Fault in a Nevada car accident: what happens if you were partly to blame
Nevada uses modified comparative fault: your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, and you recover nothing if your share is greater than the other side’s.
Nevada’s rule
Nevada uses modified comparative fault: your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, and you recover nothing if your share is greater than the other side’s.
Under Nevada’s modified comparative fault rule, a driver found 30% at fault recovers 70% of their damages — but a driver found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.
Source: Nev. Rev. Stat. § 41.141
How insurers use the percentage
Fault is not decided by the police report. The report is evidence, but the percentage that ends up in a settlement is negotiated — and the adjuster’s opening number is chosen to lower what their company pays.
In Nevada that negotiation is especially high-stakes. Moving you from 45% to 55% does not reduce your recovery by ten points; it eliminates it.
Evidence that decides fault
Photographs of the vehicles’ final positions and damage, dashcam and nearby business video, independent witnesses, the police report and any citations, 911 call records, and the vehicles’ event data recorders. The earlier these are collected, the more of them exist.
Traffic-code violations carry weight. A driver who ran a red light, followed too closely or failed to yield broke a rule written into Nevada’s vehicle code, and that makes the fault argument concrete rather than one driver’s word against another’s.
Nevada is an at-fault insurance state
The at-fault driver’s liability insurance pays for the injuries they caused. There is no mandatory no-fault PIP coverage paying your medical bills first.
Real Nevada results
Documented Nevada verdicts and settlements from public court records.
| Case | Type | Result |
|---|---|---|
J. Burger v. Royer 2016 · Car accident | Car accident | $1,060,000 settlement |
Cordova v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co 2016 · Car accident | Car accident | $351,550 verdict |
Self v. Blanco 2016 · Car accident | Car accident | $1,000,000 settlement |
Seebald v. AAA Filter 2016 · Car accident | Car accident | $350,000 settlement |
Green v. Reiger 2016 · Car accident | Car accident | $979,381 verdict |
Real cases, shown as recorded in public court records. Verdicts are jury awards; settlements are agreed payments. They are other people’s cases and not predictions of what your case is worth. Every case is different. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover if I was partly at fault in Nevada?
Yes, as long as your share of fault is not greater than 50%. Above that line, Nevada law bars recovery entirely.
Does the police report decide who was at fault?
No. It is important evidence, but fault in an insurance claim or lawsuit is decided on all the evidence, and officers’ conclusions are often disputed.
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This page is general information about Nevada law, reviewed September 2026. It is not legal advice, laws change, and the right answer for your claim depends on its facts. CaseChecker.ai is not a law firm; it connects people with independent attorneys licensed in their state.