Injured at The Las Vegas Airport - Richard Harris Personal Injury Law Firm Las Vegas

Injured at Las Vegas McCarran Airport?

Everyone is back to being in a hurry post pandemic.

The airport has always been a busy place, people going from one place to another all in a hurry to get there.

This creates the perfect storm for accidents, any trip business or pleasure can turn into an absolute nightmare when accidents at the airport happen.

If the accident or injury is severe enough you may even have to cancel your trip and wouldn’t that stink?

If you are injured at the airport the blame game may become confusing, so who is responsible and can you recover for your damages including the canceled trip?

Since airport accidents and recovery can be difficult to say the least, it is best to hire a personal injury attorney who knows the details of airport injury recovery law and who to contact after an airport injury.

Call The Richard Harris Law Firm today if you were injured at McCarran Airport or The Reno Airport.

Who is Liable for an Airport Accident

Like all other accidents or injuries the party who causes the accident or injury is responsible.

This can be an airline, a worker of the airline, businesses in the airport such as food vendors or their employees, other airport passengers are all parties that can be held accountable for an accident or injury at the airport.

In cases of airlines you may not have to prove negligence to get a positive outcome to your claim.

Common Injuries at The Airport

Of course there are many ways somebody can get injured at an airport, but below we listed some of the ways.

If you’ve been injured at McCarran airport in Vegas then call Richard Harris Law Firm today.

Injured in an elevator
Injured on an escalator
Injured or assaulted by an employee
Injured waiting for the plane (broken chair, glass, etc.)
Injured in baggage claim
Slip and fall
Chemical exposure

Airport Accident Legal Liability

As with all business, a reasonable amount of care and safety is considered the general rule when holding people or businesses to a standard of care.

When businesses or individuals don’t use this rule and actions contribute to the injury or accident then they can be held liable due to negligence.

For example, if you’re leaving the plane and the airport staffer did not properly set up the exit ramp and rushed it, and you fall because it wasn’t secured properly the staffer representing the airline can be held responsible because they did not use the standard of care and safety.

Government Owned Airport and Accident laws

Most large airports in the United States are owned and operated by government agencies.

In Nevada McCarran Airport is owned and operated by Clark County.

If you are injured at the airport and the airport itself is responsible there are special laws and limits that apply since the owner is a government agency.

In Nevada there is a monetary cap of $100,000 that applies to all lawsuits against the airport or in this case the government agency.

This law applies to all suits against any government agency in Nevada.

Filing a suit against a government agency can seem like it would be daunting.

It is not especially difficult, but you should be aware of the special circumstance like monetary caps on liability.

That’s why when you are injured at the airport it’s important to hire an attorney with experience in airport injury law.

In certain cases you must file a notice of claim with government agencies like airports.

This notifies the airport that you plan on filing a claim against them and gives them the opportunity to settle with you before going to court.

In regular claims against a person or insurance company this is usually not the case.

Private Businesses and Airport Accident Laws

As we all know inside the airport there are plenty of businesses that operate besides the airlines itself.

Snack shops, newsstands, even manicure places operate inside the airport everyday.

All of these businesses can be held responsible for negligence if an accident occurs at their place of business.

The regular rules for duty of care and negligence apply to these businesses.

For example, say you are at the airport bar next to your gate and getting a cocktail before your flight.

You slip on the wet floor because someone spilled a drink, but the bar did not clean it up in a timely manner, even though the employees did not spill the drink the bar can be held accountable because they were negligent in not cleaning up the spill and therefore responsible for your fall.

As the victim of the fall you are entitled to damages from the bar and the company that owns the bar in the airport.

However in this case you would not be able to file a claim against the airport itself.

An experienced attorney can direct you to the right business or person to file a claim against.

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Airline Injury and the Montreal Agreement

The Montreal Agreement is an international agreement among air carriers that makes filing a claim for injury streamlined and easy for the victims of injury.

If you are injured on a plane regardless of where you can file a claim under the Montreal Agreement from anywhere.

The claims however are limited to $150,000 without the proof of negligence.

If you can prove the airline or its employees were negligent then you can possibly recover more than the cap of $150,000.

The Montreal agreement only applies to injury or death while on the plane or in the plane.

It does not cover incidents that occur in the airport.

For example if you experience severe turbulence while in flight and are injured in the course of the flight you will file your claim under the Montreal Agreement.

If you fell at the bar you will file a negligence claim against the bar, and if you were hurt riding the escalator at the airport the airport is the responsible party.

This seems like it’s confusing right?

That’s why you should always speak with a local personal injury lawyer who can determine who you should file a claim against.