Does Nevada Cap Damage Amounts in Personal Injury Claims?

Accidents typically result in unexpected expenses. Suddenly you’re dealing with everything from medical expenses to property repair and even replacement costs. On top of this, your injuries may be forcing you to miss work. Now, you’re adding lost income to your recoverable damages. 

However, even if you’re aware of the available damages in Nevada personal injury claims, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll receive the full amount. Nevada caps some damages and this can impact your settlement amount.

Damage caps are fairly easy to understand. The term refers to the maximum amount of compensation accident victims can receive in a personal injury claim. This can apply even if your damages exceed the cap. You can’t recover more than the cap allows.

For example: if the cap is at $100,000 and your damages total $200,000 you’re not going to receive the full value of your claim. You’re still going to be left with $100,000 in unrecoverable damages.

If you’re wondering why Nevada and other states have damage caps in place, the goal is to reduce litigation costs. The theory is that limiting settlement amounts will help keep overall costs down. Currently, Nevada caps damage awards on three types of personal injury claims:

• Claims against government employees

• Damage amounts for pain and suffering in medical malpractice claims

• Most punitive damage amounts regardless of the type of accident claim

The rules governing each type of damage cap can vary and this can add to the confusion when it’s time to file a personal injury claim.

As we noted earlier, damage cap rules aren’t the same across the board. Different rules apply depending on the type of accident claim.

Claims Against Government Employees

If you’re employed by the government and are the at-fault party in an accident, damage caps work in your favor. The same isn’t true for accident victims. The maximum recoverable compensation amount is $100,000.

Your damages stemming from an accident can easily exceed $100,000, especially if your injuries are severe. However, this doesn’t matter. The cap applies even when gross negligence is a factor. Nevada Revised Statute 41.035 prohibits civil court judges and juries from awarding punitive damages in all accident claims.

There can be a loophole in the statute. For the damage cap to apply, the government employee must be acting in their official capacity at the time the accident occurs. So, if a government employee is responsible for causing an accident on their day off, the damage cap usually doesn’t apply. This means you can recover the value of your claim and you may even be eligible to receive punitive damages.

Medical Malpractice Claims

Navigating damage caps in medical malpractice claims can be tricky, especially if more than one party is injured in the same incident. Your economic damages are rarely capped in medical malpractice claims. This means you should be able to recover medical costs, property repair expenses, and even lost wages.

When it comes to your non-economic damages like pain, suffering, and mental anguish, you’re probably going to run into a cap. Most medical malpractice claims involving non-economic damages are capped at $350,000. However, this cap only applies to your non-economic losses and shouldn’t affect the value of your economic losses.

However, the $350,000 cap may not be all yours. This is also the total amount that’s paid for the incident regardless of the number of claimants. So, if others are injured in the same medical malpractice incident, everyone is sharing the $350,000. This means that if two individuals file a claim for the same accident, each one receives $125,000 in non-economic damages.

Punitive Damage Caps

Nevada isn’t the only state capping punitive damage amounts. Most states cap this type of compensation, at least in some types of personal injury claims. 

Usually, if a state allows punitive damage awards in medical malpractice claims, you’re probably going to run into a cap. In Nevada, punitive damages are always capped regardless of the type of accident. A car accident has the same cap as a product liability claim.

According to Nevada Revised Statute 42.005, your claim's value determines punitive damage caps. This includes both your economic and non-economic losses. In most instances, you can receive up to three times the amount of your compensatory damages if your claim’s value is above $100,000. Yes, your claim must total at least $100,000 to be eligible for punitive damages.

Before you start thinking about which bills your punitive damage award is going to cover, remember that not all accidents are eligible for this type of compensation. You must show the defendant willfully caused the accident intending to cause injuries. Punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant and deter others from engaging in the same reckless and negligent behavior.

If you’re wondering how to list punitive damages on your accident claim, you can’t. Punitive damages are only awarded by a judge or jury. This means instead of filing a claim, you’re heading to court with a personal injury lawsuit.

You can file a case in judicial court asking to have the cap removed from your particular personal injury claim. There’s even a chance the court will agree and allow you to receive more than the state’s maximum limit.

Before you get too excited, there’s a good chance the defendant will appeal the lower court’s ruling. During the appeal, your punitive damage award is essentially put on hold. In other words, you can’t receive any compensation until the appeal winds through the court. 

Chances are, the Nevada Supreme Court will keep damage caps in place. This seems to be the usual ruling from the state’s highest court.

Caps on damages can affect compensation amounts and there’s little you can do to get around these limits. 

However, working with a personal injury attorney can help ensure you receive maximum compensation for your losses, regardless of any damage caps.