State pays out for deaths, dentures, fender benders and much more

By Kyle Roerink

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 | 2 a.m.

What do a lost pair of dentures, damaged windshields and disgruntled inmates have in common?

Lawsuits against the state.

Since 2013, the state paid $5.07 million to claimants alleging they were victims of wrongdoing brought on by the government.

The 379 tort claims are a mishmash of bizarre, grisly and mundane cases with a wide range of payouts: Four wrongful death claims that vary from $375,000 to $2,500. A civil rights violation that cost $920,000. A $976 fender bender caused by a state employee swerving to avoid a cat. An $80,000 payout for a state employee rear-ending a private citizen. A $750 liability for losing a mental health patient’s dentures.

Those are just a snapshot of the cases and liabilities. But the sum of payouts and number of cases are relatively small compared with other states.

Washington paid $48 million in claims in 2014. California paid out more than $123 million annually, according to a 2007 state report.

“We have a lot of statutes that protect us,” said Nancy Katafias, tort claims manager in the Nevada Attorney General’s Office.

A handful of laws provide immunity to legislators, law enforcement and other officials for specific instances. Others provide a framework for how the state determines a hazard worthy of a tort.

But a paramount protection is the $100,000 cap on what it can pay out in a settlement or suit. California doesn’t limit damages outside of medical malpractice. Washington and New York don’t have limits. At least 33 states cap the damages that may be recovered from judgments against the state, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Nevada is on the low end of the caps. Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania and Indiana range from $250,000 to $5 million.

Nevada’s limit perturbs trial lawyers and is often a shock to those unfamiliar with the law and involved in a case against the state.

If a state employee driving a car kills or seriously injures someone, the maximum a family or individual could receive in state court is $100,000.

“Unfortunately this may not be enough to compensate a seriously injured victim,” said Bill Bradley, a trial attorney and lobbyist for the Nevada Justice Association. “Hopefully someday the state will recognize that preventing people from receiving fair compensation for their injuries is contrary to public policy for holding the wrongdoer accountable for his actions.”

The state cap doesn’t apply if a tort claim is handled in federal court and have higher or unlimited caps in that jurisdiction. State cases can move to federal courts if they involve civil rights claims. The state had five payouts ranging between $130,000 and $920,000.

The word tort — French for wrong — carries a pejorative connotation in American discourse. The trial attorneys who represent claimants are typecast as smarmy ambulance chasers willing to sue anyone for a buck. In the state’s case, employees accused of wrongdoing are often lampooned as incompetent workers cruising on the government dole.

There may be some truth to the stereotypes. But the figures, obtained by the Sun via record request, show few examples where either party was egregious in its claim or action. The state usually settles its cases out of court. In the last five years, only one case against the state has gone to trial. The jury awarded the claimant $1, Katafias said.

Almost half of the total payouts derived from auto accidents caused by state vehicles.

There were 171 instances where plaintiffs accused state vehicles of causing bodily injury or property damage. Those mishaps — which were the fault of the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Transportation, Nevada Highway Patrol and other state employees — varied in cost: There were eight state-funded payouts for bodily injury that ranged between $60,000 and $80,000. It cost $175 for a plow launching a rock onto a windshield and $41,000 for a rear-ending a vehicle.

The high-value instances catch the eye. But 70 percent of the payouts were under $5,000.

“Sometimes there is a thought that if a state employee is responsible for damage you get a windfall: That’s not the case, Katafias said.

At the current legislative session, tort reform is making headlines for bills that would mostly affect cases outside of government.

One bill would raise the bar for homeowners and trial lawyers to file construction defect lawsuits. Another would relieve property owners of liability if someone is hurt in an equine-related accident. A third would prohibit a plaintiff in an auto accident to seek damages for pain and suffering.