If you’ve been in one of the car accidents in Las Vegas that happen daily across Clark County, Nevada law puts specific duties on you right away and sets short deadlines for what comes next. You must stop at the scene, exchange information, file a crash report with the DMV within 10 days if no officer investigated, and bring any injury lawsuit within two years. Fault matters too: Nevada bars you from recovering anything if you’re found more than 50 percent to blame.
What the Law Requires at the Scene
Stop. Nevada requires every driver involved in a crash that causes injury, death, or property damage to stop immediately. Leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or death is a category B felony punishable by two to twenty years in prison and a fine between $2,000 and $5,000, and a judge cannot suspend that sentence or grant probation. Driving away from a property-damage-only crash is a misdemeanor.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 484E – Crashes and Reports of Crashes
Once stopped, you have three legal obligations: give your name, address, and vehicle registration number to anyone injured or anyone whose property was damaged; show your driver’s license on request; and provide reasonable assistance to anyone hurt, including arranging transportation to a hospital if needed.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 484E – Crashes and Reports of Crashes If no officer comes to the scene, you must also report the crash yourself to the nearest police station or Nevada Highway Patrol office. Skipping any of these duties is a misdemeanor.
Beyond the legal checklist, do a few practical things. Photograph vehicle damage, skid marks, traffic signals, and the position of the cars before anything moves. Get witness contact information. See a doctor within a day or two even if you feel uninjured. Soft-tissue injuries from rear-end impacts commonly take 24 to 72 hours to present, and a gap in your medical records gives an adjuster an easy reason to discount the claim.
File a Crash Report With the Nevada DMV Within 10 Days
If law enforcement did not investigate your crash at the scene, you have 10 days to file a written crash report with the Nevada DMV. The requirement is triggered by any bodily injury, any death, or total property damage of $750 or more to any one person’s vehicle or property.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 484E – Crashes and Reports of Crashes That $750 figure is low. A cracked bumper cover often crosses it.
The report goes on the SR-1 form, “Report of Traffic Crash,” available as a PDF on the DMV’s website.2Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles SR-1 Report of Traffic Crash Fill in the date, time, and location, and describe the injuries and damage. If property damage is $750 or more, attach a repair estimate or a statement of total loss. If anyone in your vehicle was hurt, attach a physician’s statement of injury. Sign page two and mail the whole packet to the DMV at 555 Wright Way, Carson City, NV 89711. Every section must be completed for every driver and vehicle, or the DMV will reject the form.
Getting a Copy of the Police Crash Report
If an officer did respond, the responding agency generates its own report, and where you request it depends on where the crash happened.
Crashes on Las Vegas city streets and unincorporated Clark County roads go to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. You can request a copy online (delivered by secure email link), in person at any LVMPD area command or at the Records Bureau at 400 S. Martin Luther King Boulevard, or by mail. The fee is $12, and reports are usually available within 10 business days of filing.3Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Requesting Report Copies with LVMPD You’ll need the LVMPD event number, the names of those involved, and the date and location, plus a valid photo ID.
Crashes on freeways and highways patrolled by the Nevada Highway Patrol are available through CRASHDOCS.org. You’ll need the NHP crash number, the last name of someone involved, and the crash date. Reports cost $10 and are available 7 to 14 days after the crash.4Nevada State Police Highway Patrol. Crash Report Request For fatal crash reports and crash photos, contact the NHP Southern Command directly at (702) 668-4100.
How Fault Determines What You Can Recover
Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule with a hard cutoff. If you are more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing. At 50 percent or below, you can still collect, but your award is reduced by your share of the blame.5Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 41.141 – When Comparative Negligence Not Bar to Recovery; Jury Instructions; Liability of Multiple Defendants
The math is straightforward. If a jury values your losses at $100,000 and finds you 30 percent at fault, you recover $70,000. Push that finding to 51 percent and you recover nothing. That one percentage point is where cases are fought.
In a multi-vehicle crash, each defendant pays only their own share. If Driver A is 40 percent at fault, Driver B is 30 percent at fault, and you are 30 percent at fault, you collect 40 percent from Driver A and 30 percent from Driver B.5Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 41.141 – When Comparative Negligence Not Bar to Recovery; Jury Instructions; Liability of Multiple Defendants You cannot force one driver to cover the other’s share. If Driver B has no insurance and no assets, that 30 percent may simply be uncollectable. The exception is intentional torts, strict liability, and cases involving toxic substances or defective products, where joint and several liability still applies.
Two Years to File a Lawsuit
Nevada gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. For wrongful death, the two-year clock runs from the date of death, not the date of the crash. For claims limited to vehicle damage or other property loss, you have three years.6Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 11 – Limitation of Actions
These deadlines don’t bend. File a day late and the court will dismiss. Filing means submitting the complaint to the court clerk, paying the fee, and properly serving the summons on the defendant, all before the deadline. Reporting the accident to an insurance company does not stop the clock.
For a minor injured in a crash, the two-year personal injury deadline is paused until the child turns 18, giving them until their 20th birthday to file.
What Insurance Will Actually Cover
Every registered vehicle in Nevada must carry liability insurance at or above these limits:
- $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person per crash
- $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people per crash
- $20,000 for property damage per crash
This 25/50/20 structure is the legal floor.7Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 485 – Motor Vehicles: Insurance and Financial Responsibility A single ER visit with imaging and an overnight stay can exceed $25,000 before any follow-up care, so when the at-fault driver carries only the minimum, you often need to turn to your own policy.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Nevada law requires every auto insurer to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage at least equal to the state’s minimum liability limits. You can decline it, but the rejection must be in writing on a form the insurer provides.8Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 690B – Casualty Insurance UM/UIM pays you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. On Las Vegas roads, where minimum-limits and uninsured drivers are common, this is one of the more valuable coverages on your policy.
Medical Payments Coverage
Insurers must also offer medical payments coverage (“MedPay”) of at least $1,000 for reasonable and necessary medical expenses from a crash.9Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 687B – Contracts of Insurance MedPay pays regardless of fault. You can accept it, decline it, or buy higher limits.
Filing Suit in Clark County
If the insurance company won’t pay what the claim is worth, you file a civil complaint. Most Las Vegas car accident cases go to the Eighth Judicial District Court, which covers all of Clark County. The filing fee for a general civil complaint is $270.10Eighth Judicial District Court. Eighth Judicial District Court Fees Smaller claims under $15,000 can go to Las Vegas Justice Court, where fees range from $74 to $274 depending on the amount sought.11Clark County Justice Court, NV. Fees
After filing, a summons is issued and must be served on the defendant to start the litigation clock. For cases filed on or after January 1, 2026, the court’s mandatory arbitration program applies when the probable jury award is $100,000 or less per plaintiff.12Eighth Judicial District Court. Arbitration That threshold catches a large share of car accident cases. Arbitration is faster and cheaper than a full trial, and either side can request a trial de novo if dissatisfied with the result.
Punitive Damages for Egregious Conduct
In cases involving conduct like drunk driving or road rage, you may be able to recover punitive damages on top of your actual losses. Nevada caps them. If your compensatory damages are $100,000 or more, punitive damages cannot exceed three times that amount. If your compensatory damages are under $100,000, the punitive cap is $300,000.13Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 42 – Damages You have to prove the defendant acted with oppression, fraud, or malice by clear and convincing evidence, a higher bar than the preponderance standard that governs ordinary negligence.