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After getting into a car accident I called Barbara and it was the best decision I ever made. She is amazing! I couldn’t have asked for a better lawyer to represent me. She got me the best settlement to pay back my medi...
The fight with insurance companies is just as hard as fighting for your life after an accident. As long as you dont give up on yourself Barbara will fight for you. The staff at Kidwell and Gallagher were great as well. I...
These two are specialists in two related fields, personal injury and workmen’s comp. Both they and their staff were VERY responsive to me and my questions, and handled my case with patience and competence. I would,...
I feel like kidwell & Gallagher went above and beyond for me. Craig himself and his staff are so nice and helpful. I would highly recommend this law office for your workmans comp/injury needs. You will not be disappo...
The best place to go if you need good hometown lawyers. They are very informative and kept us updated on what was going to happen through out our case.
Was the best experience, we told them the problem and they took over everything, was such a relief. Always there to answer any questions and help is fast is possible.
I was at my job mountain crew changes there in the basement of kidwell and Gallagher
They weren’t able to help with my case, but they directed me to someone who could.
Most people who call us have the same story: the crash happened fast, the other driver’s insurer called faster, and now the bills are piling up while they try to figure out what to do next. Kidwell & Gallagher Injury Lawyers built this practice around that exact situation. If you need a car accident lawyer Reno residents rely on to push back against insurance companies and fight for full compensation, call us before you sign anything.
What you do in the first 24 hours after a crash can either protect your claim or quietly undermine it. Here is what matters most.
For a deeper look at how traffic citations interact with fault in Nevada, our related post Is a Citation a Ticket? Understanding the Key Differences breaks down what a citation does and does not mean for your injury claim.
Nevada follows a shared fault rule, known legally as modified comparative negligence, under NRS 41.141. Under this rule, you can recover compensation as long as your share of fault does not exceed the negligence of the party or parties you are claiming against. If your fault is greater than theirs, recovery is barred. If it is not, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of responsibility.
Consider a common scenario: you were rear-ended at an intersection, but were slightly over the speed limit when it happened. If you are found 15 percent at fault, any award is reduced by 15 percent. If your share of fault is found to be greater than the other driver’s, you recover nothing.
Insurance adjusters understand this system well, and they use it strategically. Shared fault arguments are a common tactic to reduce payouts. Establishing a clear picture of the fault from crash reports, surveillance footage, and witness statements counteracts those arguments before negotiations begin. Our attorneys analyze who was at fault from every angle to keep your share of fault as low as the evidence allows.
Proving negligence means showing four things: the other driver had a responsibility to drive safely and follow the rules of the road, they failed to meet that responsibility through reckless or careless conduct, that failure directly caused the crash, and you suffered actual damages as a result. None of those elements can be assumed. Each one requires evidence, which is why the work your attorney does in the first weeks of a claim shapes everything that follows.
What your case is worth depends on what you actually lost, and losses in a car accident reach further than most people expect when they first call us.
Economic damages cover measurable financial losses:
Non-economic damages address the personal toll of the crash:
In cases involving reckless or intentional misconduct, such as a DUI collision, punitive damages may also apply.
Insurance coverage limits also shape what you can recover. When the at-fault driver carries only Nevada’s minimum required coverage, additional compensation may require tapping into underinsured motorist coverage, a type of insurance that pays when the at-fault driver’s policy is not enough, or other available policies. Our related resource Car Accident Determining Fault by Location of Damage explains how physical evidence from the crash itself helps establish who was at fault.
The financial pressure after a Reno collision escalates faster than most people anticipate. Emergency care bills arrive immediately. Missed paychecks follow. A fractured arm can cost more than $16,000 in treatment alone. Spinal injuries and brain trauma routinely run into the hundreds of thousands. For anyone whose work requires physical labor, returning to the job may not be possible for months, if at all.
Insurance companies rarely offer settlements that reflect the full scope of these costs without pressure. Our team reviews every available avenue for compensation to ensure no category of loss is left on the table.
Miss the filing deadline in Nevada, and the case is over, no matter what happened. Under NRS 11.190(4)(e), you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Courts do not make exceptions because the injuries were serious or the other driver was clearly at fault.
Two years sounds like plenty of time until you are managing treatment, missing work, and negotiating with an insurer simultaneously. The clock on evidence runs shorter still. Surveillance footage gets overwritten. Witnesses move on. Getting an attorney involved early is not just about the lawsuit; it is about protecting the pieces of your case that disappear first.
If you receive a settlement offer from an insurance company before that deadline, you are not obligated to accept it. Our related resource What Happens When You Reject an Insurance Settlement Offer? walks through your options and the consequences of each path.
