The Las Vegas Strip welcomes over 40 million visitors each year. With so many people concentrated in a 4.2-mile stretch of hotels, casinos, and sidewalks, injuries are unfortunately common.
But if you are injured on the Strip, determining who is responsible is far more complex than in almost any other tourist destination.
Were you on a public sidewalk or one privately owned by a casino? Were you in the City of Las Vegas or unincorporated Clark County? The answer to these questions determines who you can sue, what laws apply, and how long you have to act.
For injured tourists, this confusion is often used by insurance companies to pressure a quick, low settlement before you fly home. Here is what you need to know about what happens after an injury on the Las Vegas Strip and the immediate steps you must take to protect your rights.
The First Thing to Know: The Strip Isn’t in Las Vegas
The single most important and confusing fact about a Strip injury is a matter of jurisdiction. The famous 4.2-mile corridor known as the Las Vegas Strip is not located within the city limits of Las Vegas.
Instead, most of the Strip (including the major casino resorts) is in two unincorporated towns within Clark County: Paradise and Winchester.
This isn’t just a trivia fact—it has massive legal consequences:
- Your Claim is (Usually) Against a Casino, Not the City: You are not dealing with the City of Las Vegas. Your claim is against a private corporation (like MGM Resorts or Caesars Entertainment) or, in some cases, Clark County.
- Different Laws Apply: Clark County has its own codes and ordinances that apply to public safety, building maintenance, and pedestrian traffic, which may differ from the City of Vegas.
- Police Reports: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) has jurisdiction over the Strip, but the government entity you might have a claim against is Clark County, not the City of Las Vegas.
Who is Liable? The Complex Truth About Strip Sidewalks
When you’re injured on a sidewalk, your first assumption is that it’s public property. On the Las Vegas Strip, that assumption is often wrong.
To reduce their own costs and liability, Clark County and the State of Nevada have actively encouraged the privatization of sidewalks along Las Vegas Boulevard.
This means in many of the most crowded areas, the “sidewalk” is actually private property owned by the casino it fronts. This privatization shifts the legal responsibility—or liability—for maintenance, repairs, and any injuries that happen there directly to the casino or property owner.
Nevada’s “Reasonable Care” Standard
In a premises liability case, the property owner’s responsibility is key. Nevada law has moved away from the old, confusing categories of “invitee” (a customer) versus “licensee” (a social guest).
Following the landmark 1994 case Moody v. Manny’s Auto Repair, Nevada courts adopted a more straightforward standard: a property owner owes a general duty of “reasonable care” to everyone on their property (except, in most cases, trespassers).
This means a casino that owns the sidewalk in front of its property has a duty to act reasonably to keep it safe for pedestrians. This includes:
- Cleaning up spills in a timely manner.
- Repairing broken pavement or trip hazards.
- Managing foreseeable dangers, like overcrowding.
- Providing adequate lighting.
If you slip and fall on a broken piece of walkway in front of a casino, your claim is most likely against that casino, not a government entity.
Unique Hazards on the Las Vegas Strip
While standard slip and falls are common, the Strip’s unique environment creates specific, foreseeable hazards that property owners must manage.
1. Pedestrian Bridge Overcrowding and Escalator Failures
The pedestrian bridges over Las Vegas Boulevard are critical for foot traffic, but they are also a major source of injury.
- Overcrowding: These bridges become dangerously crowded. The problem became so bad that Clark County passed an ordinance (Clark County Code 16.11) making it a misdemeanor to stop or stand on them, specifically to ensure “public safety” and the “continuous flow of pedestrian traffic”. This ordinance shows the county is aware that overcrowding on these bridges is a safety hazard.
- Broken Escalators: The outdoor escalators and elevators providing access to these bridges are notoriously and frequently out of service. This can force pedestrians, especially those with mobility issues, into unsafe situations, such as trying to navigate crowded stairs.
- Falls: Tragic falls, sometimes fatal, have occurred from bridge escalators.
2. Crowd Crush and Panic Incidents
The massive crowds on the Strip are a foreseeable risk. While incidents like the Route 91 shooting were intentional criminal acts, the resulting chaos injured hundreds of people from non-gunfire causes, such as being trampled or injured while fleeing.
Property owners and event organizers have a duty to provide adequate security, crowd control, and emergency exit routes for foreseeable events, including crowd panic.
3. Chaotic Rideshare and Valet Zones
The designated Uber, Lyft, and valet pickup areas at casinos are often poorly designed, mixing confused pedestrians with high volumes of vehicle traffic. These zones are common locations for accidents involving pedestrians, and liability can be complex, involving the rideshare driver, the property owner (for bad design), and other third parties.
4. Other Hazards
- Construction Debris: The Strip is in a constant state of construction. Inadequate barriers, tools left out, or debris on walkways can all cause serious injuries.
- Aggressive Street Performers: While performers are a part of the landscape, if they block walkways or create a hazard that the property owner is aware of and does nothing about, the property owner may hold some liability.
What to Do Immediately After a Strip Injury (An Action Plan)
If you are a tourist, your timeline is compressed. Evidence disappears and witnesses leave the state. You must act quickly.
