Accidents and injuries have lost of consequences for victims, more than just hospital bills and lost wages. While these damages are detrimental, so are physical pain, emotional distress, and other non-economic damages, which you can get from a personal injury lawsuit.
When you sue for emotional distress in Nevada, you have to prove it. Testifying lets victims explain mental anguish, depression, and loss of enjoyment of life to the jury directly. We can see if compensation caps apply to your case, which is unlikely in a normal personal injury lawsuit. To successfully sue for emotional distress and other damages, you must file your lawsuit within two years.
Call Mitchell Rogers Injury Law at (702) 702-2622 for a free case assessment from our Las Vegas, NV personal injury lawyers.
Can I Sue for Emotional Distress in Nevada?
You can sue for emotional distress and other non-economic damages in a personal injury lawsuit. Other non-economic damages include physical pain, mental suffering and anguish, and reduced quality of life. A lawsuit can also cover non-economic damages from permanent disfigurement or embarrassment.
These are also known as “intangible” damages. They do not have inherent monetary value but are compensable nonetheless.
While you can sue for emotional distress, you likely also have costly economic damages to cover. We will also tally hospital bills, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket expenses for your case. Severely painful and life-altering injuries may warrant greater non-economic damages, increasing the value of a plaintiff’s claim.
You may also recover non-economic damages in a wrongful death lawsuit if your spouse, child, or parent was killed by negligence. Wrongful death lawsuits compensate survivors for grief and loss of consortium, guidance, and support in Nevada.
Does Nevada Cap Damages for Emotional Distress in Lawsuits?
Nevada does not cap damages for emotional distress in normal personal injury lawsuits. However, it does cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims.
If you sue after a motorcycle crash, bike accident, or slip and fall and go to court, the jury can award whatever amount it sees fit based on the evidence.
Medical malpractice takes many forms. Whether doctors fail to diagnose a condition, prescribe the wrong medication, or make surgical errors, the cap on non-economic damages is $510,000, according to NRA 41A.035.
Even if no damages caps apply to your case, that doesn’t guarantee a full recovery. Our attorneys can calculate your non-economic damages and prove them in court.
How Much Compensation Will I Get for Emotional Distress?
Before filing your lawsuit, our Enterprise, NV personal injury lawyers will calculate non-economic damages. The two methods for this are the per diem and multiplier methods. We can use both, see which yields a greater sum, and request that amount in your lawsuit.
When we use the per diem method, we assign a daily rate to your emotional distress. We may base this on the severity of your injuries, daily wage, and other factors. Multiply the daily rate by the number of days we expect you to experience emotional distress, and the result is your non-economic damages.
For the other method, we pick a multiplier. It typically falls between 1.5 and 5, based on an injury’s severity. Once we have a multiplier, we multiply it by your total economic damages to get your non-economic damages.
How Long Can I Sue for Emotional Distress in Nevada?
You do not have indefinite time to sue for emotional distress or other damages, like medical expenses or lost wages. Based on the accident’s date and cause, we can see how much time you have left to file a lawsuit.
Nevada’s statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is two years under 11.90(4)(e). The statute of limitations for medical injuries suffered after October 1, 2023 is three years after the date of injury or two years after the discovery of the injury, according to 41A.097(3).
Missing the statute of limitations blocks you from compensation for emotional distress and economic damages.
How Can I Prove Emotional Distress in a Lawsuit?
Proving emotional distress takes different tactics than proving economic damages. Income records, hospital bills, and other documents prove financial losses, while testimony proves non-economic damages.
Testifying during a trial is your chance to explain emotional distress to the jury. You can describe how injuries affect your daily life, your ability to work or socialize, and your general well-being. We’ll prepare you to testify, so you’re ready if the time comes.
People close to you may also testify about your demeanor since an accident, helping your case. Mental health experts can assess you and might diagnose you with anxiety, depression, or even post-traumatic stress disorder. Experts can then testify during a trial, showing the court why you deserve non-economic damages.
Keeping a journal after an accident helps victims track their non-economic damages and notice how their injuries impact them over time.
Can You Get Damages for Emotional Distress from a Settlement in Nevada?
You can get damages for emotional distress from a settlement, but they may not come easily. We can handle settlement negotiations, ensuring a proposal is fair before you agree to it.
After we file your lawsuit, settlement talks may start. The defense may send proposals, and we can see if they are good. Initial offers might leave out non-economic damages and even some economic damages, like future medical expenses.
If that’s the case, we will reject bad offers and send counters. We support counters with evidence, like statements from mental health professionals explaining your pain and suffering.
If you do not get enough compensation for emotional distress from a settlement, we can go to trial. Sometimes, this is enough to yield an even larger offer from the defense, who may want to avoid a trial more.
Call Our Nevada Injury Lawyers About Your Case
Call Mitchell Rogers Injury Law at (702) 702-2622 for a free case evaluation from our Boulder City, NV personal injury lawyers.