Most Nevada personal injury cases settle before trial — but some don’t, and knowing what a trial actually looks like helps you understand the process you’re investing in. Trials also function as leverage: the more credibly your attorney can prepare and threaten a trial, the more seriously the insurer takes your claim. Marathon Law Group tries cases in Clark County District Court when settlement doesn’t reflect the full value of a client’s injuries.
Case Management in Clark County District Court
After a personal injury lawsuit is filed in the Eighth Judicial District Court (Clark County), the case proceeds through Nevada’s case management framework. An initial case conference sets discovery deadlines: written discovery (interrogatories and requests for production), depositions of parties and witnesses, and expert witness designation deadlines. Expert reports must comply with NRCP 16.1 requirements and are typically due 90-120 days before trial. After discovery closes, parties typically file dispositive motions (summary judgment) and motions in limine (to exclude evidence at trial). Pre-trial conferences finalize the trial schedule, jury instructions, and exhibit lists.
Jury Selection (Voir Dire)
Nevada personal injury trials begin with voir dire — jury selection. A panel of prospective jurors (venire) is summoned and questioned by attorneys and the judge about their backgrounds, prior lawsuit experience, insurance industry connections, opinions about civil litigation, and specific attitudes about the type of case at hand (car accidents, injuries, damage caps). The goal is to identify jurors who are biased against either party and to remove them through challenges for cause (unlimited) or peremptory challenges (limited number that can be exercised without explanation). An experienced trial attorney reads jury attitudes during voir dire and uses it to begin building rapport and framing the case narrative.
Nevada’s Burden of Proof in Civil Cases
In Nevada personal injury trials, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving their case by a preponderance of the evidence — meaning it is more likely than not (greater than 50%) that the defendant was negligent and that the negligence caused the plaintiff’s damages. This is a significantly lower standard than the criminal “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard. The jury is instructed on this standard and applies it to the evidence presented. Under Nevada’s modified comparative fault system (NRS 41.141), the jury assigns fault percentages to each party; if the plaintiff is 50% or less at fault, they recover their damages reduced by their percentage of fault. If the plaintiff is more than 50% at fault, they recover nothing.
How Damages Are Presented to the Nevada Jury
Economic damages — medical bills, lost wages, future care costs — are presented through medical records, billing records, pay stubs, employer testimony, and expert testimony from life care planners and vocational economists. Non-economic damages — pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, emotional distress — have no formula in Nevada; the jury sets these amounts based on the evidence. Nevada juries are instructed to award the amount that “reasonably and fairly compensates” the plaintiff for their pain and suffering. Plaintiff’s counsel typically suggests a per diem or lump-sum argument for non-economic damages without specifying a required amount, allowing the jury to deliberate freely. There is no cap on non-economic damages in Nevada personal injury (as distinguished from medical malpractice cases).
Contact Marathon Law Group — Las Vegas Trial Attorney
Marathon Law Group prepares every case as if it will go to trial — because that preparation is what produces results at the settlement table and in the courtroom. If you’ve been injured in a Las Vegas accident, call today for a free consultation about your case’s trial value.