FAQ

Treat ALL injuries and symptoms.

If you are injured as the result of another’s negligence, you should be compensated for the injuries you sustained. More specifically, you should be compensated for all injuries and damages of any kind. To ensure that you are fully compensated for your injuries and damages, you need to seek treatment for every injury and symptom you experience as a result of the accident. Playing “tough guy” and avoiding doctors is the worst thing a personal injury victim can do. Many attorneys, including the attorneys at The Hayes Law Firm in a prior life, makeor made insurance companies millions of dollars a year by undervaluing claims. One of the easiest ways to undervalue a claim in front of a jury is to highlight the plaintiff’s failure to seek medical treatment for his/her alleged injuries, to comment on the plaintiff’s inconsistent treatment regimen and/or emphasize that the plaintiff did not follow his/her doctor’s treatment instructions. There is one easy way to sidestep these fancy defensive tactics – SEEK TREATMENT FOR ALL INJURIES (physical or mental) AND SYMPTOMS.

Document, document, document . . .

Personal injury victims are entitled to be compensated for ALL damages they sustain as a result of the wrongful conduct of another. However, such damages are not always neatly categorized as hospital bills, property damage bills or lost wages. What if you are an avid snow skier and the accident resulted in you being unable to ski? What if you are a loving husband and your injuries impacted your ability to assist with household chores and/or perform sexually? It is important that all personal injury plaintiffs immediately start a diary where they can document the impact their injuries have on their daily lives. You should also take photographs of the accident scene as well as your injuries.

Hire a lawyer you trust as soon as possible.

Finally, your case is serious. The valuation of your claim may hinge on variables a lay person will not recognize. The negligent party’s insurance adjuster may attempt to fast-track a speedy/unfair resolution or strategically slow-play you and then deny liability. You may have sustained subtle injuries that are not immediately obvious, such as brain injuries, that an experienced attorney will recognize. There may be umbrella, uninsured or under insured policies that provide additional coverage for your injurie(s). You need an attorney to assess liability for you and educate you on the categories of damages in which you can recover. A personal injury victim may be entitled to recover for his or her property damage, medical bills, prescription bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of earning capacity,loss of consortium and other damages. You need to hire a Las Vegas personal injury attorney that can navigate these issues before you can make an informed decision on any settlement.

Absolutely. Insurance companies are not non-profit organizations. There is a reason they sponsor professional sporting events. I am sure you have seen the celebrities they employ to market their services in TV commercials. They are made of money. They employ teams of “adjustors” and “claims managers” that are specifically tasked with undervaluing and undermining your claim. It is there job to resolve your claim for as little amount of money as possible.

A knowledgeable and experienced attorney will understand your injuries, treatment costs and the various categories of damages your case triggers. Equally important, a knowledgeable and experienced attorney will know the value of your claim. The personal injury attorneys at The Hayes Law Firm have approximately 50 years of experience both prosecuting and defending against personal injury claims. We know all the insurance company tricks and will certainly maximize your recovery.

Of course, you are legally permitted to handle your claim with claims adjustors. You are even permitted to represent yourself in a lawsuit. However, just because you can do something does not mean you should. Handling your personal injury claim without a lawyer is comparable to allowing a non-doctor to perform surgery on you. Just as the old adagegoes “a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.”

Assuming the other driver or you have sufficient insurance, your car repairs/replacement will be covered. Insurance companies typically want you to produce a police report before it will cover property damage and/or rental costs. It may take as long as ten days for the other driver’s policy to cover your property damage and/or rental costs. However, your insurer should cover your rental costs until fault is determined. You should therefore be able to secure a rental vehicle almost immediately after the loss of your vehicle. The personal injury attorneys at The Hayes Law Firm are waiting to answer any questions you may have about securing a rental car and/or repairing your vehicle.

