Damages are proof, not a catalog of prices.
Nevada personal injury damages are the categories of harm a claimant may try to prove if someone else's negligence caused the injury. They are not a settlement quote. They are not an average. Summit will not list sample dollars on this page, and will not tell you that a particular category is "worth" a number we invented.
This is general information for people hurt in Nevada. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Renee Finch, NSBN 13118, and Jaclyn Kliewer, NSBN 14898, are the firm's Nevada counsel. Call or text 702.789.4200 or write intake@stattorneys.com.
How those categories get discussed in negotiation is a different page: how much is a Las Vegas personal injury case worth. Read both. Neither one is a valuation of your file.
Medical care and the care still ahead.
Past medical expenses are usually documented with records and billing. Relatedness is the fight: did this treatment belong to this crash, fall, or assault? Gaps, prior injuries, and a delayed first visit become arguments. Keep the paper. Tell clinicians how the event happened in plain language.
Future care is a different kind of proof. It needs a supported view of what the person will likely need, not a round figure added to a demand because the injury sounds serious. Until that picture exists, the file is unfinished, not "small." Waiting for medical clarity does not pause deadlines. Preserve the claim timeline while treatment continues. See understanding your rights after an injury for the broader checklist of deadlines and proof.
Nevada does not publish a schedule that turns a fracture into a fixed dollar figure. Economic losses still need invoices, wage records, and a clear link to the event. Non-economic losses need a consistent human story that matches the chart notes. When those pieces diverge, the defense writes the gap for you.
Lost earnings, earning capacity, and household work.
Missed shifts, used leave, and a closed business week are the simpler wage stories. Earning capacity is harder: a trade you cannot return to, a license you cannot keep, a body that will not do the job. Those claims need more than a statement that work is harder. They need a record.
Household labor (childcare, the work of a household that someone else now does) is real harm even when no paycheck attached. It still has to be explained. Insurers discount what they cannot see. Dated notes help. Social-media clips of a weekend get used against that same story. Be consistent with the truth, not with a performance of injury.
Pain, limitation, and the parts of a day that changed.
Non-economic damages are not a second medical bill. They are the sleep, the driving, the anxiety in a hotel elevator, the shoulder that will not lift a child. Nevada juries hear that evidence. They also hear a defense that calls it subjective. The medical record and the daily record should point the same direction.
None of this is reduced to a formula on our site. Comparative negligence can reduce every category by your percentage, and can bar recovery if you are over the line. See Nevada comparative negligence and how fault arguments show up in insurance company calls after an accident.
Property, out-of-pocket costs, and narrower extras.
Vehicle damage, deductibles, prescriptions, travel to care, and a changed flight home after a Strip injury are ordinary out-of-pocket items. Keep receipts. A tourist file often has costs a local file does not. That does not make them automatic. It makes them documentable. Coverage gaps when the other driver is uninsured or underinsured are a separate path. See uninsured drivers in Nevada.
Punitive damages are not an ordinary negligence add-on. Nevada law treats them as a separate question about the defendant's conduct, with proof rules and statutory limits (with their own proof rules and limits under Nevada law). Do not plan a case around them. Wrongful-death damages are also a different statutory measure; start with our wrongful death page rather than stretching this one.
If a case involves a death, different family members may have different statutory interests. That is why wrongful death is not treated as a longer personal-injury demand letter. Start on the practice page, then talk to counsel about who may bring which claim.
First-party benefits versus the liability claim.
Medical payments coverage, personal injury protection where it applies, and uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits are often first-party claims against your own policy. The liability claim against the at-fault driver or property owner is usually third-party. Both can matter. They are not the same pot of money, and statements given for one can be used in the other. Keep the channels straight when you talk to adjusters.
None of these categories guarantees a recovery. Past results do not predict your case. The office is at 8488 Rozita Lee Ave, Building 3, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV 89113.
What belongs in the first conversation.
- Medical providers, restrictions, and whether treatment is still open
- Work you missed and work you cannot return to
- Out-of-pocket costs you can show
- Every insurer and any release you were asked to sign
- The date of the injury, because categories of damage do not pause the clock
Summit does not guarantee a recovery in any category. This page is general information, not legal advice about your facts.
Bring the records you have. We will tell you whether Summit may be able to help, and which categories of proof actually belong in the file.
Free case reviewQuestions people bring to the first call.
These answers are general information. They are meant to help you prepare for a conversation, not to replace advice about your situation.
What are compensatory damages in a Nevada injury case?
They are money meant to compensate for harm that can be proven: medical care, future care that is supported, lost earnings and earning capacity, and non-economic harm such as pain and limitation. They are not a published price list.
Can I recover for future medical care?
If the evidence supports that future care is reasonably likely and related to the injury, it can be part of a damages claim. A guess in a demand letter is not the same as a supported opinion. No website can promise what a fact-finder will accept.
Are punitive damages automatic in a serious crash?
No. Punitive damages in Nevada are a separate, narrower question about the defendant's conduct, with statutory limits and proof requirements. They are not a plan for an ordinary negligence file.
If I was partly at fault, do damages still exist?
They can, reduced by your percentage, unless your share is greater than the defendants' combined share under Nevada comparative-fault rules. Categories of damage do not erase the comparative-fault math.
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