A motorcycle crash on the 215 Beltway, Las Vegas Boulevard, or Boulder Highway leaves a rider exposed in a way a car accident does not. Injuries run to broken bones, road rash, and traumatic brain injury, and an insurance adjuster is often building a case against the rider before the hospital visit is even over. Ralph A. Schwartz, PC has represented injured Las Vegas motorcyclists since 1994, and every case is handled personally by Ralph, from the first call to the final result. Call 702-888-5291 now for a free consultation with a Las Vegas motorcycle accident lawyer.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Se habla español.
Why Las Vegas Motorcycle Accident Cases Are Handled Differently
A rider absorbs impact directly, with no vehicle body to soften a crash. A 35 mph collision that leaves two car occupants with minor injuries often puts a motorcyclist in the hospital for surgery and weeks of rehabilitation, and medical bills in a motorcycle injury case regularly run into six figures before treatment is finished.
Insurance adjusters know this, and they lean on rider stereotypes to reduce what they pay. A motorcycle accident attorney who has seen the claim file from the inside knows the pattern: adjusters look for any basis to argue the rider was speeding, lane-splitting, or otherwise at fault, and they use it to justify a comparative-fault reduction. Photos of your helmet, jacket, and gear, along with witness statements and any available speed data, need to be preserved early, before that evidence disappears.
Nevada law requires riders and passengers to wear a DOT-compliant helmet under NRS 486.231. Even when a rider was wearing one, insurers sometimes argue it was inadequate or improperly fitted. Riding without a helmet can reduce certain categories of damages, but it does not bar a claim.
Las Vegas adds its own factors on top of these industry-wide patterns: year-round riding weather keeps more bikes on the road than most U.S. cities see, tourists in rental cars are often unfamiliar with local motorcycle lane rules, and the mix of pedestrians and vehicles on the Strip creates crash scenarios a general car accident lawyer rarely handles.
Where Las Vegas Motorcycle Crashes Happen Most Often
Most of the motorcycle crash claims we handle come from a small number of high-volume corridors:
- I-15, both directions, especially through the Spaghetti Bowl interchange
- US-95 between Henderson and downtown Las Vegas
- The 215 Beltway, through the Summerlin and Henderson loop
- Las Vegas Boulevard and Strip intersections, including Flamingo Road, Tropicana Avenue, and Sahara Avenue
- Boulder Highway, a high-speed corridor through North Las Vegas
- Summerlin Parkway interchanges
- Downtown Fremont Street after dark
Crash dynamics differ by location. Strip intersections involve unfamiliar tourist drivers making turns; the 215 and I-15 involve high-speed merging and lane changes; Boulder Highway sees aggressive passing in a corridor with weak lane discipline. A motorcycle crash lawyer familiar with these roads can reconstruct what happened faster than one working from a generic accident template.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries We Handle
- Traumatic brain injuries, including concussions and moderate to severe TBI, even when a helmet was worn
- Spinal cord injuries and partial or complete paralysis
- Road rash and severe burns from sliding across hot pavement, often requiring skin grafts
- Fractures, especially of the femur, tibia, pelvis, and wrist
- Amputations, including of a finger, toe, foot, or limb
- Internal organ injuries from impact with the bike or the roadway
- Permanent scarring, disfigurement, and disability
- Wrongful death
Who Can Be Held Liable After a Nevada Motorcycle Accident
The at-fault driver is the most common defendant, but a thorough investigation often turns up more than one liable party:
- The at-fault driver, for running a light, failing to yield, changing lanes unsafely, or otherwise causing the crash
- The driver’s employer, when the driver was on the clock or operating a commercial, delivery, rideshare, taxi, or fleet vehicle
- A commercial fleet operator, for negligent hiring or supervision of the driver
- Your own insurance carrier, through uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, when the at-fault driver’s insurance is not enough to cover your losses
- A municipality or road contractor, in cases involving a dangerous pavement defect, missing signage, or a malfunctioning signal on a Clark County road
- A motorcycle or parts manufacturer, in cases involving a defective brake, tire, or steering component
Nevada is a modified comparative-negligence state under NRS 41.141. You can still recover damages as long as your own share of fault is 50 percent or less, though your recovery is reduced by whatever percentage of fault is assigned to you. Insurers know this rule well and use comparative-fault arguments aggressively, which is exactly why preserving evidence in the days after a crash matters so much.
