Las Vegas Injury & Accident Attorney Blog

On New Year’s Eve, a 21-year old California man fell to his death from the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Found near the property’s tennis courts, police and medical examiners estimate the man fell from approximately 5 stories up. He was pronounced dead at 8:15am on January 1^st. If you or a loved one has been killed or injured due to negligence of a Las Vegas casino, contact Benson and Bingham today.

This is the second falling death from the Cosmopolitan Hotel in less than a year. In March, Sean Campe of New Jersey jumped to his death from a balcony on the hotel’s 14 floor.  While many Las Vegas hotels do not have balconies, the Cosmopolitan does. In addition, last year a man fell from one Planet Hollywood roof to another, and his body was not found for two days. If you have been injured in an Nevada accident and believe the owner of the premises to be negligent, please go to bensonbingham.com today. We offer free consultations.

Benson and Bingham is one of the top law firms in the South Valleys. We pride ourselves on customer service – working closely with our clients to ensure their satisfaction. Please contact us today for a free consultation.

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UC San Francisco recently released a report comparing the quality-of-care in nursing homes across the country. The report compared the ten largest for profit nursing homes with the care in other for profits, non-profits and even government run homes. In general, the report’s findings showed a  better quality of care and higher staffing levels at non-profit and government run facilities. If you believe your loved one has received sub-par care in a Nevada nursing home, contact us today.

In the ten largest nursing homes, the report found that patients had more complaints and incidents of pressure sores, weight loss, falls, infections, mistreatment by staff, unsanitary conditions and more. These higher incident rates stem from lower staffing levels at large, chain operations where patient care is secondary to making a profit. Please contact Benson and Bingham at Bensonbingham.com or 702-382-9797 to discuss the neglect of any Nevadan in a Silver State nursing home.

Benson and Bingham is a full-service law firm that strives to ensure our clients are entirely satisfied by our representation. In 2010, Benson and Bingham secured over $15,000,000 in awards for our clients. Please contact us today to discuss any personal injury case. We can be found online at Bensonbingham.com

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In 2008, 18-year old Hiroyuki Joho, ran across train tracks in an effort to catch another train. Distracted by torrential rains and a large umbrella, Mr. Joho was struck and killed by an oncoming train. At impact, parts of Mr. Joho’s body were thrown, striking Ms. Gayane Zokhrabo approximately 100 yards away. Ms. Zokhrabo suffered a broken wrist, arm and injured shoulder. In Nevada, innocent bystanders can be injured in cases of negligence. Contact Benson and Bingham today for consolation, free of charge.

Injured not only physically but also financially, Ms. Zokhrabo sued the estate of Mr. Joho, looking to recoup medical costs, lost pay and other expenses. While initially struck down, the case was reinstated on appeal – simply put, a person running across train tracks has an expectation that should he or she be hit, their body or belongings may strike and injure another person. If you have suffered a wrongful injury in Nevada, contact us today.

Benson and Bingham (www.bensonbingham.com) Attorneys at Law are one of Las Vegas’ leading law firms. While representing you, Benson and Bingham will do all we can to ensure you are extremely satisfied with your representation. In 2010, we settled over $15,000,000 in cases for our Nevada clients.

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Honda Motors recently announced a recall of an additional approximately 275,000 vehicles, adding to the over 600,000 previously announced for a faulty airbag issue with older model Accord, Civic, Odyssey, Pilot and Acura models. The parts being recalled were installed in 2001 – 2003 vehicles repaired by the Japanese Auto manufacturer. Contact us if you have been injured by a Honda airbag in Nevada.

When driving an automobile equipped with a driver’s-side airbag, it is important to wear a seatbelt and operate the vehicle a safe distance from the steering wheel. In an accident, an airbag can explode with a force that can break a nose, glasses or cause other serious injury. If you have been injured in a Clark County auto accident and would like representation contact Benson and Bingham today.

Benson and Bingham is one of Nevada’s leading product liability attorneys. We focus on ensuring our customers get top-tier service and satisfaction. If you or someone you know has been involved in an Las Vegas auto injury accident and need assistance with workman’s compensation, medical bills or recovering lost wages, contact us today.

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Yesterday, a 65-year old Las Vegas woman, Diana Chambers, was arrested on suspicion of Las Vegas DUI charges after striking a Nevada man, Shannon Newland, and his vehicle as he was filling the car with gasoline. The man is currently at University Medical Center being treated. If you have missed work, lost property or incurred medical costs due to a Nevada traffic accident, contact us today.

The accident, which occurred on Cheyenne Avenue near US95 has put Mr. Newland in critical but stable condition. While he is doing well and expected to recover, the Southern Nevada resident faces a difficult couple of months. He will likely miss significant work and need compensation for his damaged automobile and hospital costs. Ms. Chambers is currently being held in a Clark County jail and it is unknown how much insurance she carries.

Benson and Bingham are one of Southern Nevada’s premiere injury recovery firms. Our Nevada licensed attorneys pride ourselves on customer satisfaction and we work closely with our clients to ensure the best possible outcome for their case. Go to Bensonbingham.com today to start your case.

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For Las Vegas personal injury lawyers and their counterparts, mediation has become a very useful tool in the world of ADR or alternate dispute resolution.  Both sides voluntarily sit down and discuss the options of the case with a neutral 3^rd party mediator.  The mediator’s job is to review the case and point out to both sides the opposing arguments to access the risk at trial.  Hopefully, this insight will encourage both to give more (the Defendant to up the money) and the (Plaintiff to lower the money) with hopes of settlement.

