In the U.S. court system, all personal injury claims are known as torts, and fall under tort law. The overall purpose of tort law is simple, and that is to correct an injustice by forcing the guilty party (defendant) to financially compensate the accident victim (plaintiff) for the physical and psychological damages that were incurred as a result of said accident or injustice. In any given case, the defendant can be a person, a business, an insurer, or a combination of multiple. 

There are a few policies and concepts that are adopted nationwide, but for the most part, each state has its own specific regulations, which is one of the biggest reasons why claimants should always retain an attorney that has experience practicing in that particular jurisdiction. One example of these guidelines is Nevada’s comparative negligence law. 

Comparative negligence, in simplest terms, basically means that all parties involved are vulnerable to be hit with liability, so long as the total adds up to 100 percent. So, while most people envision lawsuits to be one-on-one matchups that are scored 100-0 in terms of fault, Nevada law asserts that fault could fall under any combination, such as 75-25, 55-45, etc. The two most important things to remember about comparative negligence are that 1) any percentage of fault will be deducted from your overall settlement and 2) any party with more than 50 percent of the fault is ineligible to receive any compensation, regardless of any injuries.