Nevada Motorcycle Insurance Requirements and What They Mean for Your Claim
Nevada law requires every driver to carry liability insurance of at least $25,000 for the injury or death of one person, $50,000 total for two or more people, and $20,000 for property damage, under NRS 485.3091. Those are minimums, not what most serious motorcycle injuries actually cost. A single surgery and hospital stay after a motorcycle crash can exceed the driver’s entire policy limit, which is one reason a rider’s own coverage matters as much as the at-fault driver’s.
If you carry uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own policy, it can apply when the at-fault driver has no insurance or does not carry enough to cover your damages. We review your policy, the at-fault driver’s coverage, and any other available insurance, including umbrella and commercial policies, before valuing a claim, because the real ceiling on your recovery is often set by coverage limits rather than by the severity of the injury alone.
What Your Las Vegas Motorcycle Accident Claim May Be Worth
Damages in a Nevada motorcycle accident claim depend on the severity of the injury, the insurance coverage actually available, the strength of the liability evidence, and the comparative-fault analysis above. Depending on the facts, compensation may include:
- Medical bills, both past treatment and future care such as surgery, rehabilitation, ongoing therapy, and equipment
- Lost wages during recovery
- Lost earning capacity, when the injury affects your long-term ability to work
- Property damage to the bike, gear, helmet, and other personal effects
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent impairment, scarring, or disfigurement
- Wrongful death damages, where applicable
Every case is fact-specific, and we do not promise a number before reviewing the police report, medical records, and available insurance coverage. What we commit to is building the case fully, so that whatever your claim is worth, you are not leaving anything on the table.
Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of your case (Nevada SCR 198).
What To Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Las Vegas
If you are physically able, the first few hours after a crash shape what your claim looks like later.
- Call 911 and get medical attention even if you feel okay. Adrenaline masks pain, especially from soft-tissue injuries and head trauma, and a crash that feels minor can hide a brain injury that shows up the next morning.
- Get a Nevada crash report. The responding agency, whether LVMPD, Nevada Highway Patrol, Henderson PD, or North Las Vegas PD, will document the scene. Get the report number before you leave.
- Photograph everything: the bike, the other vehicle, the road surface, skid marks, debris, your helmet and gear, your injuries, and the intersection or roadway from multiple angles.
- Get contact information from witnesses, including other riders, pedestrians, drivers who stopped, and anyone with dash-cam footage.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Adjusters are trained to draw out statements that support a comparative-fault argument. You can give a statement later, through your attorney.
- Preserve your damaged helmet, jacket, gear, and bike. Do not repair or scrap the bike, and do not throw away the helmet. These are physical evidence.
- Call a Las Vegas motorcycle injury lawyer for a free consultation before speaking further with any insurance company.
Why Riders Choose Ralph A. Schwartz, PC
- Ralph Schwartz has practiced law in Nevada since 1994 and is a former insurance defense attorney, so he has seen the rider-fault playbook from the inside of the industry that now has to pay your claim.
- Every case is handled personally by Ralph and an attentive legal assistant. Clients are not handed off to an associate or a case manager.
- Ralph is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the ATLA Top 100 Trial Lawyers, the Nevada Justice Association, and the State Bar of Nevada, and the firm is BBB certified.
- Free consultations, no fee unless we win, and Se habla español.
Case Results for Our Injury Clients
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nevada require motorcycle riders to wear a helmet?
Yes. NRS 486.231 requires riders and passengers to wear a DOT-compliant helmet on Nevada roads.
What if I was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash?
What if I was partly at fault for my Las Vegas motorcycle accident?
How long do I have to file a Nevada motorcycle accident lawsuit?
Two years from the date of injury for a personal injury claim, and two years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim, under NRS 11.190. Claims against a government entity can carry shorter notice deadlines.
What if the other driver was uninsured or underinsured?
Do you handle motorcycle accident cases outside Las Vegas proper?
Practice Areas
Personal Injury
Workplace Injuries and Accidents
Related Injury Claims We Handle
If your crash involved a rideshare or commercial vehicle rather than a passenger car, our commercial vehicle accident and rideshare accident pages cover the added layers of liability those cases involve. When a motorcycle crash results in a death, our wrongful death page explains the claims available to surviving family members, and our catastrophic injuries page covers cases involving spinal cord injury, amputation, or permanent disability.
A Las Vegas motorcycle accident lawyer who has worked both sides of these claims since 1994 is ready to review yours at no cost. Call 702-888-5291 or schedule a free consultation today. Free consultation. No fee unless we win.