Reno Personal Injury Lawyer

Insurance Lawyer

We Are the Lawyers to Call When Insurance Companies Refuse to Cooperate

Experienced Reno Personal Injury Attorney

Building a Strong Injury Claim for You

A slip-and-fall injury, dog bite, car crash, or other personal severe injury completely disrupts the everyday rhythm of life. Most people get up in the morning, go to work or school, come home, and spend time with family and friends. However, after a personal injury, victims do not know if they will have a good day or a bad day. Simply getting out of bed is often a chore, to say nothing of making it through the rest of the day.

The aforementioned incidents do not only cause physical pain — they cause emotional pain as well. Since they are physically limited, many recovering victims withdraw from social activities. This withdrawal often causes depression. Furthermore, the accident itself may cause anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The symptoms of these conditions inhibit recovery and make it even harder to make it through the day.

The compassionate Reno personal injury lawyers at Leverty & Associates understand the pain and suffering accident victims must endure day to day. 

Many of the people on our professional team are also injury survivors. Our compassion motivates us to work even harder for you, and hard work begins with a thorough case evaluation at your initial consultation. 

The work does not end until we obtain maximum compensation for your serious injuries.

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Why Choose Us?

What Sets Our Washoe County Personal Injury Lawyers Apart from The Rest

Usually, within hours of a personal injury, insurance companies hire teams of legal professionals who care nothing about what is fair. Instead, these lawyers look for ways to reduce or deny compensation to victims. A victim needs an equally dedicated Reno personal injury lawyer to level the playing field.

At Leverty & Associates, we focus on injury-related legal matters. To us, nothing is more important than obtaining the compensation victims need to put their lives back together and move forward to tomorrow.

Dedication is necessary, but it is not enough. A Reno personal injury lawyer must also be experienced and accessible.

Experienced lawyers quickly and thoroughly evaluate your case. A fast start does not always guarantee a successful result, but a fast start helps immensely. A thorough case evaluation means our legal team looks for all your legal options, and not just the path of least resistance.

Accessible lawyers have more than one office location. Moreover, the attorneys in these offices are directly responsible for the cases the firm handles. Many Reno personal injury attorneys quickly refer cases to other lawyers or over-delegate the work to inexperienced associates or even non-lawyer assistants.

At Leverty & Associates, we check both these boxes. 

Our team members have decades of combined experience in areas like Nevada personal injury and bad faith insurance law. We have offices in Las Vegas and Reno, and unlike some other lawyers, we are happy to do after-hours, home, hospital, and virtual meetings.

What Are The Different Types of Personal Injury Cases?

Looking for A Reno Personal Injury Lawyer With Relevant Experience?

 

If you suffer an injury due to someone else’s actions, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit. In some cases, like claims for injuries caused by defective products, Nevada law imposes strict liability on another party.

Some injuries, like sexual assault, are intentional. Criminal courts often punish these offenders. But only a Reno personal injury attorney obtains compensation for the victims of such incidents.

Negligence, or a lack of care, causes most personal injuries. Some common types of personal injury cases are:

  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Commercial truck accidents
  • Pedestrian accidents
  • Bicycle accidents
  • Boat accidents
  • Slip-and-fall accidents
  • Premises liability
  • Car accidents
  • Dog bites
  • Product liability
  • Medical malpractice
  • Assault and battery
  • Sexual assault or abuse.

Most of the claims we handle are settled out of court. However, the exact injury compensation process varies from case to case.

When Should I File A Personal Injury Claim?

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late to File Your Claim

 

You should file a personal injury claim immediately after determining that you have a valid claim, can give an accurate estimate of your claim’s worth, and your attorney says it’s time. 

It would be unfair for you to bear the burden of paying medical bills or to suffer a loss of income after an accident that was not your fault. Instead, these burdens should fall on the person or entity that caused your injuries, as soon as possible.

You should have the freedom to focus on your recovery, rather than rushing back to work or skipping medical treatment because of a mounting pile of bills. Skimping on treatment could leave you with permanent disabilities that cause pain and limit your abilities for the rest of your life.

