Las VegasWrongful DeathAttorney.

What's Different at Sellouk Law

When you hire Sellouk Law, your case is handled by Roey Sellouk himself — a former federal judicial clerk — not passed to a case manager or junior staff. The firm keeps its caseload deliberately small, charges a competitive contingency fee, and prepares every file as if it is going to trial. You speak directly with your attorney from the first call, with bilingual staff available for Spanish-speaking clients.

What is a wrongful death claim under Nevada law?

A wrongful death claim is a civil action that arises when a death is caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another (NRS 41.085). It allows the decedent's heirs and the personal representative of the estate to seek compensation from the person or company responsible — separate from any criminal case the State may pursue.

Losing someone to another person's carelessness changes everything at once. No legal action can restore what your family has lost. What Nevada law can do is hold the responsible party accountable and help secure the financial stability your loved one would have wanted for you. NRS 41.085 applies whenever a death — of an adult or a child — is caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another person or business.

In Las Vegas and across Clark County, these cases arise from many circumstances: fatal traffic collisions, pedestrian and motorcycle deaths, unsafe premises, and other preventable harms. Nevada's official Zero Fatalities program reported 420 traffic deaths statewide in 2024 and 381 in 2025 (figures as reported in mid-2026) — and behind each number is a family navigating what yours is navigating now.

A wrongful death case is civil, not criminal. It does not depend on whether prosecutors file charges, and it asks a different question: what did this family lose, and who is legally responsible for that loss?

Who can bring a wrongful death action in Nevada?

Nevada law gives two groups the right to sue: the decedent's heirs — the family members who would inherit under Nevada's intestate succession laws, typically a surviving spouse and children — and the personal representative of the decedent's estate. Under NRS 41.085, each may maintain an action, and the claims may be joined in a single case.

NRS 41.085 defines an heir as a person who would be entitled to succeed to the decedent's separate property if the decedent had died without a will. Under Nevada's intestate succession laws (NRS 134.040 and 134.050), that generally means the surviving spouse and children share first (NRS 134.040); where there are no children, the decedent's parents share alongside a surviving spouse — or, if no parents survive, the decedent's siblings (NRS 134.050) — and other relatives may qualify in other family circumstances. Because every family is different, identifying who holds a claim is often the first question we help answer in a consultation.

The personal representative — the person appointed to administer the estate — holds a separate claim on the estate's behalf. NRS 41.085(3) allows the heirs' action and the estate's action arising from the same wrongful act to be joined, so the family can proceed together in one case rather than several.

Nevada law also draws one firm line: a person deemed to be a killer of the decedent under chapter 41B of the Nevada Revised Statutes is excluded as an heir and is treated as having predeceased the decedent.

What compensation does Nevada law allow after a wrongful death?

NRS 41.085 recognizes two categories of recovery. Heirs may be awarded damages for their own grief or sorrow, loss of probable support, companionship, society, comfort, and consortium, plus damages for the decedent's pain, suffering, or disfigurement. Separately, the estate may recover medical expenses incurred before death, funeral expenses, and any punitive damages the decedent could have recovered.

Nevada law treats a family's grief as real and compensable. Under NRS 41.085(4), each heir proves his or her own damages individually — the law recognizes that a spouse, a young child, and an adult child each lose something different. A court or jury may award pecuniary damages for grief or sorrow, loss of probable support, companionship, society, comfort, and consortium, along with damages for the pain, suffering, or disfigurement the decedent endured. Proceeds awarded to heirs under this subsection are not liable for any debt of the decedent.

The estate's recovery under NRS 41.085(5) covers special damages such as medical expenses the decedent incurred before death and funeral expenses, plus any penalties — including exemplary or punitive damages — the decedent would have recovered if he or she had lived. Unlike the heirs' awards, estate proceeds can be reached by the decedent's creditors unless exempted by law.

Separately, NRS 41.100 provides that a cause of action is not lost by reason of death — so claims your loved one personally held may survive and be pursued by the estate. We evaluate every path the law allows, and we pursue the maximum recovery the facts and the law support.

How long does a family have to file a wrongful death claim in Nevada?

Generally two years. Under NRS 11.190(4)(e), an action for the death of a person caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another must be filed within two years, with limited statutory exceptions. The clock typically runs from the date of death, so it is wise to speak with counsel well before the deadline approaches.

No family should feel pressured to make legal decisions in the first days of grief. The two-year period under NRS 11.190(4)(e) exists so you can take a breath, gather as a family, and decide deliberately. At Sellouk Law, the process moves at your pace — we will never rush a grieving family.

That said, there is a quiet practical reality: evidence is most complete early. Camera footage gets overwritten, vehicles are repaired or salvaged, and witness memories fade. When a family is ready, an attorney can take on the work of preserving evidence and dealing with insurers so that the family does not have to.

Some situations involve different or additional deadlines and procedural requirements — the statute itself notes exceptions, and certain defendants and claim types follow their own rules. An early consultation clarifies exactly which deadlines apply to your family's circumstances.

What if the person who died was partly at fault?

A family can still recover in most cases. Under NRS 41.141, Nevada's comparative negligence statute, a decedent's own negligence bars recovery only if it was greater than the combined negligence of the defendants. If the decedent's share of fault is 50% or less, the claim proceeds, and the award is reduced in proportion to that share.

One of the hardest moments for a grieving family is hearing an insurance company suggest that their loved one caused his or her own death. The person being blamed is no longer here to answer. NRS 41.141 speaks directly to this situation: the comparative negligence of the plaintiff's decedent does not bar recovery so long as it was not greater than the negligence of the parties against whom recovery is sought.

Fault percentages are not handed down from above — they are built from evidence. Accident reconstruction, scene photographs, vehicle data, surveillance footage, and witness accounts determine whether fault is assigned accurately or merely conveniently. Part of our role is making sure your loved one's side of the story is fully told.

Where more than one party is responsible, NRS 41.141 generally makes each defendant severally liable for its own percentage of fault, with exceptions for cases such as strict liability and intentional torts. Identifying every responsible party early shapes the entire case.

How does Sellouk Law support families through a wrongful death case?

Sellouk Law keeps a deliberately small caseload so every family works directly with attorney Roey Sellouk, a former federal judicial clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. We handle the investigation, the insurance communications, and the court deadlines while your family grieves — and there is no attorney fee unless we recover for you.

We built this firm around a simple conviction: a family in grief deserves an attorney who knows their name, returns their calls personally, and never treats their loss as a file number. A small caseload is how we keep that promise. Attorney Roey Sellouk (Nevada Bar No. 16623) served as a federal judicial clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada — experience seeing, from inside the court, how cases are evaluated and how well-prepared cases are built. Every case we accept is prepared with the possibility of trial in mind.

From the first conversation, we take the burdens that should not fall on a grieving family: preserving evidence, communicating with insurers, coordinating with the estate's personal representative, and meeting every court deadline. You decide the pace. We handle the rest, and we keep you informed in plain language at every step.

Our bilingual staff assist Spanish-speaking families throughout the process, and our full website is available in Spanish. The consultation is free and carries no obligation — it is simply a quiet conversation about your family's rights and options under Nevada law.