If you have lost a loved one due to another person’s negligence in Las Vegas, the attorneys at Drummond Law Firm will fight to hold the responsible party accountable. Wrongful death claims in Nevada arise from car accidents, medical errors, workplace incidents, and other preventable tragedies that leave families facing grief, financial hardship, and an uncertain future. Under NRS 41.085, the heirs and personal representatives of the deceased may be entitled to recover compensation for their losses.
Our wrongful death lawyers handle cases throughout Las Vegas and Clark County and will guide your family through the process with a free consultation. Call (702) 366-9966 to get started.
Wrongful Death Attorneys Serving Las Vegas
Drummond Law Firm represents families who have lost a loved one due to negligence throughout Las Vegas and Clark County 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 family’s case, communicates with investigators and medical providers, and builds a strategy designed to recover the full value of your claim. You will never be passed off to a paralegal for the decisions that count.
Clark County recorded 293 traffic fatalities in 2024, making it the deadliest year on local roads in recent history. That number dropped to 239 in 2025, but each of those deaths represents a family left to cope with the aftermath of a preventable loss. Traffic collisions are only one cause of wrongful death in the Las Vegas Valley. Medical errors, workplace incidents, and unsafe properties also claim lives each year, and the families left behind deserve an attorney who will pursue accountability with the same discipline and preparation it takes to win at trial.
If your family has lost someone because of another party’s negligence, our firm is prepared to fight for the justice and compensation your family is owed.
Without an Attorney vs. With Drummond Law Firm
Insurance companies and corporate defendants minimize wrongful death payouts when families do not have legal representation. Wrongful death claims involve complex damage calculations that require economic experts, life care planners, and forensic accountants to project the financial impact of a lost life over decades. The party responsible for your loved one’s death will have defense attorneys working to reduce liability from the moment the claim is filed. Their goal is to pay your family as little as possible or shift blame onto the deceased.
| Without an Attorney | With Drummond Law Firm |
| The defendant’s insurance company controls the pace and terms of your claim | Our attorneys step in immediately to protect your family’s rights and preserve evidence |
| Complex damage calculations for lost income, benefits, and support go unchallenged | We retain economists and forensic accountants to project the full lifetime value of your loss |
| Defense attorneys argue the deceased was partially or fully at fault to reduce the payout | Our trial team gathers evidence to counter comparative negligence defenses before they take hold |
| Families grieving a sudden loss are pressured into accepting a quick, low settlement | We handle every legal demand so your family can focus on what matters most |
| You risk accepting far less than your family’s claim is worth | Our Reduced Fee Guarantee ensures the attorney fee will not exceed your net recovery |
Families dealing with the loss of a loved one should not have to fight an insurance company at the same time. You deserve a wrongful death attorney that protects your family while pursuing every dollar you are owed.
When the stakes are high, you need an attorney who’s already been tested under pressure.
Types of Cases We Handle in Las Vegas
Wrongful death cases in Las Vegas arise from motor vehicle collisions, medical errors, workplace accidents, and dangerous property conditions. Nevada saw 381 traffic-related deaths statewide in 2025, with Clark County accounting for 239 of them, but fatal negligence extends well beyond the roadway. Each type of wrongful death case requires a different investigative and legal approach, and our attorneys build claims specific to how your loved one was killed.
Motor Vehicle Collisions
Car, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian accidents are the leading cause of wrongful death in Clark County. Speeding and impaired driving remain the primary factors behind fatal crashes on Las Vegas roadways, and failure-to-yield incidents saw a 123 percent increase between 2024 and 2025.
Ninety-five pedestrians and 61 motorcyclists were killed in Clark County crashes in 2024 alone. A wrongful death attorney can investigate the collision, obtain police reports and toxicology results, and retain accident reconstruction experts to prove how the at-fault driver’s negligence caused the fatal crash.
Medical Malpractice
Surgical errors, misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, and anesthesia mistakes cause preventable deaths in Nevada hospitals each year. Medical malpractice wrongful death claims follow a separate statute of limitations and require expert testimony from a qualified medical professional to establish the standard of care that the provider failed to meet.
