Car Accident Laws in Nevada: Fault, Insurance & Deadlines

Nevada is an at-fault (tort) state, not a no-fault state. After a crash, the driver who caused it — and that driver's insurance — is responsible for paying the other person's medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. If you're hurt, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit (NRS 11.190(4)(e)), and three years for a stand-alone property-damage claim (NRS 11.190(3)(c)). These deadlines are strict — miss them and you typically lose the right to sue entirely. Nevada's insurance rules, liability limits, and statutes can change, so confirm current details with the Nevada DMV, the Nevada Division of Insurance, or the official Nevada Revised Statutes before you rely on anything below.

Is Nevada a No-Fault or At-Fault State?

Nevada follows a traditional at-fault (tort) system for car accidents. There is no requirement that drivers carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP), and there is no "no-fault" threshold you must clear before suing. Instead:

• The at-fault driver's liability insurance is supposed to pay for the other driver's and passengers' injuries and property damage.
• You can file a claim directly with the at-fault driver's insurer, or sue the at-fault driver in court, to recover your losses.
• Because Nevada is at-fault rather than no-fault, your own insurer generally is not on the hook for the other driver's injuries the way it would be in a no-fault state — unless you're using your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, discussed below.

This matters practically: in a no-fault state you'd typically bill your own PIP coverage first regardless of blame. In Nevada, who pays turns on who caused the crash, which is why fault determinations (and comparative-negligence percentages) carry so much weight here.

Minimum Auto Insurance Required in Nevada

Under NRS 485.185, every registered Nevada vehicle must be covered by liability insurance meeting these minimums, commonly written as 25/50/20:

• $25,000 bodily injury liability per person, per crash
• $50,000 bodily injury liability per crash (for two or more people injured or killed)
• $20,000 property damage liability per crash

A few other things to know about Nevada's insurance requirements:

• PIP / med-pay is not mandatory. Nevada does not require Personal Injury Protection or medical-payments coverage. Some insurers offer optional med-pay you can add.
• UM/UIM must be offered, not automatically included. Under NRS 687B.145, insurers must offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in amounts matching your bodily-injury liability limits, but you can reject it — in writing. If you never signed a written rejection, check your policy; you may already have this coverage, which pays if the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little.
• Continuous coverage is required for as long as a vehicle is registered or kept in Nevada; lapses can trigger registration suspension.

Confirm current limits and any legislative changes with the Nevada Division of Insurance or the Nevada DMV's insurance page before assuming these numbers still apply.

Statute of Limitations: How Long You Have to Sue After a Nevada Crash

• Personal injury: 2 years from the date of the crash — NRS 11.190(4)(e) (an action for injury or death caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another).
• Property damage: 3 years from the date of the crash — NRS 11.190(3)(c) (an action for taking, detaining, or injuring personal property, which covers vehicle damage claims filed on their own).
• Discovery rule: if an injury isn't reasonably discoverable right away, the clock may not start until you discover it — but don't count on this exception; treat the crash date as your deadline anchor.
• Wrongful death: the two-year clock generally runs from the date of death, not the date of the collision.

These are civil filing deadlines, not deadlines to simply report a crash or file an insurance claim — insurers often set their own, much shorter notice windows in your policy, so notify your insurer promptly regardless of the statute of limitations.

Nevada's Shared-Fault Rule: Modified Comparative Negligence (51% Bar)

Nevada uses modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar, under NRS 41.141:

• You can still recover damages as long as your share of fault is 50% or less.
• If you're found 51% or more at fault, you are barred from recovering anything.
• If you're partially at fault (say, 20%) but under the bar, your damages award is reduced by that percentage.

Because insurance adjusters apply comparative-fault percentages during settlement negotiations too — not just juries at trial — how a crash report characterizes fault can directly affect what you're offered.

When You Must Report a Crash in Nevada

• Report to police immediately if no officer responds to the scene and the crash involved injury, death, or occurred on a highway (NRS 484E.030). If your vehicle struck an unattended vehicle or property, you must locate the owner or leave notice, and separately notify the nearest police authority or the Nevada Highway Patrol as soon as possible (NRS 484E.050).
• File an SR-1 report with the DMV within 10 days of the crash if it was not investigated by police and involved injury, death, or property damage of $750 or more (NRS 484E.070). Nevada's SR-1 form is available directly from the Nevada DMV.
• Failing to file a required SR-1 when the DMV requests one can lead to suspension of your driving privileges, so don't skip this step even if the crash seemed minor.

Damage Caps and Claims Against a Government Vehicle

If the vehicle that hit you was a government vehicle — a police car, a city bus, a state or county employee driving on the job — special rules apply under Nevada's Tort Claims Act (NRS Chapter 41):

• Damage cap: Judgments against the State, a political subdivision, or a public officer or employee acting within the scope of their duties are generally capped at $200,000 per claimant, exclusive of interest, and cannot include punitive damages (NRS 41.035).
• Notice requirement: You must file a written tort claim with the Nevada Attorney General (claims against the State) or with the governing body of the relevant city, county, or other political subdivision (NRS 41.036). Under current law this notice generally must be filed within 2 years of the injury — the same outer window as an ordinary personal injury suit — but because the process and required paperwork differ from a normal claim, don't wait: notify the appropriate government body as soon as possible and confirm current procedure, since these rules are narrower and less forgiving than claims against a private driver.

Given the complexity and lower recovery cap in government-vehicle cases, verify current requirements directly with the Nevada Attorney General's office or the applicable local government before assuming any specific deadline or process.

What to Do After a Crash in Nevada

1. Check for injuries and call 911 if anyone is hurt, or if the crash blocks traffic or involves significant damage.
2. Move to safety if the vehicles are drivable and it's safe to do so, without leaving the scene before you're allowed to.
3. Exchange information with the other driver(s): name, address, phone, license number, license plate, and insurance company and policy number.
4. Document the scene — photos of vehicle damage, positions, license plates, road conditions, traffic signals, and any visible injuries.
5. Get witness contact information if anyone saw the crash.
6. Confirm whether police responded and get the report number; if no officer came and damage looks like it may reach $750, plan to file the SR-1 with the DMV within 10 days.
7. Seek medical attention even if you feel fine — some injuries (whiplash, concussions, internal injuries) surface hours or days later, and prompt records support any later claim.
8. Notify your own insurer promptly, even if you weren't at fault, and ask specifically whether your policy includes UM/UIM coverage.
9. Be careful what you say and sign. Avoid admitting fault at the scene or giving a recorded statement to any insurer — including your own — before you understand the full extent of your injuries.
10. Keep records of medical bills, repair estimates, lost wages, and correspondence with insurers, and track the two-year and three-year deadlines above so you don't run out the clock.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice; consult a licensed Nevada attorney about your specific situation.