A 23-year-old died in a recent motorcycle crash in the Reno area. The man himself was a Reno resident.

The accident happened in the early evening hours and appears to have been at an intersection. A sport utility vehicle and the motorcyclist collided. Although authorities attempted to revive the motorcyclist, he was eventually declared dead at the scene.

Police say that they will continue to investigate the accident. At present, they had no indication as to whether drugs and alcohol were a contributing factor, but they did indicate that speeding may have played a role in the accident. The police did not, however, say which motorist had been speeding.

As this investigation continues, it is going to be important for the family of the motorcyclist to consider their legal options carefully. In particular, they need to be on the lookout for the possibility that there could be some prejudice, including on the part of the police, against the motorcyclist.

In some cases, people automatically assume that motorcyclists are at fault whenever there is a serious motorcycle accident. An independent investigation in to the circumstances may

After all, the family will likely need to evaluate their options for receiving compensation after this tragic accident. In addition to funeral expenses and other out-of-pocket costs, others may have been relying on this young man to contribute his income to the family. Additionally, the family of this man will likely experience a great deal of emotional distress and other loss that is hard to quantify but still very real.

A family who has lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident may wish to consult with an attorney to evaluate their legal options.

Like a growing minority of other states, Nevada allows its residents to use marijuana legally, even without a medical need, under certain circumstances. This law has been on the books since 2017 following a ballot measure. Obviously, this law was not intended to be a license for Nevada motorists to engage in drugged driving. Most people recognize that such behavior is just as dangerous as drunk driving.

Some studies suggest, however, that the mere liberalization of state laws about marijuana use can lead to an increase in drugged driving accidents. The studies surveyed a number of states that have legalized the drug and then compared them to other states where recreational marijuana use remains prohibited. The results were that collision-related insurance claims increased in those states that had legalized the drug.

Those who reported on the surveys observed that when a drug, like marijuana, is legal, more people use it. Thus, more people may choose to drive while under the influence of the drug. As driving high can be a lot like driving drunk, it is no surprise that the frequency of accidents increases as a result.

Others, however, have cautioned that marijuana can stay in a person’s system for a long time after they actually use the drug. There is no reliable way to scientifically measure how high a person is or, for that matter, how recently the person last used marijuana.

No matter how one feels about the drug, the bottom line is that people using it must do so without endangering the lives of others on the road. If a drugged driver does cause an accident while under the influence, they may have to pay compensation to their victims.

As this blog has discussed on previous occasions, victims of accidents who feel that an insurance company is acting unfairly when processing a claim, or who feels that the company is intentionally stalling in order to force a favorable settlement, may be able to raise a claim of bad faith against the insurance company.

Although they might both be thought of as bad faith claims in common parlance, Nevada actually offers two distinct options for hold insurance companies who behave unreasonably in the process of handling a claim.

For one, a person can accuse the company of violating a Nevada law that prohibits insurance companies from engaging in claim handling practices that are unfair to those whom insurance companies are supposed to serve or protect. Basically, provisions of this law prohibit insurance companies from unduly holding up a claim or otherwise flexing their muscle for their financial advantage.

If a company violates this law, then it can receive an administrative penalty. Additionally, if the violation actually caused the accident victim some sort of loss, then the victim can pursue compensation for that loss.

Depending on the circumstances , a person dealing with a stubborn insurance company may also raise a claim of bad faith against the company. As a word of warning, though, the fact that the company may have engaged in one or even several prohibited claim handling practice does not automatically mean the company is liable for bad faith. Additional proof may be required, and a person interested in pursuing a bad faith claim should therefore evaluate his or her options with an experienced attorney.

The official first day of spring will not arrive for another couple of weeks. Just the same, the weather starts to warm up in the Reno area in March and April, and that means that more motorcyclists in the area will be pulling their bikes out of their garages for a ride.

For drivers of other vehicles, this is a great time for a reminder that, as they travel along Nevada’s roads and highways, they need to be on the alert for motorcyclists. If they are not, they can cause serious motorcycle accidents that are relatively likely to leave the motorcyclist seriously injured or even dead.

According to recent research , drivers of other vehicles still need to be a better job of training themselves to be on the lookout for motorcyclists. In most cases, collisions between motorcycles and other vehicles happen because the driver of the other vehicle interferes with the motorcyclist’s right-of-way.

Motorcycles are naturally smaller and, thus, are easy to lose in a larger vehicle’s blind spots. Moreover, motorcyclists have to handle their vehicles differently than do the drivers of other vehicles. Many times, drivers just are not preparing for these differences when traveling behind or near a motorcycle. The ongoing problem in this country with distracted driving certainly is not helping matters in this respect.

Motorcyclists experience more than their share of fatal accidents. Although motorcycles account for less than 5 percent, or 1 in 20, of all vehicles registered in the country, as of 2016, motorcyclists accounted for 13 percent of all traffic-related deaths. It is imperative that drivers of other vehicles stay especially on alert for motorcyclists and take the appropriate steps to prevent accidents. If they fail to do so and cause an accident, they can be held financially accountable.

People in the Reno area who take a few moments to look at a truck can probably recognize that, if a trucker gets in to an accident, it is going to be a serious affair. Given that trucks are much larger and heavier than most of the vehicles around them, motorists in private passenger cars can quite easily suffer a fatal injury following a truck accident. This is true whether the collision happens on Nevada’s interstates and principal highways and city streets.

According to recent statistics , which date back to 2016, about one-third of all deadly truck crashes can be attributed to what the study refers to as a driver-related factor, that is, some error or omission on the part of the truck driver or other motorist involved in the accident. In all types of fatal crashes, the predominant contributing factor was driving at an excessive speed. However, the second most common driver-related factor varied with whether or not a large commercial vehicle was involved in the accident.

For large trucks, the second most common driver-related factor was inattentiveness. In cases involving family cars and other private vehicles, the second most common factor was impairment, which includes drunk and drugged driving, fatigued driving and even accidents caused by a driver’s physical health.

The inattentiveness category is rather broad and covers a lot more than just texting and driving or talking on a cell phone. Suffice it to say that it is very important that truckers pay full attention to the road at all times. No matter how much of a hurry they may be in, it is also important for them to maintain a safe speed.