If someone else was responsible for your slip and fall accident, you deserve compensation. You can start by filing a legal claim, but you’ll need to establish liability, or legal responsibility.
Liability for a slip-and-fall accident in a parking lot often falls to multiple parties. Owners, managers, and third-party maintenance contractors can all take part, depending on the property and the hazard. Sorting out who bears legal liability for your fall can be one of the more complicated aspects of a claim.
If you are pursuing a claim for a parking lot slip-and-fall in Nevada, you should understand how Nevada law distributes responsibility. Here is some information and advice from our Las Vegas slip-and-fall accident attorneys to help you direct your claim.
What Nevada Premises Liability Requires
To succeed in a Nevada premises liability claim, you must show that the responsible party owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused your injuries as a result.
One important factor is how long the hazard existed before your accident. A dangerous condition that remained unaddressed for an extended period is harder for a property owner to dismiss as unexpected. Prior complaints or earlier incident reports can help show that the owner already knew about the hazard and still failed to act.
Courts and insurers also consider whether the owner provided adequate warnings for the hazard. A pothole clearly marked with cones occupies a different legal position from one with no warning at all, especially if it is in a high-traffic area.
How Property Managers Fit Into the Picture
Many commercial parking lots are overseen by property management companies rather than the property owners themselves. This can make the property management company partly responsible for unsafe conditions on the property.
The management agreement usually outlines the company’s duties. These duties often include property upkeep, repairs, and contractor oversight. If the management company’s failure to carry out those responsibilities contributed to an unsafe condition, the company may share liability with the property owner. In some cases, the management company may bear a greater share of responsibility, depending on how much control it had over the property.
Determining who managed the parking lot is an important early step in a fall injury investigation. It helps identify which contracts and maintenance records your lawyer should review to determine who may be liable.
The Role of Third-Party Contractors
Property owners and management companies often hire outside contractors to handle specific maintenance tasks rather than doing so themselves. Third-party contractors often handle services such as pothole repairs, lot sweeping, line repainting, and lighting maintenance.
If a contractor was responsible for the condition that caused a fall and failed to perform their work properly, they may be liable alongside or instead of the property owner or manager. For example, liability may arise when a paving contractor leaves behind an uneven surface without proper warnings, or a lighting contractor’s delayed maintenance leaves a section of the lot in darkness.
To establish a contractor’s responsibility, you’ll need to review service contracts, work logs, visit records, and communications with the property owner or manager. These documents show what the contractor was hired to do and when they last worked on the property. They can also show whether the contractor failed to address the hazard that led to your fall.
What if You Were Partially at Fault?
Let’s say that you did not see signage telling you to stay out of a water-logged area and slipped as a result? The good news is that you may still be able to recover compensation. Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which allows injured individuals to recover compensation, provided they are not more than 50% at fault. Any compensation awarded is reduced by their share of fault. For example, if your damages total $10,000 and you are 20% at fault, you will collect $8,000 in damages.
Note that the other responsible parties will try to shift blame onto you to reduce your payout. You can protect your compensation by taking the right steps after your accident. This includes:
- Documenting the accident scene with photo and video evidence
- Getting medical treatment as soon as possible (even if you think your injuries are mild)
- Getting any diagnostic tests or imaging that your doctor orders
- Keeping a record of your symptoms that shows how they change or develop from day to day
- Requesting any surveillance video footage that might have captured your accident
- Getting contact information from anyone who witnessed your accident
- Keeping track of receipts and costs (medical bills, days off of work, etc.)
Liability Is Critical
Personal injury claims hinge on liability. Don’t risk pursuing the wrong party or overlooking the right one. That mistake can be very difficult to correct later, as contracts change and evidence disappears. The sooner you know who is responsible for your slip-and-fall, the better.
When you don’t know who to look at, a Las Vegas premises liability attorney can help. They can identify all potentially liable parties and gather and preserve all relevant records. Through the right legal guidance, you can identify who is really responsible for your slip-and-fall accident and get you back on your feet.