Mediation often occurs before a jury trial as a way of final resolution and to avoid not only trial, but also appeals.  Mediations are excellent for personal injury attorneys who may have client control issues; they are also excellent for most cases.  This article is to bring to light the real issue of compromising a claim that occurs in these realms when sometimes that case should be tried in front of a jury.  Major settlements are rarely reached in mediation except perhaps in the appellate mediation arena where a high verdict has already been adjudicated and a negotiating threshold achieved.

Compromization, as this author has termed it, may in fact be a compromise given the right set of facts when everything is considered.  Why should an injured party (if the facts are good), settle without a jury trial?  Often they shouldn’t.  Multi-million dollar verdicts must be earned—the mediated settlement of such a large sum, makes no sense in basic theory.  Why would a Corporate Defendant settle for a large amount without making the other side at least earn it?  Don’t compromise your case, Call Benson & Bingham for a no cost case evaluation.

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NRCP 68 and NRS 17.115 are the governing rules for Offers of Judgments as they relate to prevailing parties.  These rules are extremely important for Las Vegas personal injury lawyers who litigate cases in Nevada.  A failure to properly submit an Offer of Judgment can cost your client dearly in attorney fees and costs.  Normally, costs are awarded to the prevailing party in a lawsuit.  The award of attorney fees, however, are governed under the rules of offers of judgment.  An offer of judgment (OOJ) can be submitted anytime after a party is served.  There are factors known as “Beatty Factors” that control specifics of the fairness of the OOJ; for example, the timing of the OOJ, and the fairness of the other parties knowledge of the facts so that they could actually make a reasonable assessment of the risk.  The failure of accepting an offer of judgment can cost the losing party thousands in attorney fees.

In the Estate of Miller, 125 Nevada Adv. Op. No. 42 September 24, 2009, the court ruled that judgment on Appeal can qualify as a “more favorable judgment” for purposes of the fee shifting provisions of the NRCP 68.  It also rules that appellate fees are recoverable, and that those pro se persons who represent themselves and later hire an attorney can get those fees awarded for the attorney who defended or prosecuted the case.

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Q: Hi, my daughter passed away on 1/9/09. She had been ill, and so I took her to the Doctor on 12/10/09. I told him she was having nose bleeds, and he looked and asked if she was doing cocaine. No was the answer to that. He never did blood work and sent her home. She had panic disorder and had just lost her job so I guess everything was put off to that. He told her she was healthy and just needed to take care of the panic disorder. One month later she was found dead in her home of a massive gastrointestial hemorraghe. He will not release her medical records without a letter from a lawyer. I am her mother and she left two small boys. What to do? Can you give me a free consultation, or do you think I have no case? Thanks, and please respond.

A: I am sorry to hear of your loss.  I am happy to sit down with you and discuss your case.  We can help you get the medical records and review the merits of the case.  Based on the lack of care, and especially the failure to do any blood work, I suspect a basis for the case;  we will however, need to get a medical expert to review the case which we can provide.

Talk to you soon,
Joe

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The Nevada State Bar has a referral service to assist victims in identifying an attorney, often times for parties located out of the state of Nevada. While the service is meant to aid individuals obtain legal representation, often times the referring firms don’t bother to reply to communications when they feel the cases aren’t money making opportunities.

At Benson and Bingham, every case brought to our attention is handled will compassion and equal care, regardless of monetary opportunity.  This is once again prevalent thanks to a fax from a firm located in Australia, McGrath, Dicembre & Company Solicitors & Barristers, seeking personal injury representation for an Australian victim:

“We refer to the abovementioned matter and thank you for your letter of 22 December 2008.

We would be pleased if you would advise as to whether your Firm may be able to direct us to another Law Firm who might be prepared to consider assisting us with regard to this matter.

We note that in the past we tried to obtain referrals from the Lawyer Referral Service of the Nevada Bar. Of the four (4) Firms nominated, your Firm was the only one courteous enough to even respond to our request for information.

We thank you for your anticipated assistance and await your early reply.

Yours faithfully
McGRATH, DICEMBRE & CO.

To see additonal testimonials of Benson & Bingham, please refer to our comment cards.

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The Las Vegas Monorail was involved in an accident Tuesday, January 13th.  According to initial reports, the Las Vegas Monorial’s brakes locked up causing vasts amounts of smoke to pollute the victims who were riding in  the air sealed cabin at the time of the accident.

This is not the first accident sustained by the Las Vegas Monorail.  At the end of August, early September of 2004, the Las Vegas Monorail was closed for several days after a 50 pound wheel of the monorail fell off on an northbound route.  Although no one was hurt, the closure inconvenienced daily passengers, as well as some of the 90,000+ attendees to the Men’s Apparel guild in California (MAGIC) Show.

Las Vegas is the home of tourism, and consequently there are many tourist or convention goer accident and  injuries. Often times, out-of-state visitors do not know where to turn if there are involved in an accident or injury.  The Las Vegas Injury and Accident Law Offices of Benson & Bingham are experienced personal injury attorneys born and raised in Nevada.  If you or a family member have been invovled in an accident, contact their Las Vegas Law Offices for a free legal consultation.

Understanding your rights, whether injured in public transport such as the Las Vegas Monorail, is the first step to ensure your injury costs are accounted.

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