{"id":5839,"date":"2026-09-10T15:58:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T22:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/?p=5839"},"modified":"2026-09-11T16:14:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T23:14:32","slug":"las-vegas-slip-and-fall-claims-who-is-responsible-when-you-fall-on-someone-elses-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/las-vegas-slip-and-fall-claims-who-is-responsible-when-you-fall-on-someone-elses-property\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas Slip and Fall Claims: Who Is Responsible When You Fall on Someone Else's Property?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So you\u2019re out and about, having a nice day, and before you know it, your feet are flying out from beneath you and you\u2019re lying face up on the ground.\u00a0Maybe it happened because of a puddle in a grocery store.\u00a0Maybe it was because of a slick casino floor, or an uneven surface in a parking garage, or water around a hotel pool.\u00a0In the moments after a fall, you\u2019re probably thinking about whether you\u2019re hurt, what just happened, and whether anyone saw it\u2014not who is legally at fault.\u00a0But that question can become important quickly.\u00a0Maybe you\u2019re thinking to yourself, \u201cWell, I wasn\u2019t looking where I was going.\u00a0 This is on me.\u201d\u00a0Maybe you\u2019re a clumsy person and you fall all the time.\u00a0I know I do.\u00a0But it\u2019s ok to be clumsy or careless\u2014a lot of people are.\u00a0It\u2019s not ok for property owners to allow hazardous conditions to exist that might cause someone to fall.\u00a0Nevada recognizes that, and allows injured people to recover compensation in many cases even when they share some responsibility for their fall.\u00a0If you\u2019ve been hurt in a slip, trip, or fall here in Las Vegas, an experienced Las Vegas premises liability attorney<\/a> can help you understand your rights and pursue the compensation you deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Whose Fault Is It?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule. In plain terms, that means you can still recover compensation even if you were partly responsible for your fall. Under NRS 41.141, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, as long as you are not more than 50% at fault. Let\u2019s say you suffered $100,000 in damages. If you\u2019re found 20% responsible for the accident, your recovery would be reduced to $80,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That means a property owner can\u2019t escape responsibility simply by blaming you for not looking where you were going, even if there was an obvious hazard that you should have seen. In Foster v. Costco Wholesale Corp<\/em> (2012), a customer tripped over a pallet in a Costco aisle. Costco argued that the pallet was open and obvious and that the customer therefore could not recover. But the Nevada Supreme Court explained that an obvious hazard does not automatically eliminate a property owner\u2019s duty to act reasonably. The jury can also consider whether the property owner should have anticipated that someone might encounter the danger and whether the injured person exercised reasonable care for their own safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Basically, your responsibility to watch where you are walking does not mean property owners get a free pass. Property owners have a responsibility to keep their property reasonably safe. So let\u2019s get into what that responsibility entails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the biggest questions in a slip-and-fall case is whether the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard.<\/strong> There are two ways to establish this: actual notice and constructive notice. Actual notice is straightforward\u2014it means the owner or an employee actually<\/em> knew about the spill, debris, or other dangerous condition. Constructive notice is different. It means the hazard existed under circumstances where the owner should<\/em> have discovered it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sprague v. Lucky Stores<\/em>, a 1993 Nevada Supreme Court decision, is a good example. A customer slipped on a grape while walking through the produce aisle in a grocery store. There was no evidence that the store knew about the grape that caused the fall. But there was evidence that produce regularly ended up on the floor, creating a recurring slipping hazard. The Nevada Supreme Court held that a jury could find that the store had constructive notice because the problem happened frequently enough that the store should have recognized the ongoing risk, and taken reasonable measures such as providing skid mats to counter the \u201ccontinuous spillage of produce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The point is that a property owner does not necessarily need to have been warned about the exact hazard that caused your fall. Depending on the circumstances, evidence that similar hazards happened regularly\u2014or that the dangerous condition existed long enough that someone should have discovered it\u2014may be enough to establish constructive notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What If I Wasn\u2019t Supposed to Be There?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s Halloween night. You\u2019re all dressed up in your favorite costume and you head over to your neighbor\u2019s house for some trick-or-treating. You knock on his door, but when he opens it, he just sighs and says, \u201cYou\u2019re 45 years old, Jim, I\u2019m not giving you any candy.\u201d  At this point, there is only one thing left to do\u2014you have to come back later that night to TP his house. You sneak into the backyard armed with toilet paper, but before you can enact your plan, you step into a large hole in the lawn and you break your ankle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You might assume that being a trespasser automatically means you can\u2019t recover for your injuries. But that is not necessarily the case. Nevada\u2019s trespasser statute, NRS 41.515, generally provides that property owners do not owe a duty of reasonable care to trespassers, but there are certain exceptions. For one, a property owner cannot willfully or wantonly cause harm to the trespasser. For another, if the property owner discovers the trespasser\u2019s presence in a place of danger on the premises, he must exercise reasonable care to prevent harm to the trespasser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That distinction could matter in our Halloween example. Suppose your neighbor knew about the large hole in the backyard. Suppose he was watching you from the window, and saw you approaching the area of the hole. If your neighbor has a reasonable opportunity to warn you about the danger but says nothing, those circumstances could become important to the question of whether reasonable care was exercised to prevent your injury. Alternatively, suppose the hole was created by your neighbor to act as a booby trap just for you. The court may find that your neighbor willfully or wantonly caused you harm. The fact that you were trespassing\u2014and even the fact that you were there to prank the homeowner\u2014would certainly be relevant, but would not necessarily end the inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courts are even more sympathetic towards trespassers when those trespassers are children. NRS 41.515(2)(c). We call this the attractive nuisance doctrine. The classic example of an attractive nuisance is a swimming pool. We live in Vegas. It\u2019s hot, and it\u2019s dry. If a kid sees a sparkling blue swimming pool in someone\u2019s backyard and it\u2019s 115 degrees outside, how can she resist jumping in to cool off?  