If you are injured in an accident at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, you may be able to sue the university and other responsible parties for negligence. Courts can award compensatory damages for your:
- medical bills,
- lost wages,
- loss of future earnings,
- pain and suffering, and/or
- other economic and non-economic losses
Even if you are partially responsible for your accident at UNLV, you may still be entitled to money under Nevada’s comparative negligence laws. Plus, UNLV employees who intentionally harm you can be ordered to pay punitive damages.
In this article, our Nevada personal injury attorneys answer frequently asked questions about UNLV accidents in Nevada, including potential claims for premises liability and negligent hiring, sovereign immunity, and statutes of limitations in Nevada. Click on a topic to jump to that section:
- 1. What can I do if I was injured at UNLV?
- 2. Who can I sue if I am injured at UNLV?
- 3. Is UNLV immune from liability?
- 4. What money can I get?
- 5. What if I was partially to blame for my injury?
- 6. How long do I have to bring a claim?
- Additional Reading
Learn more in our related article on school lawsuits in Nevada.
1. What can I do if I was injured at UNLV?
If you are harmed on the UNLV campus, you may be able to bring a negligence lawsuit against the responsible parties. To prevail in a negligence lawsuit at trial, you (the plaintiff) have to prove four “elements”:
- The defendant(s) owed you a duty of care;
- The defendant(s) breached this duty;
- This breach caused your injury; and
- This injury resulted in damages.1
As a public university, UNLV has a duty to maintain safe conditions for its employees, students, and the general public.2 Some of these duties are:
- performing regular maintenance on the building and equipment,
- repairing damage,
- hiring qualified people,
- supervising students,
- providing adequate security, and
- giving sufficient warnings for hazardous conditions
University accidents
Typical accidents and injuries that occur on university campuses include the following:
- slips and falls on its grounds or its school buildings or dormitories (perhaps caused by dangerous flooring)
- car accidents
- shuttle accidents (or any vehicles transporting students)
- pedestrian knockdowns from vehicles
- construction accidents (UNLV, in particular, is always expanding and renovating its campus)
- gym accidents (including swimming pool accidents, such as during physical education classes)
- food poisoning (UNLV has cafeterias and various restaurant venues)
- teacher misconduct
- alcohol poisoning
- sports injuries (if the field or equipment were not well-maintained)
2. Who can I sue if I am injured at UNLV?
Possible defendants in a UNLV injury lawsuit could include:
- the person (or people) who caused your injury, such as a school visitor, student, teacher, or staff member
- UNLV,
- the State of Nevada, and/or
- a third party that may have contributed to your injury, such as a building contractor
As discussed in the next question, UNLV may be able to claim “sovereign immunity” from liability in some personal injury cases.
3. Is UNLV immune from liability?
It depends on the case. UNLV can usually be sued for negligence committed by UNLV staff or employees. Though under the principle of “sovereign immunity,” UNLV is generally not liable for the intentional wrongful acts committed by its staff or employees.
Example: A UNLV custodian became disgruntled and deliberately ran his car into a pack of students. The injured students could sue the custodian but probably not UNLV. This is because the custodian’s actions were intentional, not merely negligent.
Either way, a personal injury attorney would try to hold UNLV liable for any accident on UNLV’s campus, in its vehicles, at its events, or by its employees. UNLV has much more money to pay out in damages than its staff.
If you previously signed a UNLV liability waiver, you may be barred from mounting a personal injury case against UNLV.3
4. What money can I get?
If you are injured at UNLV, you may be eligible for various compensatory damages such as:
If the victim dies, then their estate can bring a wrongful death claim.
Note that Nevada law puts a $100,000 cap on compensatory damages for public employees’ negligent acts, including UNLV staff. Nevada law puts no limits on the amount of damages you can recover for the intentional wrongdoings of UNLV’s employees.4
Nevada courts may grant you punitive damages if an UNLV employee intentionally hurts you. Nevada caps punitive damages at $300,000 if the compensatory damages are less than $100,000. Otherwise, the punitive damages cap is three (3) times the compensatory damages.5
5. What if I was partially to blame for my injury?
Yes, but only if the defendant was no more to blame than you. Some ways in which you may partially cause your injuries include:
- Running recklessly through campus
- Walking through campus without paying attention (such as while texting or web-surfing on a smartphone)
- Ignoring street signs
- Walking around intoxicated
- Horsing around with school equipment, such as trash compactors
- Fraternity and sorority hazing
Note that your damages will be reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault. So if you were 50% to blame for an accident that caused you $10,000 in damages, you would receive half that ($5,000).6
6. How long do I have to bring a claim?
It depends on the case, but the typical statute of limitations for Nevada personal injury cases is two (2) years.7
Additional Reading
For more general information about personal injury lawsuits in Nevada, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Injury in Nevada – UNLV Public Health Faculty Publications.
- Nevada and Sports Law – Atlantic Law Journal.
- Intentional and unintentional injury in the State of Nevada: 1989–1992 – American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
- The Last of Hedonic Damages: Nevada, New Mexico, and Running a Bluff – Journal of Legal Economics.
- An Unquestionable Mediation Conflict of Interest—The MGM Mandalay Bay Shooting Settlement – Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation.
Legal References:
- See, for example, Scialabba v. Brandise Const. Co., 112 Nev. 965, 921 P.2d 928 (1996).
- Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990. See also Regents of the University of California v. Superior Court (Cal.App. 2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 890 (“[colleges] and universities have a special relationship with their students.”).
- NRS 41.031.
- NRS 41.035; see also County of Clark ex rel. University. Medical Center v. Upchurch, 114 Nev. 749, 961 P.2d 754 (1998) (“Large jury awards could present a threat to the state treasury. A statutory cap on the damages the state must pay for its tortious conduct furthers a legitimate interest in protecting the state treasury.”).
- NRS 42.005.
- NRS 41.141.
- NRS 11.190.