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What’s the statute of limitations for “slip and fall” in Nevada?



Nevada’s statute of limitations to bring a slip-and-fall lawsuit is generally two (2) years from the date of the injury. For example, if you tripped and broke your leg in a Las Vegas casino on January 1, 2025, then you must file your lawsuit against the casino no later than January 1, 2027.

If you wait too long to file your lawsuit, your claim will be dismissed for staleness. It makes no difference if you would have otherwise won the lawsuit had you brought it sooner.

In my experience, it is best to bring personal injury lawsuits as quickly as possible once we are confident we have a solid case. Waiting too long carries risks:

Graphic that shows reasons to bring slip and fall lawsuits quickly, such as memories fading, evidence disappearing, and witnesses moving away

Exceptions to the Two-Year Rule

There are limited situations where you have longer or shorter than two years to bring a slip-and-fall lawsuit:

  • Minor children: If your minor child was the victim, the statute of limitations pauses (“tolls”) until they turn 18.
  • Comas: If the fall causes you to fall into a coma, the statute of limitations tolls until you regain consciousness.
  • Out-of-state defendant: If the at-fault party is not in Nevada, the statute of limitations tolls while they remain out-of-state.

Nevada also follows the “discovery rule,” which says the statute of limitations does not start running until you discover – or reasonably should have discovered – your injury. Sometimes injuries do not manifest until long after the actual accident.1

If You Fall At Work

If you fall at work in Nevada and plan to seek workers’ compensation, you must notify the employer and submit an Incident Report within only seven days of your injury. Within 90 days of the injury, the Employee’s Claim for Compensation form must be sumbitted as well.

Workers’ comp is typically the exclusive remedy for employees injured at work. Though there are certain situations where it may be possible to bring a traditional personal injury lawsuit within the two-year statute of limitations.

Learn more about Nevada workers’ compensation laws.

Warehouse worker on the ground clasping his knee after a fall
Slip-and-falls that occur at work are usually dealt with through workers’ comp, not civil courts.

Statute of Limitations for Injury to Property

Nevada law gives you three years to sue if your fall causes property damage, such as broken:

  • eyeglasses,
  • phones and tablets,
  • watches,
  • jewelry, or
  • objects you were holding at the time.

If all you suffered was property damage, I would still encourage you to bring your case as soon as possible to maximize your odds of winning a large settlement.2

Winning Your Case

Most slip-and-fall lawsuits I handle involve you (the plaintiff) suing the property owner (defendant) for negligence on premises liability grounds. To prevail in these lawsuits, we would have to prove the following elements by a preponderance of the evidence:

  1. The defendant owns the premises or is in control of the place where the fall occurred;
  2. You were on the premises with the defendant’s consent;
  3. A falling hazard exists on the premises;
  4. Defendant caused, knew of, or should have known of the slip-and-fall hazard; and
  5. The falling hazard caused you to suffer an injury and/or other damages.3

Typical evidence in these cases includes any of the following:

  • Video surveillance footage of the incident (especially if it took place in a store or casino)
  • Eyewitness testimony
  • Photographs of the aftermath of the incident and what you slipped on
  • Medical records
  • Samples of the substance you slipped on
  • Your shoes
  • Property maintenance records
Yellow "Caution: Wet Floor" sign on an office floor
A typical defense to slip-and-fall cases is that you knew of the dangers.

How Defendants Fight Your Claims

Depending on the circumstances of the case, defendants in slip-and-fall cases may try to argue the following in order to escape liability:

  1. The defendant adequately warned you of the falling hazard, such as by cordoning off the area;
  2. The falling hazard was open and obvious, and any reasonable person would have avoided it;
  3. Your injuries were caused by your preexisting conditions, not by the fall;
  4. You failed to exercise due care on the premises, such as by running too fast, or by texting while walking; and/or
  5. An intervening cause unrelated to the defendant caused the injury, such as a third party pushing you.

Do not be intimidated by their attacks. There are many ways we can show their claims are baseless or irrelevant.

What Money You Can Get

When negotiating an accident claim, I fight to recover enough compensatory damages to cover all your:

  • Medical expenses, including hospital stays, clinical visits, telehealth appointments, braces, rehabilitation, medications, and home health care;
  • Lost wages from being unable to work while recovering from the injury;
  • Loss of future earnings if you can no longer work due to the injury;
  • Pain and suffering, which is often the biggest expense.

Even if you were partially to blame for the fall, you should be eligible for reduced damages as long as you were no more than 50% at fault. Learn more about Nevada’s comparative negligence laws.3

Should the case reach trial, we can also ask the court to award punitive damages. If the compensatory damages are less than $100,000, punitive damages are capped at $300,000. Otherwise, punitive damages are capped at three times the compensatory damages. The sole purpose of punitive damages is to punish the defendant for the behavior that led to the accident.4

5 Steps to Take After a Fall

  1. Get medical help. See a doctor right away, even if you feel uninjured. Some injuries take time to manifest.
  2. Document everything. Use your phone to photograph the accident scene, your injuries, and anything else that might be relevant. Also keep copies of any receipts related to your fall, like medical bills.
  3. Gather eyewitnesses. If anyone saw the fall, get their contact information.
  4. DO NOT ADMIT FAULT. Even if you believe you were to blame, you could be wrong. Any admission of guilt could prevent you from recovering damages later.
  5. Contact an attorney. Insurance companies will try to discourage you by blame-shifting or offering a low-ball settlement, but I know their tricks and will not quit fighting until we achieve the best settlement possible under the law.
Young businesswoman falling on floor inside office building
Nevada slip-and-fall victims have two years after the accident to sue.

Additional Reading

For more information, refer to our related articles by our Las Vegas slip and fall lawyers:

Legal References

  1. NRS 11.190. NRS 11.300. NRS 11.310. Igtiben v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct. (Nev.App. 2024) 545 P.3d 116.
  2. NRS 11.190.
  3. See, for example, Turner v. Mandalay Sports Entm’t, LLC, (2008) 124 Nev. 213, 180 P.3d 1172; Cox v. Copperfield (2022) 507 P.3d 1216.
  4. NRS 41.141.
  5. NRS 42.005.

About the Author

Picture of Michael Becker

Michael Becker

Michael Becker has over a quarter-century's worth of experience as an attorney and more than 100 trials under his belt. He is a sought-after legal commentator and is licensed to practice law in Colorado, Nevada, California, and Florida.

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