What can you say about Nevada, it’s a city of entertainment. Everywhere you go there are large flashy billboards of scantily clad dancers, colorful advertisements of the latest and greatest Cirque de Soleil offering, and bright LCD screens displaying the hottest night club or bar on the strip. For those of us that live here, it’s a distraction that we’ve grown accustomed to, as ordinary as the misinformed political rants on Facebook from that roommate you had back in college who you rarely spoke with.
However, to a tourist, these billboards are like a bug zapper on a muggy southern summer night. They can’t seem to take their eyes off of these signs. No matter where they are or what they are doing, their eyes remain fixed on the ads with the unbreakable concentration of a dog to a tennis ball.
Unfortunately, when you’re driving 40 miles an hour down a major roadway and you don’t pay much attention to said roadway, or the other vehicles traveling on the roadway, collisions happen. Now of course, no one is going to get out of the car and openly admit that they were staring at an overly photo-shopped set of long legs inviting them to come visit a less than reputable establishment off of Industrial Road, but deep down, we all know that’s what happened.
So, because of one of these flashy billboards, you get slammed by a tourist while you’re slowing down for a red light. After the collision, the guy gets out of his car, says he didn’t see you…in your red SUV, traveling directly in front of him for the last 7 miles…whatever, you let that one slide. Next, he assesses the damage, and says he wants to keep this away from his insurance, so he tries to get you to accept his phone number, and a promise that he’ll get your vehicle repaired. Really, he has no plans on fixing your car, he doesn’t “know a guy,” he’s just trying to buy some time so he can get out of town before you realize you’ve been duped. If you’re willing to accept his empty promise, I may be able to get you a deal on a timeshare in Jamaica.
Now, first and foremost, make sure everyone is okay, if anyone is severely injured call 911. If everyone is alright, Las Vegas Metro is not going to come out to visit, and you need to do a few things to protect yourself. First, make sure you do indeed get his insurance information, then take pictures, take pictures of the scene, take pictures of the damage to your vehicle, take pictures of the damage to his vehicle, take more pictures than you think are necessary. Next see if there are any witnesses, get a phone number and ask if it’s okay to give them a call sometime.
While you are doing that, the guy that hit you is already planning on calling his claims adjuster to tell them that you cut him off, displaying a case of road rage that rivals the wrath of a snubbed mother-in-law that didn’t get a card on Christmas. Or, in the alternative, he’ll describe the collision as a minor “tap” to the back of your bumper that was as light as a kiss on your auntie’s cheek. It doesn’t matter that your trunk is pushed half way into your backseat, he’ll stand by that story to try and avoid a $3 a month rate hike to his insurance premiums.
After you’ve taken pictures, and exchanged insurance information bid the gentleman adieu. He only has one weekend in Vegas, and probably missed the golden hour at the buffet where he can get in for lunch prices, and stay long enough for the dinner menu to roll out. Now he has to calculate how much to stiff the waiter in order to save his bankroll for the hour of black jack he planned, which will probably only last for ten minutes.
While he heads towards the strip, you can give one of the friendly and knowledgeable attorneys at Kang & Associates a call. They will help set up the claim with the insurance company, set the record straight, and make sure you get the medical treatment you need and the compensation you deserve.