Step 1: Seek Medical Attention
Your health is the priority. Call 911 or get to an emergency room or urgent care. This serves two purposes:
- It identifies and treats your injuries.
- It creates an official medical record that links your injury to the incident, which is critical for your claim.
Step 2: Report the Incident to the Correct Property
Report your injury to the property owner immediately.
- If you fell in front of a casino, go to that casino’s security desk and file an incident report.
- If you were on a pedestrian bridge, you may need to report it to Clark County.
- If you are unsure, report it to the nearest casino.
CRITICAL: When you file the report, ask for a copy for your records. They may refuse, but it’s important to ask.
Step 3: Document Everything (Before It’s Gone)
The scene of your injury will not look the same tomorrow, or even in an hour. Use your phone:
- Take photos and videos of the exact hazard that caused your injury (the spill, the broken pavement, the debris, the broken escalator).
- Take photos of the surrounding area to show the lack of warning signs, poor lighting, or property name (e.g., the casino entrance).
- Get witness information. This is one of the most critical steps. Other witnesses are likely tourists who will be impossible to find once they fly home. Get their full name and phone number.
Step 4: Preserve the Video Evidence (This is URGENT)
This is the single most time-sensitive part of your claim. Casinos and properties do not keep surveillance footage for long.
- Under the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s Surveillance Standards for Nonrestricted Licensees (Standard 9), most surveillance footage is only required to be kept for a minimum of 7 days after it is recorded.
- A casino is not obligated to give you its video footage just because you ask.
You must immediately request that the footage be preserved. The most effective way to do this is to have a lawyer send a formal “spoliation letter” or “preservation of evidence letter”. This legal document formally notifies the property to save all relevant footage. If they delete it after receiving that letter, they can face serious penalties in court.
Step 5: Do NOT Accept a Quick Settlement
If you are visibly injured, a casino manager or insurance adjuster may approach you quickly. They may offer to “comp” your room or even offer a small amount of cash ($500 – $1,000) if you sign a waiver.
This is a trap. They are trying to “buy” your claim before you know the full extent of your injuries and before you can speak to a lawyer. Once you sign that waiver, your rights are likely gone forever. Never sign anything or accept a “goodwill” payment without legal advice.
What If the Casino Says You Were Also at Fault?
A common defense tactic from property owners is to blame you, the victim. They might claim you weren’t paying attention, were looking at your phone, or were wearing inappropriate footwear.
This is an accusation of “comparative negligence.” Under Nevada law, this does not automatically prevent you from recovering compensation.
Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule, defined in NRS 41.141.
- This law states that you can still recover damages as long as your percentage of fault is not greater than the defendant’s (i.e., you are 50% or less at fault).
- If you are found to be 20% at fault, your final compensation award would be reduced by 20%.
- If you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you are barred from recovering any compensation.
Do not let an adjuster convince you that you have no claim just because you might share a small amount of fault. An attorney can fight back against these accusations and work to prove the property owner holds the vast majority of the liability.
What If Clark County is Liable?
If your injury happened on the small portion of property that is public—such as a county-maintained road or a public park—your claim would be against Clark County. Suing a government entity in Nevada has special rules.
- Statute of Limitations: Just like a personal injury claim, you have two years from the date of the injury to file a tort claim with the governing body (Clark County).
- Liability Cap: Nevada law caps the amount of damages you can recover in a negligence claim against a government employee or entity. Under NRS 41.035, this cap is $200,000 per person, per claim.
- No Punitive Damages: You cannot recover punitive damages (damages meant to punish) from a government entity.
An experienced attorney can determine if your claim is against a private casino (with no cap) or Clark County (with the $200,000 cap).
“I’m a Tourist. Can I Sue From My Home State?”
Yes. This is a critical point. You do not have to live in Nevada to file a personal injury claim in Nevada.
Insurance adjusters know that tourists are worried about the hassle of a long-distance lawsuit. They use this fear to pressure you into a lowball settlement.
Do not let your travel schedule determine your compensation. An experienced Las Vegas personal injury attorney can handle your entire claim while you are back in your home state.
- You can communicate with your lawyer via phone, email, and video.
- Evidence can be gathered remotely.
- In many cases, depositions (formal interviews) can be arranged in your home city.
- Most personal injury claims are resolved in a settlement, meaning you will likely never have to return to Nevada for a court date.
When to Contact a Lawyer
You should contact a lawyer for a free consultation immediately, ideally before you leave Las Vegas. The most critical, time-sensitive actions—like sending the spoliation letter to preserve video evidence—must happen in the first 24-48 hours.
Determining who owns the specific parcel of sidewalk where you fell, who is liable for the broken escalator, or how to get the surveillance footage from three different casinos is not something you can do alone from another state.
With over 40 years of experience handling personal injury claims, Jack Bernstein understands the unique complexities of injuries on the Las Vegas Strip. We know how to act quickly to preserve evidence and how to handle claims for out-of-state clients. Contact our office for a free consultation to understand your rights before you sign anything: (702) 633-3333.