Many victims hesitate to file legal claims, especially if they believe health insurance or MedPay will cover most or all of their medical bills and other economic losses. These hoped-for payments often do not materialize. Limitations on using health insurance and MedPay for your injuries include:

  • Health insurance may require you to meet a deductible or pay a copay for treatment.
  • MedPay may not cover ongoing or long-term medical expenses.
  • Health care providers might not accept MedPay coverage.
  • If you pay out of pocket, your insurer could reject reimbursement.

If you choose to pursue an injury claim, you can seek compensation for all your relevant medical expenses, including any copays or deductibles you paid upfront. If you win or settle your case, you can use some of the funds to pay your medical providers.

Additionally, no insurance company compensates victims for emotional distress and other non-economic losses. No victim should ever have to settle for less.

Your compensation should adequately cover your present and future expenses for injuries related to your accident. An adequate settlement offer, or award should be enough to cover your expenses for ongoing treatment, therapy, or long-term care if needed.

What You Need to Prove to Get Injury Compensation

Our Reno Personal Injury Lawyers Explain The Compensation Process

 

To recover injury compensation, you and your Reno personal injury attorney must prove liability for your injuries.

Intentional torts (injuries) usually require proof of intent and causation. Intent means that the person who caused your injury intended to perform the injurious action. In accident claims, the law does not require you to prove that the person intended to injure you. Meanwhile, causation means that the person’s actions were a step in the sequence of events that caused your injury.

In a strict liability case, victims must prove that the person or company involved caused the injury. In a product liability case, for example, you must show that the manufacturer, designer, or seller put a defective product into the stream of commerce and that you suffered an injury as a result.

The insurance company also has quite a lot of work to do, even though it is less difficult than yours. Defendants are not required to prove that another account of the events is true, as they can comfortably claim that they lack knowledge of what happened. 

All they have to do is convince the court that your account of the events isn’t true. If they succeed, they won’t have to pay what you have asked for. 

Some insurance companies even go so far as to present multiple possible accounts of what could have transpired. 

As mentioned, negligence causes most personal injuries in the Silver State. Negligence in Nevada requires proof of four elements: duty, breach, cause, and damages.

Duty

The person or business you sue must have a duty of care. This duty varies in different situations. Some examples of legal duties include:

  • Noncommercial drivers usually have a duty of reasonable care to avoid accidents and drive defensively.
  • Commercial drivers must go the extra mile to avoid accidents because they usually have a higher duty of care; they must adhere to special regulations regarding licensing, maintenance, and hours on the road.
  • Doctors and many other professionals have a fiduciary duty to set aside all other priorities and do only what is best for their patients or clients.
  • Property owners usually have a duty of care toward any social or business guests whom they directly or indirectly invite onto the premises.

A person or business satisfies its duty by acting in a reasonably prudent manner. In other words, the person or business must act with good judgment and common sense in the given circumstances.

Breach

To be negligent, the person or business must have breached the applicable duty of care. The breach might happen in a number of ways, depending on the nature of your accident. For example, people and businesses can breach their duties by:

  • Driving in an unreasonably dangerous way
  • Failing to provide a level of medical care recognized as reasonable by other health care providers
  • Neglecting to discover or repair hazards on the premises in a reasonable time and manner.

Bear in mind that not all injuries support an injury claim. If the person or business acted reasonably and you were still injured, negligence would be difficult to prove.

Cause

For a negligence case, the breach of duty must have caused you damages. Under Nevada law, causation has two parts — cause-in-fact and proximate cause.

Cause-in-fact means that the breach was an event in the series of events that led to your injury. Suppose that someone threw a brick at your car. Even if the brick did not hit you directly, if you swerved and hit a light pole, the person who threw the brick was still the cause-in-fact of your crash and your injuries.

Proximate cause means that your injuries were a reasonably foreseeable result of the breach. You do not need to prove that the person or business knew that your exact injuries would occur. Instead, you must show that the breach was the type of act or omission that could reasonably injure someone.

For example, failing to empty the trash cans in a parking structure might be a bad business practice. But a Nevada court might not consider that failure to be the proximate cause of a car accident when wind-blown trash from an overflowing can obscures your view and causes you to hit a parked car.

Damages

Almost any time you suffer an injury, expenses can pile up. These expenses that you would not have incurred if you weren’t involved in the accident are called “economic damages.” Economic damages are actual and direct financial losses you incurred from the accident or injury. 

