Legal Question in Personal Injury in Nevada

Re: Peace Officer Misconduct

Nevada has waived sovereign immunity, but placed a statutory cap of $50,000 on liability exposure by any governemnt entity or actor in the state.

Pursuant to Nevada case law, the $50,000 statutory limitation has been interpreted to mean $50,000 per claimant per cause of action. Thus, if your son is a minor, and (for example) you and your husband are legitimate claimants for causes of action such as loss of companionship and society from your son, that makes three claimants. If multiple causes of action may be successfully asserted against the municipality, each of those, for each appropriate claimant, carries a limit of $50,000. In total, your family may have legitimate claims in excess of $400,000 that could still be fully compensated within the statutory limitation.

Some plaintiffs have tried to assert that if the municipality carries insurance in excess of the statutory limits, since the citizenry paid for that insurance, a citizen should be entitled to collect from it. Such arguments have consistently failed in Nevada, but have been accepted in other jurisdictions. There is a chance that new law could be forged in our state with a well-supported claim having a value far in excess of the liability cap.

Rick D. Williams, Esq.

Re: Peace Officer Misconduct

While there is a $50,000 cap on damages against the County this does not always apply to the officer directly. Your son would not only want to bring an action against the County, but also against the officer directly. Many times the county will indemnify the officer which allows a plaintiff to get around the $50,000 dollar damage cap. E-mail or call 702-454-2111 to discuss this further.

Re: Peace Officer Misconduct

There is a limit of $50,000 for the municipality. However, other insurance should be available.