In This Article
One of the most important rules in any Nevada injury case is how fault is shared. Nevada follows modified comparative negligence under NRS 41.141. In plain terms: you can still recover compensation as long as you are not more than 50 percent at fault for your own injuries, but your award is reduced by your percentage of blame.
How the 51% Bar Works
If a jury finds you 20 percent at fault for a crash and your damages total 100,000 dollars, you recover 80,000 dollars. But cross the line to 51 percent or more, and Nevada law bars you from recovering anything at all. That single percentage point is why insurance companies fight so hard to pin extra blame on injured people — pushing your share from 49 to 51 percent can erase the entire claim.
Why Insurers Inflate Your Share of Fault
Adjusters are trained to find any thread of shared responsibility: you were speeding slightly, you glanced at your phone, you stepped off a curb early. Each of these becomes an argument to raise your fault percentage and shrink — or eliminate — what they must pay. A recorded statement given before you understand this rule can hand them the ammunition they need.
Building Evidence to Protect Your Recovery
Countering a comparative-fault argument takes evidence: scene photos, traffic-camera or dashcam footage, witness statements, and sometimes accident-reconstruction experts. The goal is to anchor your fault percentage as low as the facts allow, because every point matters to the final number. This is one of the clearest reasons not to negotiate alone.
What This Means for Your Case
Do not assume that because you were partly responsible you have no claim. Under Nevada's rule, partial fault simply reduces recovery — it does not eliminate it unless you are found mostly to blame. A free case review can give you a realistic read on how fault is likely to be apportioned in your situation.