Dale and Dale, Jr., are born and raised in Las Vegas. Between the two of them, they have been residents in Las Vegas for over a century. They have therefore developed substantial ties with the network of professionals that will be involved in your case, i.e., law enforcement, nurses, doctors, therapists, expert witnesses, etc. Beyond that, they have achieved the highest possible legal rankings as attorneys. Both Dale and Dale, Jr. are AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and both carry “Top Lawyer” ratings with AVVO. Dale and Dale, Jrs.’ Awards can be viewed here.

In addition to their experience and awards, the attorneys at The Hayes Law Firm have impressive trial records along with a history of securing personal injury clients substantial settlements. We offer free and confidential consultations where we guarantee you will meet with an experienced Las Vegas personal injury lawyer. We are confident that you will be able to answer this question yourself after you have met with us.

Nothing. Here at The Hayes Law Firm we want you to trust the lawyers you hire. That is why we offer confidential and free consultations. You should be confident and comfortable with us before you decide to entrust us with your case.

It depends.We have represented clients whose cases are resolved within a few months of the subject incident and represented clients, where appeals are involved, that do not conclude for 6 or 7 years after the subject incident. There are many variables that can impact the duration of a personal injury case. Variables such as the duration of your treatment, the reasonableness of the claims manager, the number of applicable insurance policies, the number of professionals you must see concerning future damages and, of course, the complexity of the litigation if filing suit is necessary.

Please understand that if/when your case is delayed for one or more of the foregoing reasons, it is most likely a good thing as it means your attorneys are fighting to get you the maximum settlement possible. Here at The Hayes Law Firm we promise to maintain constant communication with you so you are always aware of the status of your case. We are not in the business of securing quick settlements; we are in the business of securing you the highest settlement possible.

Dale and Dale, Jr., are born and raised in Las Vegas. Between the two of them, they have been residents in Las Vegas for over a century. They have therefore developed substantial ties with the network of professionals that will be involved in your case, i.e., law enforcement, nurses, doctors, therapists, expert witnesses, etc. If you do not have insurance, we will immediately refer you to a competent physician that will treat you on a lien.

Being treated on a lien simply means that your medical treatment providers will be compensated for your treatment when and if you recover with your claim/lawsuit.

There are many categories of compensable losses or damages in a personal injury case. Once you have established that the defendant caused you damages, Nevada law permits you to recover for any and all losses caused by his or her wrongful conduct. Damages in a personal injury case typically fall under two umbrella categories, special damages and general damages. Special damages compensate the plaintiff for quantifiable monetary losses. Examples of special damages include property repair/loss, medical expenses, future medical costs, lost wages and loss of future earning capacity. Any loss you can produce a receipt, invoice or specific calculation for constitutes a special damage. General damages, conversely, are non-economic damages. Examples of general damages are loss of enjoyment of life (“hedonic damages”), pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of reputation, loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity,mental anguish and loss of consortium damages.General damages are highly variable as they are determined by the individual traits and lifestyle of the injured plaintiff. They can therefore substantially vary from one case to the next.

As you can see, much analysis will go into the valuation of a personal injury claim. Every plaintiff is different which means every claim is valued differently. You need to hire a law firm with experience litigating the various categories of potential personal injury damages; a firm that will take the time to ensure you are fully compensated for all of your losses. Having spent decades representing insurance companies, the personal injury lawyers at The Hayes Law Firm are uniquely positioned to maximize the value of your claim.

The Hayes Law Firm offers “contingency fee” agreements for its personal injury clients. “Contingent” means our right to recover a fee is contingent upon us obtaining a settlement or award for you. You donot pay us anything unless we secure you a settlement or judgment.

Yes. Nevada, like all other states, has a statute setting forth time limitation periods to file personal injury claims. Such statutes are commonly referred to as “statutes of limitation.” Nevada’s statutes of limitation provide the following deadlines to file various personal injury claims. The statutes require that a lawsuit be filed (versus a claim being submitted or a law firm being hired) to satisfy the deadline.

The date that one of the foregoing timeframes begins to run starts on the date of the subject event that caused the injuries. Sometimes, exceptions exist to extend the timeframe. The personal injury attorneys at The Hayes Law Firm are waiting to answer any questions you may have about filing deadlines (“limitation issues”) in your case.