nevada early gives your legal team the time it needs to gather everything before it is gone.
Claims involving government vehicles or government-owned roads follow a shorter timeline. Nevada law requires a formal Notice of Claim within 180 days of the accident before you can file a lawsuit against a government entity. Missing that administrative deadline bars your case entirely, even if the two-year statute of limitations has not yet expired.
Can the Insurance Company Raise Your Rates if You Were Not at Fault?
No. Nevada law specifically protects drivers who were not at fault from premium increases related to the accident. Under NRS 687B.385, your insurance company cannot cancel your policy, refuse to renew it, or raise your rates based on an accident in which you were not the at-fault party.
This is a concern that many accident victims have but rarely ask about until after the claims process is over. Knowing this protection exists before you file a claim removes one of the barriers that keeps people from pursuing the compensation they are owed. Your rates should not suffer because someone else caused a collision.
If your insurer does raise your rates after a not-at-fault accident, you may have grounds to challenge the increase. The Nevada Division of Insurance handles complaints against insurers who violate state law, and an attorney can advise you on whether the rate change is connected to the accident or to other factors on your policy.
When Should You Call a Car Accident Lawyer?
You should call a lawyer as soon as possible after any car accident that involves injuries, significant property damage, or a disputed account of what happened. The earlier an attorney gets involved, the more effectively they can preserve evidence and protect your claim from the comparative negligence arguments that reduce payouts.
Attorney Craig Drummond, a former U.S. Army Captain and Bronze Star recipient, brings more than 15 years of trial experience to car accident cases throughout Las Vegas and Clark County. His team has recovered tens of millions of dollars for clients across Nevada. As a car accident attorney in Las Vegas, he ensures every case is handled directly by a licensed attorney from the first consultation through resolution.
Our Reduced Fee Guarantee® ensures that the attorney fee will never exceed your net recovery, and you will not pay a fee unless we win your case. If you were in a car accident that was not your fault, call (702) 366-9966 to schedule a free consultation and find out what your case is worth.