BY MANAGING ATTORNEY
DANIELA MADRID HADGES

PERSONAL INJURY: USING MEDICAL INSURANCE AFTER A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT.

When you are involved in an accident, one of the first steps you must take is to seek medical care. In Nevada you have two options for paying for medical treatment resulting from an accident: 1) you can use your medical insurance or 2) you can obtain treatment under a lien.

Treating under a lien means that the medical bills will get paid out of the settlement proceeds obtained from your personal injury case. Some providers will tell you that when you have been involved in an accident you cannot use your medical insurance, however, that is not correct. While some states do not allow you to use your medical insurance for treatment resulting from a motor vehicle accident, in Nevada you have a legal right to do so.

There is a huge benefit to using medical insurance because your medical insurance has contracted rates with the medical providers and ultimately only end up paying a fraction of the medical bill. For example, if the doctor’s bill totals $500 but the medical insurance only has an obligation to pay $50, then you only end up paying $50 from your settlement instead of the original $500.

Do not worry, if you do not have medical insurance, your attorney will still request and should obtain a reduction off your medical bills. Although the reductions will not be as low as the contracted rates medical insurances have, you will still get the benefit of reduced medical bills.

What does this all mean? More money in your pocket!

Do note that medical insurance claims typically take 30-45 days to process and are actually taking longer during the pandemic. That means it will be a longer wait before you obtain your settlement check. However, the amount of savings you will enjoy from using your medical insurance should outweigh the wait.

There are many benefits an experienced personal injury attorney can obtain for you. If you or a loved one are involved in an accident, call us. We will guide you through the process, ensure you obtain the necessary medical treatment you need and ensure you are fully compensated.

Drive safely and always Lawyer Up!

CRIMINAL DEFENSE: RESTORATION OF VOTING RIGHTS IN NEVADA.

Pursuant to Assembly Bill 431, which took effect on July 1, 2019, any Nevada resident that has been convicted of a felony is automatically and immediately restored the right to vote once released from prison. AB 431 applies regardless of the category of felony committed or whether the individual is still on either parole or probation. There is no waiting period or action required by the individual.

However, if the individual’s voting registration was canceled due to a felony conviction, the individual must re-register to vote upon the individual’s release from prison. The individual is not required to provide any documentation or other evidence at the time of re-registration to prove that the individual’s voting rights have been restored.

Individuals who have had their voting rights restored must meet all the other eligibility requirements in order to register to vote. To be eligible to register to vote in Nevada, an individual must:

Be a U.S. citizen;
Be at least 18 years old (or at least 17 years old if preregistering to vote);
Have continuously resided in Nevada and the county for at least 30 days before the next election; and
Have continuously resided in the precinct for at least 10 days before the next election.

Any individual who has been convicted of a felony and is currently serving a term of imprisonment cannot register to vote or participate in the voting process while the individual is in prison.

To register to vote or to check your registration visit:

https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSVoterServices/start.aspx

Election day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020, get out and vote!

Vote responsibly and always Lawyer Up!

BUSINESS LAW: ENSURING YOUR NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS ARE VALID.

A non-compete agreement is a contract between two parties, usually two individuals or one company and one individual, in which one of the individuals promises not to compete with the other individual or company once their relationship has ended.

A non-compete agreement is essential for protecting sensitive information and is appropriate in several scenarios. Some examples are:

Between an employer and employee;
Between a company and an independent contractor;
Between a company and a consultant;
Between a company and a vendor; and
Between two investors or entrepreneurs.

Whenever an individual or company will have access to your proprietary information, you must have a non-compete agreement signed in order to protect your valuable information. The purpose is to prevent others from gaining knowledge from you that they can turn around and use to compete with you.

One of the most common relationships where we see non-compete agreements is the employer-employee relationship because a company has an interest in ensuring that employees that have access to its marketing strategies, client lists and pricing do not take that information to then open their own business that competes with it. For example, Coco-Cola will have employees sign non-compete agreements so that its employees do not take what they have learned through their employment there to then create their own soda company.

However, in order for non-compete agreements to be valid, they have to be reasonable.

When drafting the parameters of the non-compete agreement, time and distance are the two most common limitations that a judge may decide to be unreasonable. Because the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that courts cannot “blue line” contracts, meaning they cannot modify or delete terms to make the contract legal, it is of the upmost importance to draft non-compete agreements that are reasonable. While, you will want to protect your business, drafting a non-compete agreement with conditions that are too extreme may render the non-compete agreement completely invalid.

Therefore you must not only have a contract in place in order to protect your business, you must have a contract that is well written.

Protect your brand and always Lawyer Up!

REAL ESTATE: HALT ON NEVADA RESIDENTIAL EVICTIONS.

Due to the impact of Covid-19, Governor Sisolak prohibited evictions of residential tenants. On August 31, 2020, Governor Sisolak announced a 45-day extension of the previous residential eviction moratorium. This extended the Order until October 14 at 11:59PM.

However, on September 4th, 2020, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) announced it would halt residential evictions nationwide through the end of this year.

Which means that although Nevada’s residential eviction moratorium has ended, tenants are still protected. The CDC’s order prevents evictions through December 31, 2020 but it does not automatically apply. A tenant must meet the following conditions:

1. Have used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing;

2. Expected to earn no more than $99,000 in annual income for Calendar Year 2020 (or no more than $198,000 if filing a joint tax return), was not required to report any income in 2019 to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or received an Economic Impact Payment (stimulus check) pursuant to Section 2201 of the CARES Act;

3. Unable to pay the full rent or make a full housing payment due to substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, lay-offs, or had extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses;

4. Used best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the full payment as the individual's circumstances may permit, taking into account other nondiscretionary expenses;

5. If evicted the individual would likely become homeless, need to move into a homeless shelter, or would need to move into a new residence shared by other people who live in close quarters because there are no other available housing options;

6. The tenant still has the obligation to pay rent or make a housing payment and comply with other obligations under the tenancy, lease agreement, or similar contract. The rent will continue to accrue until the tenant is able to pay;

7. Fees, penalties, or interest for not paying rent or making a housing payment on time as required by the tenancy, lease agreement, or similar contract may still be charged or collected; and

8. At the end of this temporary halt on evictions on December 31, 2020, the housing provider may require payment in full for all payments not made prior to and during the temporary halt and failure to pay may make the tenant subject to eviction at that time pursuant to State and local laws.

Tenants that meet those requirements and cannot pay their rent must provide an executed Declaration Form to their landlord and/or property management. Each adult who is on the lease must complete his or her own Declaration form.

The Order does not protect tenants who are engaging in criminal activity while on the premises, damaging property or threatening the health or safety of another resident. Tenants who receive a seven-day notice to vacate who believe they are covered by the CDC order can attach a copy of their signed CDC Declaration Form when they file their answer to an eviction notice with the local justice court.

The form can be found at the following link:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/declaration-form.pdf

A person violating this Order may be subject to a fine of no more than $100,000 if the violation does not result in a death or one year in jail, or both, or a fine of no more than $250,000 if the violation results in a death or one year in jail, or both, or as otherwise provided by law.

An organization violating this Order may be subject to a fine of no more than $200,000 per event if the violation does not result in a death or $500,000 per event if the violation results in a death or as otherwise provided by law. The U.S. Department of Justice may initiate court proceedings as appropriate seeking imposition of these criminal penalties.

Know your rights and always Lawyer Up!

This blog does not provide, and should not be construed as providing, legal advice. Consequently, no attorney client relationship is formed. For legal assistance, please contact our offices.