Las Vegas Wrongful Death Attorney

Getting that call from law enforcement changes everything. Your mind is racing and you can barely think. Here’s what you need to know right now.

Find out where your loved one is. Ask which agency is handling the case—Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada Highway Patrol, or another agency. Ask if they’re at University Medical Center, Sunrise Hospital, or the Clark County Coroner’s office.

Write down everything. Get the police report number, the officer’s name and badge number, and the case number. Your hands might be shaking. Write it anyway. This information is crucial later.

Call us as soon as you’re ready. We can guide you through what comes next. The consultation is free. There’s no pressure, just answers.

Police reports from LVMPD usually take about 10 business days. You can request them online, by mail, or in person. You’ll need the report number. Nevada Highway Patrol has a similar process.

The Clark County Coroner investigates all sudden or violent deaths. They determine the cause and manner of death. This can take days or months depending on whether they need toxicology tests or autopsies.

Death certificates come from the Southern Nevada Health District, not the Coroner. Once the Coroner finishes investigating, they send information to the Health District. Then you can order certified copies.

You’ll need multiple copies for insurance, banks, and legal matters. We can help you get all of these documents.

Nevada law limits who can file. Under NRS 41.085, only certain people have legal standing.

Immediate family can file – spouses, children, and parents. The estate’s personal representative can file. This is someone appointed by the probate court.

Dependent family members may file if the deceased supported them financially. This includes stepchildren or others who relied on the deceased.

Nevada gives you two years from the date of death to file a lawsuit. Miss this deadline and you lose your right to compensation. There are almost no exceptions.

Two years sounds like plenty of time. It’s not. Building a strong case takes months of investigation. Evidence disappears. Witnesses forget details. The insurance company is already preparing their defense.

Government cases have even shorter deadlines. If a city employee or state agency caused the death, you may have only six months to file a notice of claim.

Don’t wait. Call us today so we can protect your rights.

Wooldridge Law Injury Lawyers handles wrongful death cases from many types of negligence:

• Car accidents involve drunk drivers, distracted driving, speeding, or failure to follow traffic laws.
• Truck accidents often result from driver fatigue, improper maintenance, or unsafe driving practices by commercial trucking companies.
• Pedestrian accidents happen frequently on Las Vegas streets and the Strip. Drivers fail to yield in crosswalks where pedestrians should be safe.
• Motorcycle accidents often occur when drivers fail to see motorcyclists or violate their right of way.
• Premises liability covers deaths from dangerous property conditions. Inadequate security, slip and falls, pool drownings, and other preventable hazards.
• Defective product accidents occur when dangerous or poorly designed products cause fatal injuries.

Nevada law allows you to recover both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages cover measurable costs. Medical bills before death. Funeral and burial expenses. Lost income—both past wages and future earnings your loved one would have provided. The value of household services they contributed.

Non-economic damages compensate for losses you can’t measure on a spreadsheet. Loss of companionship and love. Children losing their parent’s guidance. The grief and emotional trauma your family is experiencing.

Punitive damages punish especially bad conduct—drunk driving, knowing safety violations, reckless behavior. Not every case qualifies, but when they do, these damages send a message.

Funeral and burial costs in Las Vegas typically range from $5,000 to $15,000 or more. These are fully recoverable in wrongful death cases.

Nevada law says funeral costs must be “reasonable.” This considers your loved one’s wishes, your family’s cultural and religious practices, and community standards.

You can recover costs for the funeral service, burial or cremation, casket or urn, cemetery plot, headstone, flowers, and related expenses.

Many families struggle with these immediate costs. Nevada’s Victims of Crime Program can help if the death involved a crime.

Loss of companionship – also called loss of consortium – compensates for losing your loved one’s presence in your life.

For spouses, this includes losing your partner’s love, affection, comfort, companionship, and intimacy. The marriage relationship you built together is gone forever.

For children, it’s losing a parent’s guidance, wisdom, protection, and love. Kids who lose parents miss out on years of advice and support they desperately need.

For parents who lose children, it’s the loss of their child’s company, care, and the relationship they’d built.

Lost income is often the largest part of a wrongful death settlement. This includes two components.

Past lost wages are straightforward. This calculates what your loved one was earning at the time of death using pay stubs, W-2 forms, and employment records.

Future lost income is more complex. This calculates what your loved one would have earned over their remaining working life. This considers their age, health, education, skills, work history, and likely career progression.

Economic and vocational experts project raises, promotions, and increased earning capacity your loved one would have achieved. They calculate the total economic loss to your family.

Punitive damages punish defendants for especially bad behavior. They’re not available in every case, only when conduct was particularly reckless or malicious.

Examples include drunk driving, grossly negligent safety violations, or intentional misconduct. The defendant must have shown conscious disregard for human life.

Punitive damages serve two purposes. They punish the defendant financially. They also deter others from similar conduct.

Punitive damages are in addition to economic and non-economic damages.

Nevada does not cap economic damages. You can recover every dollar of medical bills, funeral costs, and lost income. There’s no limit.

Medical malpractice cases are different. Nevada caps non-economic damages at $350,000 for medical malpractice wrongful death cases. This limit covers pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and emotional distress combined.

All other wrongful death cases have no caps on non-economic damages. Car accidents, workplace deaths, premises liability cases—there’s no limit on what you can recover for grief and loss of companionship.

Yes. Criminal and civil cases are completely separate.

You can file a wrongful death claim while criminal charges are pending. You can file after someone is convicted. You can file even if the person was found not guilty or never charged at all.

Criminal cases require proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.” That’s a high bar. Civil wrongful death cases need only “more likely than not.” That’s much easier to prove.

The criminal case doesn’t control your civil case. They move on separate tracks.

This is a common problem in Las Vegas. Many at-fault parties lack insurance or have minimal coverage.

Your own insurance may help. If the death involved a car accident, check your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Your loved one’s policy or your own might cover you even when the other driver has no insurance.

Multiple liable parties exist in many cases. A workplace death might involve both the employer and a contractor. A premises liability death might involve property owners, managers, and maintenance companies.

Personal assets can be pursued. If the defendant has real estate, bank accounts, or business interests, these assets can be pursued through a judgment.

Victim compensation programs provide limited help. Nevada’s Victims of Crime Program covers some costs when deaths involve criminal acts.

Wooldridge Law Injury Lawyers works on contingency. You pay nothing unless we win. No upfront fees. No hourly charges. No costs out of your pocket.

We advance all case costs like expert witnesses, investigators, court fees. If we win your case through settlement or verdict, we take a percentage of the recovery. If we don’t win, you owe us nothing.

This means families at every income level can afford experienced legal representation.

Wooldridge Law Injury Lawyers has represented many Las Vegas families who lost loved ones to negligence. We have a strong track record of success in wrongful death cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, workplace fatalities, medical malpractice, premises liability, and other types of negligence.

We work exclusively on contingency. No upfront costs, no hourly fees, no financial risk. This means every family can access experienced legal help regardless of their financial situation.

You get personal attention. We keep our caseload manageable. You work directly with your attorney, not just staff. You’re never just a case number.

We have the resources to win. Wrongful death cases require expert witnesses—accident reconstruction specialists, medical experts, economists. We invest our own money because we know what it takes to build compelling cases.

We have extensive trial experience. Most cases settle, but insurance companies know which lawyers will go to court. Our courtroom experience helps us negotiate better settlements.

We’ve helped families find answers, hold negligent parties accountable, and secure their financial future.