Examples of common economic damages include:

  • Medical bills
  • Prescription drug costs
  • Physical or mental health therapy
  • Lost salary or wages 
  • Diminished earning capacity 
  • Property damage.

Victims also have non-economic damages. These damages result when an injury diminishes your quality of life. Examples of non-economic losses include physical pain, mental suffering, and loss of the ability to participate meaningfully in certain activities.

Why Do You Need A Reno Personal Injury Lawyer?

Don’t Fight for Your Compensation Alone

 

After suffering a personal injury, especially one that you don’t think is too complicated, you might be tempted to think that the insurance company will easily agree with your claim. For this reason, many personal injury victims are shocked when their claims are denied or downplayed. 

Insurance companies will rarely take your side when you file a claim, regardless of the pain and suffering you are dealing with. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, as doing so is good for their profitability. 

Typically, an average insurance company will try every trick in the book to pay you less than you deserve, or not at all. They could use several delay tactics to make you grow tired of pursuing your claim no matter how justifiable it might be. If you throw in the towel, you could be making a grave mistake. 

Never abandon your claim if you haven’t spoken to our lawyers. We know all of the antics of insurance companies enough to tell whether your claim was denied in bad faith or not. 

Thankfully, Nevada law sees every insurance policy as an agreement whose terms shouldn’t be violated by any party. Our lawyers can spot, with high accuracy, the aspect of the law the insurance company could be violating. These breaches of contract could be . . . 

  • Offering less than the claim’s worth or value 
  • Delaying to make payment 
  • Refusal to own up to obvious liability 
  • Failure to provide good reasons why the claim was denied 
  • Refusing to respond to the claimant 
  • Demanding an unreasonable amount of paperwork to attend to the claim 
  • Lying to the insurance policyholder about their privileges as contained in the policy
  • Making unclear interpretations of the content of the policy.

Besides spotting insurance policy breaches, we will also let you know how best to approach the matter. We have been dealing successfully with insurance companies for decades, proving that our clients have been wronged and should get the required compensation to repair damage and live comfortable lives afterward. 

How Do I Pursue Compensation in A Personal Injury Case?

We Know What It Takes to Battle Uncooperative Insurance Companies 

 

Our Reno personal injury attorney will identify all possible sources of compensation, including the at-fault party’s assets and insurance policies. Insurance policies are contracts between the insurer and the insured. When the insured incurs a liability listed in the policy, the insurer should pay the claimant.

Every owner of a registered vehicle in Nevada is required to carry liability insurance. When a driver causes an accident, their insurer has a contractual duty to investigate the claims that are filed and negotiate with the claimant in good faith. If it fails to do so, the insurer can become liable for its bad-faith actions, on top of the actions of the insured party.

Most people and businesses have insurance coverage. Homeowner’s insurance, business liability insurance, property insurance, and other policies might be used to cover damages suffered when an insured person or business causes an injury.

For example, Nevada does not require boat owners to carry liability insurance. But in some cases, creative personal injury lawyers can find a way to claim coverage under the boater’s auto or home insurance policy.

Our skilled personal injury attorneys in Reno have knowledge and experience in insurance law that is unmatched by other Reno law firms. 

Gene Leverty represented insurance companies for over ten years. He is also a former Nevada deputy insurance commissioner. Patrick Leverty earned a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in insurance law and is listed on The National Trial Lawyers list of Top 10 Insurance Bad Faith Trial Lawyers – Nevada.

A high level of understanding of insurance law helps our firm’s lawyers to identify all sources of insurance coverage that might be able to cover a client’s injuries. Aggregating policies in this way can help our attorneys fight for the full compensation a client may be entitled to.

Frequently Asked Questions about Personal Injury Law 

Get Answers from Our Reno Personal Injury Attorneys 

 

Personal injury law varies from state to state. When you need answers about your personal injury case, look for someone with experience and knowledge in the relevant area of law. Our lawyers at Leverty & Associates Law include a Nevada Justice Association certified Personal Injury Specialist.

Do I Have A Case If I Only Have Minor Injuries?

Even a minor accident often causes serious injuries. For example, whiplash, a head-neck injury, is very common in low-speed car crashes, like parking lot fender benders. If not treated promptly and properly, this injury could cause permanent paralysis.

