Receiving a notice that a car accident claim has been filed against you can be incredibly stressful. Here in Las Vegas, that formal letter from another attorney or a call from an insurance adjuster can trigger a wave of uncertainty about your financial and legal risks. Your immediate next steps are critical.
This guide provides a calm, clear plan for what to do, and not do, to protect yourself.
At Jack Bernstein Injury Lawyers, we believe you deserve to understand the road ahead. While your first and most important action will be to contact your own insurance provider, our goal is to give you the clarity needed to navigate this process confidently. We are here to help you understand your rights and the challenges you may face.
Your First and Most Important Action: Notify Your Insurance Company
When you receive a legal notice or a call from the other driver’s insurance company, your mind will race with questions. But before you do anything else, there is only one correct first action to take: contact your own auto insurance provider.
This single step sets a protective shield in motion and is the foundation for handling everything that comes next. The moments after receiving a claim notice are critical, and your insurer is your first line of defense.
Don’t Panic and Don’t Ignore It
It’s natural to feel overwhelmed or angry. Take a deep breath. While the situation is serious, panicking can lead to mistakes.
The absolute worst thing you can do is ignore the letter or notice. Ignoring a claim will not make it go away. It will only make the situation worse. If you do not respond, the court can enter a default against you and the case can go forward without your side of it being heard. Whether a default can later be set aside depends on the court rules and on your circumstances, so if one has already been entered, ask a lawyer about it right away instead of assuming the case is over. The first step is not to solve the problem yourself, but simply to prepare to make a call to the right people.
Gather Your Own Documents and Recollections
Before you call your insurer, take a few minutes to gather all the information you have related to the accident. This will make the reporting process smoother and help your insurance company build the strongest possible case file from the start.
- The Claim Notice: Have the letter of representation or any legal document you received in hand.
- Your Information: Your insurance policy number and personal contact details.
- Accident Details: The date, time, and location of the incident.
- Police Report: The official police report itself or, at a minimum, the report number you were given at the scene.
- Photo Evidence: Any photos or videos you took of the vehicle damage (all cars involved), road conditions, or the general accident scene.
- Witness Information: The names and phone numbers of any witnesses.
- Your Written Recollection: On a private document for your own use, write down everything you remember about the accident while it is still fresh in your mind. Do not speculate or admit fault; just state the facts as you recall them.
How to Report the Claim to Your Insurer
With your documents gathered, it’s time to make the call. Follow these simple steps.
- Use the Right Number. Call your insurance company’s dedicated 24/7 claims hotline, not your local agent’s office. The claims department is specifically equipped to handle these situations immediately.
- State the Situation Clearly. Tell the representative that you have received a claim notice or a letter from an attorney regarding a car accident and that you need to report it.
- Provide the Information. Answer the adjuster’s questions using the documents you gathered. Stick to the facts.
- Forward the Documents. The claims adjuster will instruct you on how to send them a copy of the notice you received. Do this immediately via email or fax as requested.
Understanding Your Insurer’s “Duty to Defend”
This is the most important concept for you to understand right now. It is the reason you pay your insurance premiums, and it is the source of significant peace of mind.
Duty to Defend: This is a contractual obligation included in your liability insurance policy. It means that if a claim or lawsuit is filed against you for an event covered by your policy, your insurer must manage the claim and provide and pay for your legal defense.
You have been paying for this exact situation. Your insurance company has teams of adjusters, investigators, and attorneys who handle these matters every day. They are experts at investigating the details of a collision and, importantly, identifying and fighting fraudulent claims.
Insurance investigators are trained to spot two common types of fraud:
- Soft Fraud: This is the most common type, where the other party exaggerates their injuries or the damage to their vehicle to inflate the value of their claim.
- Hard Fraud: This is more rare but serious, involving someone intentionally staging an accident or inventing injuries that do not exist.
Your insurer has the resources to analyze medical records, interview witnesses, and even hire their own experts to determine if a claim is legitimate. This is a burden you do not have to carry yourself. Let them handle the investigation. Once you have reported the claim, you have activated your greatest protection against both honest and dishonest allegations.
Your Insurance is Your Shield: Understanding Your Coverage
Once you’ve notified your insurer, the next major source of anxiety is financial: What is this going to cost me? What does my insurance actually cover? Your auto insurance policy is designed to be a financial shield, protecting your personal assets from claims. Understanding how this shield works is key to reducing that financial stress.
What Your Nevada Liability Insurance Covers
Nevada is an “at-fault” state. This simply means the person found responsible for causing an accident is also responsible for paying for the resulting damages.
However, fault isn’t always a 100% or 0% issue. Under Nevada’s “modified comparative fault” rule (NRS 41.141), blame can be shared. Anyone can file a claim against you, and they can recover from you even if they were partly at fault, as long as their share of the negligence was not greater than yours, or than the combined negligence of everyone they are claiming against. Whatever they recover is reduced in proportion to their own share of the fault. This is often why a claim is filed even in an accident where fault seems unclear or divided.