If there\u2019s no locked gate and nothing keeping the kid from getting to the pool, the homeowner could be liable if the kid ends up hurting herself or drowning. The basic idea is that kids are curious, and they don\u2019t always appreciate danger the way adults do. If a dangerous condition on someone\u2019s property is likely to attract children, the law may require the property owner to take reasonable precautions to keep them safe\u2014no matter how many times they\u2019ve told the neighborhood kids to stay off their lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What If I Fell on Public Property?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Did you trip and fall on a sidewalk?  Or maybe at a public school?  If you were injured on government-owned property, don\u2019t assume the same rules apply as they would if you slipped at a grocery store or a casino. Pursuant to NRS 41.031, the State of Nevada has waived its sovereign immunity and you can sue it just like you would sue any other entity, but certain limitations apply. For example, under NRS 41.033, you can\u2019t hold a government entity liable for failing to inspect for hazards or failure to discover hazards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A case involving a Clark County school shows just how important notice can be when you are injured on government property. In Nardozzi v. Clark County School District<\/em> (1992), a woman slipped and fell on a wet floor at the entrance of Tomiyasu Elementary School on a rainy day, breaking her ankle in several places. She argued that the school district should have taken reasonable precautions to keep the entrance dry. The school district, however, denied knowing that the floor was wet and relied on NRS 41.033, which protects a governmental entity from liability if the entity simply failed to inspect for or discover a hazardous condition. Remember several paragraphs ago when we were talking about constructive notice?  That doesn\u2019t apply here. As the Nevada Supreme Court put it in a related 1993 case, constructive notice \u201cwill not do\u201d against a government entity \u2014 the law requires proof of actual, express knowledge of the hazard. If you\u2019re dealing with a government entity, you need them to have actual knowledge<\/em> of the dangerous condition if you want your lawsuit to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another thing to keep in mind when you are suing the government is that your recovery may be limited. Under NRS 41.035, your award for damages may not exceed $200,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ok, You\u2019ve Fallen\u2014What Now?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve slipped and fallen because of something that shouldn\u2019t have been there, it\u2019s a good idea to contact an attorney as soon as possible. While Nevada generally gives you two years to file a personal injury claim under NRS 11.190(4)(e), you don\u2019t want to wait that long to preserve the evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you can, report the incident, ask for a copy of the incident report, and take photos of the dangerous condition before it is cleaned up or repaired. Get contact information for anyone who witnessed the fall, and keep the shoes you were wearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Your attorney should also send a preservation letter to the property owner, demanding that the relevant evidence be preserved. This may include surveillance footage, internal memos, maintenance records, and more. Surveillance footage is often automatically overwritten after a short period of time; a timely preservation letter can keep that from happening. The sooner you document what happened and get legal advice, the better chance you have of preserving the evidence and protecting your rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our team is ready to help you understand your rights and pursue the compensation you deserve. Learn more about slip and fall accidents<\/a> and how Nevada law applies to your situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Comun\u00edquese con Carter Cullen hoy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been hurt in a slip, trip, or fall in Las Vegas, you don\u2019t have to face the process alone. Carter Cullen has represented injured Nevadans since 1985, and we can help you gather the evidence you need and pursue full compensation for your injuries. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation. We handle every case on a contingency fee basis, so there is no cost to you unless we win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preguntas frecuentes<\/h2>\n\n\n
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What if there was a wet floor sign?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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A wet floor sign does not automatically mean the property owner is off the hook. It is simply one factor in determining whether the owner acted reasonably and whether you exercised reasonable care for your own safety.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How do I prove the store knew about the hazard?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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You don\u2019t need to prove that the store actually knew about the hazard. You just have to prove that the hazard was there long enough, or occurred frequently enough, that the store should have discovered and addressed it. Evidence that can help includes surveillance footage, employee statements, prior incident reports, and inspection and cleaning logs<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Should I report the fall before I leave?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Yes!\u00a0Reporting your fall creates a record of what happened and puts the property owner on notice of potential litigation. This helps ensure that evidence is preserved while it is still fresh.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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So you\u2019re out and about, having a nice day, and before you know it, your feet are flying out from beneath you and you\u2019re lying face up on the ground.\u00a0Maybe it happened because of a puddle in a grocery store.\u00a0Maybe it was because of a slick casino floor, or an uneven surface in a parking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slip-and-fall","category-premises-liability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5839"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5845,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5839\/revisions\/5845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}