09/28/2020 – On September 28, 2020, a car accident resulted in the death of a 26-year-old male. The accident occurred when the 26-year-old was traveling Northbound on Eastern Avenue, when a 76-year-old woman, who was driving an SUV, made a left-hand turn in front of the 26-year-old male. There was a 22-year-old female in the car with a 26-year-old male. She was transported to UMC hospital by ambulance and remains in critical condition. The Henderson police department responded and cited the 26-year-old for causing the accident for excessive speed.

Both Drivers Could Be Considered At Fault

This is an interesting fact pattern because you potentially have both drivers that could be considered at fault for causing the accident. On the one hand, the police cited the 26-year-old male for causing the accident by speeding. However, the 76-year-old clearly violated the 26-year old’s right of way by making a left-hand turn in front of him.

In this situation, you have to consider how fast the 26-year-old was traveling at the time of the accident. Was it only slightly over the speed limit? What evidence is there that he was speeding? Were there eyewitnesses? A dash-cam? There is a good chance that the speed of the 26-year-old’s vehicle is not enough to extinguish the fault of the 76-year-old woman for violating his right of way.

Related: Questions To Ask An Accident Witness

Nevada’s Modified Comparative Fault Theory

Nevada utilizes a modified version of the comparative-fault theory to dispose of cases where the Plaintiff is partially at-fault for causing an automobile accident. The way this works is you must look to whether the Plaintiff was partially at-fault for causing the accident, if so, what percentage fault is the Plaintiff responsible for causing the accident. If the Plaintiff is more than 50% at-fault for causing the accident, then they are barred from recovery. If the Plaintiff is less than 50% at-fault for causing the accident, then their damages are reduced by their percentage of fault.

Related: Nevada’s Modified Comparative Negligence Rule

Contact Our Law Firm

This is an example of a case where we would be happy to fight for the 26-year-old to recover damages for a wrongful death cause of action, even though he was cited by the police for causing the accident. Our Brian Boyer Injury Firm Las Vegas personal injury attorney takes on cases that are not clear cut and that require effort to succeed. If you have been in an accident and where you were placed at-fault by the investigating officer(s), contact attorney Brian Boyer at (702) 800-0988 to discuss the merits of your case.

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