To cover this responsibility, all drivers in Nevada must carry, at a minimum, liability insurance with the following limits:
- $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in an accident.
- $50,000 for total bodily injury or death per accident (if multiple people are hurt).
- $20,000 for property damage per accident.
These numbers, often referred to as “25/50/20,” are three separate limits rather than one pot of money. Under NRS 485.185, the $25,000 is for bodily injury to or death of one person in any one crash; the $50,000 applies when two or more people are hurt in the same crash and is subject to that one person limit; and the $20,000 is for damage to property only. Your own policy may have higher limits, which provides you with greater protection.
What Happens if the Claim Exceeds Your Policy Limits?
This is often the biggest concern for anyone facing a serious claim.
If the damages from the accident, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property damage, are determined to be higher than your policy limits, you could be held personally responsible for paying the difference. This means your personal savings, income, or other assets could be at risk to satisfy the judgment.
This serious risk is precisely why it is critical to let your insurance company manage the claim from the very beginning. Their adjusters and legal team will work to investigate the claim and negotiate a settlement within your policy limits. An effective defense mounted by your insurer is your best protection against personal liability.
Critical Mistakes to Avoid During the Claims Process
Once your insurance company is handling the claim, you have a critical ongoing role: to avoid making simple mistakes that could undermine their efforts. The other party’s legal team is looking for any opportunity to strengthen their case, and your actions or words can unintentionally provide it.
Adhering to the following rules is not optional; it is essential for your protection.
Do Not Speak with the Other Party’s Lawyer or Insurer
If you receive a call from the other driver’s insurance adjuster or their attorney, you have one response.
Politely decline to speak with them and refer them to your insurance company’s claims adjuster. That is all you need to say.
These individuals are highly trained professionals whose job is to build a case for their client and minimize the amount their company has to pay. They know how to ask friendly-sounding questions that are designed to get you to say something that can be misinterpreted or used against you. Never give a statement, especially a recorded one. Let your insurance company handle all communication.
Do Not Admit Fault or Apologize on the Record
After an accident, it can feel natural to say, “I’m so sorry this happened.” However, in the context of a legal claim, those words can be twisted by the other side and presented as a full admission of guilt.
Legal fault is a technical determination based on evidence and Nevada law. It can be very different from feeling morally sorry that an incident occurred. Let the investigation process determine liability. Do not offer any opinions, apologies, or admissions about fault to anyone other than your own insurance representative or the lawyer they hire for you.
Do Not Post About the Accident on Social Media
Assume that everything you post online is public and will be seen by the other side’s legal team. Social media accounts are a goldmine of evidence for lawyers.
Even seemingly innocent posts can be stripped of context and used to damage your credibility.
- Example 1: You post a frustrated comment online about the other driver or the accident. Their lawyer could use this to portray you as aggressive, unstable, or to argue it’s an admission of some kind.
- Example 2: You post photos from a family barbecue, a weekend hike, or a vacation. If the other party is claiming severe injuries from the accident, their lawyer can present these photos to a jury to argue that if you’re enjoying normal life, the accident must not have been that serious.
The safest policy is to refrain from posting on all social media platforms until your case is fully resolved.
What to Do if You Are Served with a Lawsuit
This is the step that causes the most fear: a stranger, known as a process server, comes to your door and hands you a stack of official-looking legal papers. This means the claim has escalated into a formal lawsuit.
While this is a serious legal event, it is not a reason to panic. The process is straightforward, and your insurance company is fully prepared for it. Here is what those documents are and what you need to do immediately.
Understanding a “Summons and Complaint”
The documents you received are likely a Summons and a Complaint. They are less intimidating once you know what they are.
- The Summons: This document officially notifies you that a lawsuit has been filed against you and “summons” you to respond to the court. It will list a specific deadline by which you must legally respond, which is why acting fast is absolutely critical.
- The Complaint: This document, usually attached to the summons, is written by the other party’s attorney and details their side of the story. It will outline who they believe is at fault (you), what injuries or damages they are claiming, and what they are asking for in terms of financial compensation.
Your Immediate Action: Forward All Documents to Your Insurer
The moment you have these papers in your hand, your very next action is to contact your insurance company’s claims department and tell them you have been served.
That notice is what puts the insurer in a position to act on any “duty to defend” the policy gives you for a covered claim.
If the insurer accepts the suit as covered, it typically appoints defense counsel for you, subject to whatever position it takes on coverage. That lawyer’s job is to defend you in the lawsuit, and for a claim your policy covers, your insurer pays that lawyer’s fees rather than you. The coverage is the limit of that promise: an insurer may agree to defend while reserving its rights on coverage, may take the position that part of the claim falls outside the policy, and someone facing a claim worth more than his limits often hires a lawyer of his own as well. Read whatever your insurer sends you about coverage, and ask a lawyer if you are not sure where you stand.
You are not alone in this process. Where the insurer defends, you have a lawyer assigned to you whose focus is defending the claim against you. This is the financial shield you have paid for. Let it protect you.