Victims should always see a doctor. Only a medical professional can properly evaluate your medical condition. Likewise, victims should always see a Washoe County personal injury lawyer. Only an attorney can determine your legal options.

How Much Is My Case Worth?

Determining how much your case is worth is a process. This process usually starts with the settlement value. Much like a new car’s sticker price, a personal injury claim’s settlement value serves as the starting point for settlement negotiations.

The settlement value must account for all past and future medical expenses. Therefore, meaningful negotiations cannot start until medical treatment is substantially complete. The settlement value also includes compensation for emotional distress and other non-economic losses.

Settlement negotiations involve some give and take. Only a good Washoe County personal injury lawyer knows when to give and when to take during these negotiations.

How Long Do I Have to Start My Case?

The statute of limitations in a Nevada personal injury case is usually two years. However, this two-year statute of limitations does not apply in all cases, mostly because of the discovery rule.

Dangerous drug claims are a good example. Assume Victor took Drug X in 2000. In 2015, his doctor told him he had cancer. In 2025, Victor sees a TV documentary about the link between Drug X and cancer.

According to the discovery rule, the statute of limitations countdown usually begins when victims are fully aware of their injuries, and they connect those injuries to another person’s or entity’s wrongful conduct. So, in this example, Victor probably has until 2027 to file a claim (two years after he “discovered” his injuries).

How Long Will My Case Take?

It is impossible to tell. Any Reno personal injury lawyer who says something different is probably just telling you what you want to hear. Eventually, most cases settle out of court. However, “eventually” is often a long time because the litigation process is long.

Informal negotiations between a Washoe County personal injury attorney and an insurance company often bear fruit. If these talks stall or break down, most judges appoint professional mediators who jumpstart the settlement process. Professional mediation is about 90 percent successful in Nevada.

What If I Share in The Blame for My Accident?

Shared blame is extremely common. The comparative fault rule, in one form or another, usually applies in these situations.

For example, in a car crash, one driver might have changed lanes illegally and another driver was speeding. Or, in a dog bite claim, the owner might have put up a “Beware of Dog” sign.

Nevada is a modified comparative fault state with a 51 percent threshold. Victims are entitled to compensation if they were no more than 49 percent responsible for an injury.

Reno personal injury lawyers use evidence and arguments to maximize compensation in these situations. For example, the speeding driver in the car crash case might have been traveling 5 mph above the limit. That is not significant enough to affect fault in an accident. In another example, the victim in a dog bite case might have been a young child who was unable to read the sign or unable to understand what that sign meant.

Do I Need A Reno Personal Injury Lawyer for My Case?

Absolutely. Insurance companies always have lawyers working for them. Taking on experienced lawyers without one of your own is like the Las Vegas Raiders playing the Las Vegas High School Wildcats. It is not a fair fight.

A Washoe County personal injury attorney does more than advocate for you. An attorney also gives a victim solid guidance throughout the complicated legal process. Victims without lawyers must feel their way in the dark.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Personal Injury Lawyers in Reno?

At Leverty & Associates, our Reno personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. So, instead of changing high hourly or other fees, we take a small percentage of a judgment or settlement as payment for our professional services.

On a similar note, we have professional relationships with doctors, mechanics, and other such providers. These providers usually charge nothing upfront for their services.

These may not be your only questions; our attorneys will discuss your specific concerns in your initial consultation.

Attorney Patrick Leverty

Attorney Patrick LevertyWith his master’s in insurance law, Patrick routinely helps individuals and businesses who are having issues with their insurance company. He also has extensive experience with personal injury actions, complex tort actions, product liability matters, and class actions. Patrick Leverty is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell (the highest rating) and has been granted membership in the Million Dollar Advocate Forum, and Multi-Million Dollar Advocate Forum. Patrick Leverty has been certified as a Personal Injury Specialist by the State Bar of Nevada. [ Attorney Bio ]

Contact A Diligent Washoe County Attorney Now 

It’s not enough to know that an insurance company denied your personal injury claim in bad faith, you will also need to prove it. That’s what we’ve been doing for Reno residents at Leverty for decades. 

To find out more about the litigation process and receive a professional case evaluation, contact the experienced Reno personal injury lawyers at Leverty & Associates, L.C., for a free consultation by calling (775) 322-6636. 

We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.