Within the first 11 days of November 2025, six pedestrians were killed on Las Vegas Valley roads. The deaths highlight a disturbing trend that safety advocates have been warning about for years.
As families mourn these preventable deaths, many are left wondering: when dangerous road design contributes to fatal pedestrian accidents, can cities be held legally accountable?
The answer is complex, but understanding your rights after a pedestrian accident is the first step toward justice and accountability.
If you have suffered injury, or lost a loved one, in a Las Vegas pedestrian accident, contact Burk Injury Lawyers. Representing the rights of injured Nevadans since 2004, our dedicated accident lawyer will help you seek the compensation you deserve. Call 702-620-2020 to schedule a free consultation today.
The Alarming Reality of Pedestrian Deaths in Las Vegas
The recent spike in pedestrian fatalities in the Las Vegas Valley reflects a nationwide crisis. According to data from Ped Safe Vegas, a part of UNLV’s Transportation Research Center, approximately 75% of pedestrian deaths occur between dusk and dawn. The end of Daylight Saving Time creates particularly hazardous conditions, as drivers adjust to darkness during peak traffic hours.
Safety experts note that pedestrian fatalities typically increase following the time change because people haven’t adjusted to the new darkness patterns. Two of the fatal crashes in early November occurred during times that would have been daylight before the clock change, illustrating how this seasonal transition creates unexpected dangers.
The November incidents also include a tragic case of an 11-year-old girl severely injured while crossing Lake Mead Boulevard near Pecos Road. Police reported she was outside a marked crosswalk. However, this raises critical questions about whether adequate crosswalks exist in the first place.
What Makes Roads Dangerous by Design?
When multiple pedestrian deaths occur in specific locations or follow predictable patterns, the road design itself often shares blame. Nevada municipalities have a legal duty to maintain reasonably safe roads for all users, including pedestrians. When cities fail to address known hazards or implement basic safety features, they may be liable for resulting injuries and deaths.
Common dangerous design features include insufficient lighting in areas with high pedestrian traffic, missing or poorly marked crosswalks at logical crossing points, and wide multi-lane roads that encourage excessive speeds. Additionally, the lack of pedestrian refuge islands on wide roadways, inadequate signage warning drivers of pedestrian zones, poor visibility at intersections and crossing points, and missing sidewalks that force pedestrians into traffic all contribute to preventable deaths.
Can You Sue a City for Wrongful Death in a Pedestrian Accident?
Pursuing a claim against a government entity involves legal challenges. Nevada law allows wrongful death claims against municipalities when negligent road design or maintenance contributes to fatal accidents. Pursuing such cases, though, requires navigating sovereign immunity laws and strict procedural requirements.
Common Grounds for City Liability
Cities may be held responsible when previous accidents at the location should have triggered safety improvements but were ignored. Liability can also arise when the road design violates state or federal safety standards, or when requested safety enhancements were dismissed despite documented hazards. Routine maintenance failures that create dangerous conditions, along with traffic studies that recommended changes but were never implemented, also establish grounds for municipal liability.
Building a Wrongful Death Case Against a Municipality
Pursuing a wrongful death claim against a city for dangerous road design requires strategic legal preparation and compelling evidence. Unlike standard personal injury cases, claims against government entities demand a higher burden of proof and more sophisticated legal arguments.
Establishing the City’s Knowledge of the Hazard
The cornerstone of any municipal liability case is proving the city knew or should have known about the dangerous condition. Your pedestrian accident lawyer will investigate whether residents or businesses filed complaints about the hazardous intersection, if previous accidents occurred at the same location, whether city traffic studies identified the area as high-risk, or if advocacy groups like Ped Safe Vegas raised concerns about the specific roadway.
Demonstrating a Breach of Duty
Cities have a legal obligation to design and maintain roads that meet recognized safety standards. Your car accident attorney will examine whether the road design violates Nevada Department of Transportation guidelines, fails to comply with Federal Highway Administration standards, or ignores recommendations from the city’s own traffic engineers. Expert witnesses in traffic engineering and urban planning can testify about what a reasonably prudent city would have done to address the known hazards.
Proving Causation
Even when a dangerous design exists, you must prove it directly caused the fatal accident. This requires accident reconstruction experts who can demonstrate how proper lighting would have prevented the collision, adequate crosswalks would have provided safe crossing opportunities, or traffic-calming measures would have reduced vehicle speeds to survivable levels. The analysis often includes computer simulations showing how different design choices would have changed the outcome.
Overcoming Governmental Immunity Defenses
Nevada cities will often assert governmental immunity as a defense, claiming discretionary decisions about resource allocation cannot be second-guessed by courts. However, experienced pedestrian accident lawyers know how to distinguish between protected policy decisions and actionable negligence in implementing those policies. When cities ignore their own safety standards or fail to act on clear hazards, immunity protections may not apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a claim against a city in Nevada?
You typically have 180 days to file a formal notice of claim with the government entity, though this deadline can vary. After filing the notice, you generally have two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit. Missing these deadlines can permanently bar your claim, so immediate consultation with a pedestrian accident lawyer is essential.
Can I still recover compensation if I was partially at fault?
Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule. Therefore, you can recover damages as long as you were less than 50% at fault. Your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. Even if you were jaywalking, the city may still bear responsibility if dangerous road design contributed to the accident.
The Time to Act Is Now
Every pedestrian death on Nevada roads represents not just a tragic loss but often a failure of infrastructure and city planning. While no amount of money can restore a lost life, holding cities accountable can prevent future tragedies and provide families with the resources they need to move forward.
If a dangerous road design contributed to your accident or the death of a loved one, Burk Injury Lawyers is here to help. Contact our pedestrian accident lawyers at 702-620-2020 now for a free consultation.