These cases are among the most complex wrongful death claims because the family must prove that the provider’s specific error, rather than the underlying medical condition, directly caused the death. Our attorneys work with independent medical experts who review the treatment records and identify where the care fell below the accepted standard.
Workplace Fatalities
Fatal workplace accidents in construction, manufacturing, and industrial settings give rise to wrongful death claims when a third party’s negligence contributed to the death. Nevada recorded 57 fatal workplace injuries across all occupations in 2023, and many of those deaths involved unsafe equipment, inadequate training, or subcontractor negligence.
Workers’ compensation benefits do not prevent the family from pursuing a separate wrongful death claim against a negligent third party such as a subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, or property owner. These third-party claims often yield significantly higher recoveries than workers’ compensation alone.
Premises Liability Deaths
Property owners in Nevada can be held liable when unsafe conditions on their premises cause a fatal injury. Fatal slip and falls, drownings, structural failures, and negligent security incidents on commercial and residential properties are all grounds for a wrongful death claim under Nevada law.
Hotels, casinos, construction sites, and apartment complexes are among the most common locations for premises liability deaths in the Las Vegas Valley. When a property owner knew about a dangerous condition and failed to repair it or warn visitors, our attorneys use maintenance records, inspection reports, and surveillance footage to establish that the death was preventable.
How Nevada Law Affects Your Wrongful Death Case
Nevada’s wrongful death statute, NRS 41.085, allows both the heirs and the personal representatives of the deceased to file separate claims against the responsible party. This dual-claim structure is unusual compared to many other states, where only one party files on behalf of all beneficiaries. In Nevada, the heirs pursue damages for their own losses while the personal representative pursues damages on behalf of the estate, and each claim carries a different set of recoverable damages defined by the statute.
The heirs can recover damages for their personal losses stemming from the death, while the personal representative can recover damages on behalf of the estate itself. Each claim carries a different set of recoverable damages defined by the statute, and the two claims can be filed separately or joined into a single action. The specific categories of damages available to each party are explained in the sections below.
Nevada’s modified comparative negligence rule under NRS 41.141 also applies to wrongful death cases. If the deceased was partially at fault for the incident that caused the death, the family’s recovery is reduced by the deceased’s percentage of fault. If the deceased’s fault exceeds 50 percent, the family is barred from recovering any damages at all. Defense attorneys frequently raise comparative negligence in wrongful death cases to reduce the payout, and our attorneys know how to counter those arguments with evidence that establishes the defendant breached a duty of care.
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Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Nevada?
Nevada law grants standing to two separate parties in a wrongful death case: the heirs of the deceased and the personal representative of the estate. These two claims are distinct under NRS 41.085, and each carries different categories of recoverable damages. Understanding which claim applies to your family’s situation is one of the first questions a wrongful death attorney will help you answer. In many cases both claims can be filed together or separately depending on what serves the family’s interests.
Heirs of the Deceased
Heirs are the individuals who would inherit the deceased’s property under Nevada succession law if no will existed. Heirs typically include the surviving spouse or domestic partner first, followed by children, then parents, and then siblings if no closer relative survives. A person who caused the death of the deceased cannot recover as an heir under NRS 41.085.
Heirs file their claim in their own capacity and can recover damages for their personal losses, including grief, loss of probable support, loss of companionship and consortium, and damages for the pain and suffering the deceased endured before death. These recoveries are not subject to the debts of the deceased.
Personal Representatives of the Estate
The personal representative is the individual appointed by the court to administer the deceased’s estate. If the deceased had a will, the will typically names this person. If no will exists, the court appoints a representative based on Nevada succession law.
The personal representative files on behalf of the estate and can recover the medical expenses the deceased incurred before death and reasonable funeral costs. Punitive damages are also recoverable through the estate’s claim when the defendant’s conduct was especially reckless or willful. Unlike heirs’ recoveries, the proceeds from the estate’s claim are subject to the debts of the deceased.
What Compensation Can You Recover in a Las Vegas Wrongful Death Case?
Wrongful death damages in Nevada can be substantial because the law accounts for both the financial and emotional toll a family endures after losing a loved one. The heirs’ claim and the estate’s claim together allow your family to pursue recovery across every category of loss, from the income and support the deceased would have provided over a lifetime. That recovery also extends to funeral costs, grief, and the loss of companionship that no dollar figure can fully measure.
