Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer
When a doctor, surgeon, hospital, or nurse causes harm — surgical errors, misdiagnosis, birth injuries, medication mistakes — proving it takes resources most firms won't spend. We do. Injured by the care that was supposed to help? We take it from here.
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Medical malpractice happens when a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care — and that failure causes real harm. A bad outcome by itself is not malpractice. Medicine carries risk, and even careful treatment can go wrong. The question is never just whether you were harmed. It's whether a competent provider, in the same situation, would have done something different.
That distinction is where cases are won or lost. To hold a provider accountable in Nevada, four things have to be true:
The provider was responsible for your care.
They failed to meet the accepted standard of care.
That failure — not your underlying illness or injury — is what harmed you.
You suffered real losses: medical bills, lost income, lasting injury, or worse.
Causation is usually the hardest to prove, and it's exactly where hospitals and their insurers push back hardest — they'll argue your injury was always going to happen anyway. The only way to know for certain is to have your medical records reviewed by a qualified expert. That review is where we start, and it costs you nothing.
Most Las Vegas law firms won't take medical malpractice cases, and the reason is Nevada law itself. Before you can even file, NRS 41A.071 requires your complaint to include a sworn affidavit from a qualified medical expert — one who reviews your records and identifies exactly how each provider was negligent. No affidavit, no case. The court throws it out.
That expert costs money up front, long before any settlement exists. Many firms don't have the resources — or the appetite — to front those costs and do the work these cases demand, so they pass. That's how people who were genuinely harmed end up turned away at the door.
We do it differently. We advance the cost of the medical experts your case requires, whether the harm happened at UMC, Sunrise, Valley, a surgical center, or a private clinic. You pay nothing out of pocket, and no fee at all unless we win. We build the case Nevada law actually requires — the right expert, the right review, filed the right way — instead of turning it down because it's hard.
In Nevada, you generally have three years from the date of the injury or two years from the date you discovered it — whichever comes first (NRS 41A.097). Miss that window and your case is gone, no matter how strong it is. The "discovery" rule matters because medical harm often stays hidden: a surgical mistake or a misdiagnosis may not surface for months. The clock can pause if a provider actively concealed the error, and children harmed at or around birth generally have until age 10. But these deadlines are strict and fact-specific — the sooner your records are reviewed, the more of your evidence is still intact.
Nevada splits malpractice damages into two types. Economic damages — your medical bills, lost income, and the cost of future care — have no cap. You recover the full amount, whatever it takes to make you whole. Non-economic damages — pain, suffering, loss of quality of life — are capped, but that cap isn't fixed: under NRS 41A.035 it rises $80,000 every year until it reaches a maximum of $750,000, then adjusts for inflation after that. The cap applies only to the human cost of what happened; it does not limit what you recover for the bills and care the injury forced on you.
A birth injury is preventable harm to a baby or mother caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy, labor, or delivery — not the natural risks of childbirth. The difference is whether a competent provider would have caught the warning signs and acted. Common failures include not monitoring fetal distress, delaying a necessary C-section, misusing forceps or a vacuum, or missing a maternal condition like preeclampsia. The consequences — cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, brain damage from oxygen loss — often last a lifetime, and so do the costs. Evidence fades fast, so the sooner the delivery records are reviewed, the stronger the case.
Read more: Signs Your Child's Birth Injury Was PreventableNursing home neglect is harm that comes from a facility failing to provide the basic care a resident needs — not an unavoidable decline in health. It shows up as pressure sores (bedsores), falls, dehydration, malnutrition, medication errors, and infections left unnoticed and untreated. Behind almost all of it is understaffing: too few caregivers, stretched too thin, cutting corners on the people who can least afford it. In Las Vegas facilities, these injuries are usually documented in the resident's own chart — the same records that prove the neglect. If your parent or loved one was harmed in a Nevada nursing home, that paper trail is where a case begins.
Read more: Neglect vs. Abuse in Nevada Nursing HomesA delayed diagnosis happens when a provider misses, dismisses, or takes too long to identify a condition a competent doctor would have caught — and the delay lets it grow worse. It's most devastating with cancer, sepsis, heart attacks, and strokes, where days or weeks change everything. The harm isn't only the missed diagnosis; it's the treatment you could have had and the outcome you were denied. Proving it means showing what the standard workup should have found, and when. If your symptoms were written off as something minor — or you were sent home from a Las Vegas ER that should have kept looking — the records tell that story.
Read more: Delayed Cancer Diagnosis in NevadaA medical brain injury is neurological damage caused by a preventable error in care — not by the original illness or accident that brought you in. The usual causes are oxygen deprivation during surgery or birth, anesthesia mistakes, delayed treatment of a stroke or bleed, and surgical errors near the brain. Because the brain doesn't heal like other tissue, the damage is often permanent and the lifetime cost of care is enormous. These cases turn on timing and monitoring — what the team should have watched for, and how fast they responded. If a hospital error left you or someone you love with lasting cognitive or physical impairment, it's worth a review.
Read more: Anesthesia Errors and Brain DamageIn a medical malpractice case, the person who made the mistake isn't always the only one — or even the main one — who pays. Liability depends on who was responsible and how they were connected to your care.
