Wrongful Death Attorney in Las Vegas
Nevada’s wrongful death statute (N.R.S. 41.085) establishes Nevada’s law on wrongful death and it provides that the heirs of a person who dies due to the wrongful act or neglect of another may prosecute an action for wrongful death to recover damages. The “heirs” are defined as a person who would be considered an heir if the person had died without a will (“intestate”). The estate itself also can sue, but the damages that the estate can collect are substantially different than those damages the heirs can collect.
The first thing to understand about wrongful death is that not every death is wrongful. Just because a death is tragic, unexpected, or untimely does not automatically mean it qualifies as wrongful. You need to show that “but for” someone else’s wrongful act, the person would not have died (or would not have died so soon). The natural tendency when you lose a loved one is to try and find answers and blame something in your control. Focusing on getting justice can help many people work through the pain and feelings of loss they experience, and we never mean to marginalize such a process. With that said, though, we also would be doing no one any good if we didn’t give you an honest assessment of your case. Holding onto a poor wrongful death case for months or years can have a strongly negative effect on the families of the lost. It can slow down the process of healing and drive families apart.
This is why we believe it’s very important to sit down with everyone and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your wrongful death case. It’s important to create reasonable expectations and to get everyone involved on the same page. By doing this, we can help keep everyone together and moving in the same direction in a time where it can be challenging to stick together and not let your pain destroy your relationships with your family. Wrongful death cases are uniquely challenging and sensitive cases to handle for all of these reasons.
If your case has merit, the benefits to the surviving family members can be substantial, however. A successful wrongful death case can change the way businesses operate and stop the same tragedy from happening to someone else. They can recover money that can be used to help the family members move forward with their life and pay tribute to their lost loved ones. And, most importantly, it can be a way for grieving family members to come together for a singular purpose and try and find some answers in a horrible time.
At Power Play Legal, we take only the top tier of wrongful death cases because we do not believe taking a wrongful death case is something to be undertaken without careful consideration. Haphazard prosecution of a wrongful death case can destroy familial relationships and cause ceaseless grief and anxiety for the surviving family members, so we do not take this responsibility lightly. If we do take your case, though, it is important to know two things: (1) we need everyone on board. Splitting up the claim into 2 or 3 lawsuits with 2 or 3 different law firms will only cause ceaseless problems. We have taken such cases in the past under special circumstances, but it’s incredibly important to try and get all the heirs on the same team with the same law firm. The in-fighting and roadblocks that can arise with several cases and several firms involved cannot be overstated.
(2) You need to work out who will be the estate’s representative early on and get those papers filed immediately. We can help you find the right probate attorney, but we don’t handle that side of the case. If you want the best result, you need all of the heirs AND the estate in the same lawsuit. Only then can you effectively negotiate a settlement.
Here at Power Play Legal, we have substantial experience handling wrongful death cases and getting positive results. We stay in contact with all of the clients together and we encourage constant communication among the parties to the lawsuit so no one feels left out, marginalized, and mistreated by the other heirs. Everyone needs to be moving in the same direction, and we do our best to help everyone navigate this difficult and emotionally charged time of their lives the best we can.