Losing a family member to someone else’s negligence changes everything. No amount of compensation can undo that loss, but a wrongful death claim can protect your family’s financial future and ensure that the person responsible answers for what they did. You should not have to bear the cost of someone else’s recklessness.
Nevada does not cap most wrongful death damages, which means a jury verdict or wrongful death settlement can reflect the full amount the family’s losses warrant. Medical malpractice wrongful death cases are the one exception, as non-economic damages in those cases may be subject to limitations under NRS 41A.035. An experienced wrongful death attorney evaluates every available category of compensation so that your family’s claim reflects the true scope of what you have lost.
How Do You Prove a Wrongful Death Claim in Nevada?
You must prove the same four elements of negligence that apply to any personal injury case. The defendant owed a duty of care, the defendant breached that duty, the breach caused the death, and the death resulted in measurable damages. What separates a wrongful death claim is that the injured person is not alive to testify, which makes preserving evidence and retaining expert witnesses even more important than in a standard injury case.
Medical records, police reports, autopsy results, witness statements, and accident reconstruction analysis form the evidentiary foundation of most wrongful death claims. Your attorney assembles this evidence before trial to demonstrate that the defendant’s conduct directly caused your loved one’s death and that the resulting losses are real and quantifiable.
In cases involving medical malpractice or product defects, expert testimony carries particular weight because the jury needs a qualified professional to explain how the defendant’s actions fell below the accepted standard of care. Our attorneys work with independent medical experts, engineers, and forensic specialists who can present these findings clearly and credibly in court.
How Long Do You Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Nevada?
Nevada gives you two years from the date of your loved one’s death to file a wrongful death lawsuit under NRS 11.190. Once that statute of limitations 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 investigating the cause of death, obtaining medical records, retaining experts, and building a solid claim takes longer than most families expect while also grieving a sudden loss.
Medical malpractice wrongful death claims follow a separate timeline. You must file within three years of the date of injury or one year from the date the injury was discovered, whichever comes first. Claims against government entities may require a notice of claim within as few as six months under the Nevada Tort Claims Act. Missing that earlier deadline can bar your family’s recovery even though the standard two-year window has not closed.
Contacting an attorney early gives your legal team the time it needs to investigate, document, and prepare your family’s case before the clock runs out.
Can You File a Wrongful Death Claim if Criminal Charges Are Pending?
Yes. A wrongful death claim can proceed at the same time as a criminal case arising from the same incident. The two cases operate in separate court systems with separate rules, and one does not need to be resolved before the other can move forward. Many families assume they must wait for the criminal case to conclude before pursuing a civil claim, but waiting can put your family at risk of missing the two-year filing deadline.
The civil claim uses a lower burden of proof than the criminal case. In a wrongful death lawsuit, as in any personal injury case, your attorney must prove the defendant’s negligence by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it is more likely than not that the defendant caused the death. The criminal case requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a significantly higher standard. Families sometimes worry that pursuing a civil case while a criminal investigation is ongoing could interfere with the prosecution, and we understand how stressful that uncertainty can be.
A not-guilty verdict or a dismissal of criminal charges does not prevent your family from recovering damages in the civil wrongful death case. The O.J. Simpson case is perhaps the most widely known example of this principle, where a criminal acquittal was followed by a civil jury finding liability for wrongful death. Your right to pursue accountability in civil court exists independently of what happens in the criminal proceeding.
How Drummond Law Firm Can Help
Drummond Law Firm provides attorney-led representation for families pursuing wrongful death claims throughout Las Vegas and Clark County. Craig Drummond, a former U.S. Army Captain and Bronze Star recipient, brings military discipline and a proven trial record to every wrongful death case his firm handles. With over 50 contested trials and millions recovered for clients throughout Nevada, our attorneys will fight to hold the responsible party accountable for the loss your family has suffered.
The Reduced Fee Guarantee ensures we will never take more than the client receives in a settlement, and you will not pay a fee unless we win your case. Call the Captain today at (702) 366-9966 to schedule a free consultation.