Car accidents in Reno are not isolated events. The Nevada Office of Traffic Safety 2023 Annual Report shows that Nevada recorded 353.2 traffic fatalities against a statewide target of 347.8, failing to meet its reduction goal. Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities reached 88.4 against a target of 73.2, nearly 21 percent above where the state aimed to be. Pedestrian fatalities statewide tracked at 78.6, matching the target but reflecting no meaningful improvement. Impaired driving, speeding, and distracted driving are identified throughout the report as persistent critical problem areas on Nevada roads.
Locally, high-traffic corridors including Interstate 80, McCarran Boulevard, and Virginia Street see disproportionate crash activity. If you were hurt on any of these roads, you are not dealing with a freak event; you were injured in one of the most collision-heavy areas in the state.
Our attorneys handle a wide range of collision types and the injuries that result from them.
Building a car accident case that holds up against what insurance companies will throw at it requires more than gathering a police report it requires doing the investigative work they are hoping you skip.
We begin by securing all available evidence before it disappears: crash scene photographs, surveillance footage from nearby businesses and traffic cameras, vehicle black box data which records speed and braking in the moments before impact, and the official police report. We gather witness statements early, while recollections are still clear. When a fault is disputed, we work with accident reconstruction professionals who analyze skid marks, debris patterns, and vehicle damage to reconstruct the sequence of events.
To survive insurer scrutiny, we collaborate with your doctors to document the full extent of your injuries. If insurers dispute the cause or severity of your trauma, we consult independent medical experts. We also compile comprehensive lost wage evidence, including pay stubs and expert vocational evaluations, to build a complete picture of your losses. This thorough documentation provides the essential leverage we need during insurance negotiations.
When settlement talks stall, we do not wait to start preparing for court. Depositions, qualified witnesses, and trial strategy are built alongside negotiations from day one, so nothing has to be rushed if the case goes to litigation.
Our related resource How to Calculate Loss of Earnings for Personal Injury provides an overview of how wage loss is documented and presented in Nevada claims.
Not every attorney is the right fit. When you are evaluating a car accident lawyer, Reno crash victims can count on, these are the qualities that actually matter.
Our Reno office is conveniently located to serve crash victims throughout Washoe County and the surrounding region. We offer free, no-obligation consultations. Our contingency fee structure means you pay nothing unless we win your case. Contact us today to schedule your consultation.
Reno Office: 403 Hill St, Reno, NV 89501
If you have been injured in a car accident in Nevada or surrounding communities, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and other losses. Don’t wait another day; local attorneys near your location are your best option. It’s time to hold the at-fault party accountable.
Start your free consultation
(775) 323-2667
The window to protect your claim is open now. Kidwell & Gallagher Injury Lawyers pursue maximum compensation for every client we represent, and we do not back down when insurers push back. As a car accident lawyer Reno residents have trusted for decades, we are ready to go to work on your case. Call us today at (775) 323-2667 for a free consultation.
With over 45 years of combined personal injury law experience representing clients nationwide, our team is dedicated to helping our clients and our community. We also have two bilingual staff members to accommodate your needs!
When you schedule your free consultation with a personal injury lawyer in Reno, Nevada, you should come prepared with specific questions for us to address.
We work on a contingency basis. We only get paid if we win for you. There is no out of pocket cost to retain us and we love educating
There is no charge ever for a consultation.
While we make every effort to assure that this will not happen, in the very rare occasion that we lose a case, we are responsible for the costs and we do not seek reimbursement from you for those costs.
The value of a case is dependent on many factors including (but not limited to) the severity of the crash, your injuries, the nature and extent of the treatment you receive, the cost of your medical care, your need for future medical care, the impact your injuries have had on your life, work and relationships, among many other things.
It is not a problem for you to use your health insurance to pay for your injury related medical bills and your health insurance cannot refuse to pay for your care because your bills were caused by someone else’s negligence. However, if you receive a settlement from the party who injured you, your health insurance may be entitled to be reimbursed for your injury related medical bills.
Other expenses you may incur include the cost of travel to and from doctor’s appointments, hotel rooms and food if you must travel out of the area for care, prescriptions, insurance co-pays, or care for things like massage that may not be covered by insurance. We always ask our clients to keep track of any and all out of pocket costs that they incur due to their injuries so we can make sure they get compensated for them.
Health insurance is not a pre-requesite to being able to get the medical care you need. We work with many health care providers who will treat your injuries and wait to be paid at the end of your case.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Managing Partner, Craig W. Kidwell who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.