Identifying every party who can be held accountable is often what separates a full recovery from a partial one — and it's one of the first things we sort out. For how hospital liability works in depth, see our Hospital Negligence page.
“After a serious medical injury, most people wait — they assume the hospital will explain what went wrong and make it right. That patience is exactly what the hospital’s insurers are counting on.
Medical malpractice is one of the hardest, most expensive cases to prove, which is why most firms turn it away. We advance the cost of the medical experts these cases demand — so being harmed by the people meant to help you doesn’t mean facing them alone.”
Proving medical malpractice comes down to two things: showing the provider broke the accepted standard of care, and showing that break — not your original condition — is what caused your harm. Both take medical experts. Here's how we build it.
Every chart, order, test, and note — the full file, not the hospital's summary. The proof is almost always sitting in the records they already have.
A qualified specialist reviews the file and pinpoints exactly where the care went wrong. We front that expense, so your case moves without costing you anything.
The expert defines what a competent provider should have done, then shows precisely where yours fell short.
We connect the breach to your injury and file with the sworn expert affidavit Nevada law requires (NRS 41A.071) — the step that ends most cases before they start.
This is the work most firms won't do. It's also the only work that wins these cases.
Medical malpractice cases are won by firms with the resources and the resolve to go up against institutions and the insurers defending them — and that's the firm we've built. For over 20 years, we've taken cases other firms turn away, advanced the expert costs these claims demand, and prepared every one as if it's going to trial. Hospitals and their insurers know which firms fold and which ones don't. We make sure they know which one they're facing.
Recovered for injury victims.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Medical malpractice is when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care and that failure causes harm. A bad outcome alone isn't malpractice — the question is whether a competent provider would have done something different.
The most common are surgical errors, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, medication mistakes, birth injuries, and hospital-acquired infections.
Yes. Hospitals can be liable for the negligence of their staff — and sometimes contracted providers — when understaffing, poor protocols, or errors inside the facility cause harm. See our Hospital Negligence page for how liability works in depth.
Yes. Nevada lets surviving family members recover for a death caused by medical negligence, and the deadline runs on the medical-malpractice clock — not the standard wrongful-death one. See our Medical Wrongful Death page for what families can recover.
Generally three years from the date of the injury or two years from when you discovered it, whichever comes first (NRS 41A.097). The deadline can shift if the provider concealed the error, and children harmed at or around birth often have longer. Because it's strict, it's worth having your records reviewed early.
It depends on your losses. Economic damages — medical bills, lost income, and future care — have no cap in Nevada. Non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, are capped, and that cap rises each year toward a set maximum. The only way to value your case is to have the records reviewed.
Usually a year or more. These cases require expert review, full records, and often litigation, because hospitals and their insurers rarely settle early.
No. We work on contingency, so you pay no attorney fee unless we win. We also advance the cost of the medical experts your case requires — the expense that stops many firms from taking these cases at all.
Yes. Nevada law (NRS 41A.071) requires your complaint to include a sworn affidavit from a qualified medical expert identifying how each provider was negligent. Without it, the case is dismissed — which is why choosing a firm that will do and fund that work matters.
If you were harmed by care that seems below standard, the honest answer is that no one knows for certain until the records are reviewed by a medical expert. That review is where we start, and it costs you nothing.
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Talk with Glen Howard directly. Free case review, no fee unless we win, and we advance every expert cost. Available 24/7.
I had a great experience with Howard Injury Law. Anytime I had questions, they were always there with an answer ready to help. They were super attentive towards me. I'm very grateful I went to them after my car accident.
Car AccidentWas rear-ended November 2024. Never been in an accident before, let alone one where my car was totaled and I was injured. Howard Injury Law was amazing! The team walked me through everything, what to do and what to expect ... read more
Rear-End CollisionHighly recommend. I worked with James and Vanessa. They both are very nice and patient if or when you have a million and one questions. They make sure you are updated and not wondering where you stand.
Personal InjuryI can't say enough great things about Howard Injury Law. From start to finish, Glenn Howard and his amazing team James and Natalie were there every step of the way. They made a stressful situation feel manageable ... read more
Injury CaseI had a really bad accident in March 2023 and was referred to this amazing team. This being a new experience, Howard Injury Law walked me through every single step. They truly fought for me and got me more than I expected.
Car AccidentThis team was amazing. They took care of everything I needed with my personal injury and made it so easy for me. I never felt alone during the process. I would highly recommend Howard Injury Law to anyone.
Personal InjuryI would like to thank Glen Howard and James for taking such great care of me during my case. They're knowledgeable, professional, and genuinely caring. My family and I are truly grateful for the outcome they achieved.
Injury CaseEvery question here comes from someone in the exact spot you're in right now.
Founding attorney Glen Howard built his practice after watching his own family go through the aftermath of a serious injury — an experience that shaped how he fights for clients today. For more than 20 years he's taken on hospitals, insurers, and the institutions most firms won't challenge. You work directly with Glen and a dedicated case manager on every file — not a rotating cast of paralegals.
Read Glen's full storyHoward Injury Law
6330 Spring Mountain Rd Ste D, Las Vegas, NV 89146
Watch: Medical Malpractice in Las Vegas — Hospital Mishap