Personal injury claims often involve serious bodily harm, enormous medical bills, and other significant damages. While your damages might feel overwhelming, courts may only award so much financial compensation in certain cases. Your attorney should help you maximize your compensation while being mindful of statutory limits.
A recent law passed in Nevada has changed the way non-economic damages are capped in medical malpractice cases. Beginning on January 1, 2024, the cap will increase each year, allowing plaintiffs to claim more economic damages as time goes on. Punitive or exemplary damages are also limited based on the value of compensatory damages in some cases. Compensatory damages, including economic and non-economic damages, are usually not limited in general personal injury cases, but they should still be proportional to the case.
Get a free, private claim review by calling Mitchell Rogers Injury Law at (702) 702-2622 and talking to our Las Vegas, NV personal injury attorneys.
New Limitations on Medical Malpractice Cases
A medical malpractice claim usually involves serious injuries caused by a doctor’s medical negligence. Plaintiffs often claim significant damages, but certain damages are limited by statute.
Non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases are capped by law. According to N.R.S. § 41A.035(1), non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims are capped at $350,000. Even if a jury wants to award more damages, they may be reduced to the maximum allowed by law.
New legislation has altered the cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The law states that the cap will increase by $80,000 each year, starting January 1, 2024, until it reaches $750,000 in 2028. At that point, the cap may increase by 2.1% annually, starting on January 1, 2029.
As of May 2025, the current cap on damages in medical malpractice cases in Nevada is $510,000. This amount will increase by $80,000 again on January 1, 2026.
Caps on Punitive Damages in Nevada
Punitive or exemplary damages are separate from compensatory damages and may be awarded as a punishment for the defendant’s especially heinous actions. Although these damages can be quite substantial, they are also capped by statute.
According to N.R.S. § 42.005(1), punitive damages may be limited to triple the value of compensatory damages if compensatory damages are worth at least $100,000. If compensatory damages are valued at less than $100,000, punitive damages may be capped at $300,000. Your compensatory damages include economic and non-economic damages.
The limits on punitive or exemplary damages in Nevada do not apply in every single case. Under subsection (2) of the statute cited above, these caps do not apply in cases involving product liability, insurers acting in bad faith, violations of federal laws against discriminatory housing practices, toxic or hazardous materials, or defamation.
Obtaining punitive or exemplary damages is not easy, and our Henderson, NV personal injury attorneys must satisfy a high burden of proof. Under the law, we must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant’s actions constitute malice, fraud, or oppression. In other words, their actions must be far beyond ordinary negligence.
Limitations on Compensatory Damages in Personal Injury Cases
Your compensatory damages account for both economic and non-economic losses and injuries, and they are designed to restore the plaintiff to the position they were in before the injury occurred. Generally, they are not capped by statute in Nevada in general personal injury cases.
Economic damages are not limited by statute, but you may not claim damages beyond your actual expenses. If your injuries came with a total price tag of $50,000, you cannot claim any more than that in economic damages.
While non-economic damages are capped in medical malpractice cases, they are not capped in general personal injury claims. These damages are subjective and may be worth whatever the jury believes they are worth. Even so, they cannot be unreasonably excessive. If they are, the judge can reduce them.
How to Maximize Your Damages in a Nevada Personal Injury Case
Wrongful death cases often involve significant damages, and it is crucial that you work with your attorney to maximize your potential compensation.
First, we must make sure that we evaluate your damages accurately. If anything is undervalued or unaccounted for, it might not be considered when the jury awards damages, and you may miss out on valuable compensation.
Accurate accounting of your damages begins with good record-keeping. You should maintain thorough records of all the costs you incurred due to your loved one’s passing. In addition, we should gather records of your loved one’s income to establish damages for lost financial support.
We must also be mindful of statutory caps. We should try to get damages as close to the statutory maximum as possible. Additionally, caps may play a role in settlement negotiations, as defendants are unlikely to agree to pay damages exceeding statutory caps.
What Happens if Damages Are Over the Legal Limit?
While damage caps might exist in your case, the jury might award damages that exceed the statutory limits.
Juries are often not informed of damage caps when they begin deliberations. As such, they will render a verdict based on what they believe your claims are truly worth, and your final damages award may be more than the statutory caps allow.
In cases where damages exceed statutory caps, the judge may reduce the award to be equal to the maximum allowed by law.
If there are no caps in place (e.g., non-economic damages in general personal injury cases), the judge can still reduce the damages award if they believe it is disproportionate to the case.
Contact Our Nevada Personal Injury Attorneys for Legal Help
Get a free, private claim review by calling Mitchell Rogers Injury Law at (702) 702-2622 and talking to our Winchester, NV personal injury attorneys.