Nevada Doubles the Injury Case Threshold for Mandatory Arbitration to $100,000

Assembly Bill 3 raised the ceiling on Nevada's court annexed arbitration program for the first time in twenty years. Here is what a bigger threshold means for how long a Las Vegas injury claim takes to resolve.

What Court Annexed Arbitration Is and Why Nevada Uses It

Nevada's court annexed arbitration program routes smaller civil cases, including a large share of car crash and slip and fall claims, to a private arbitrator instead of a jury trial as a first step. The idea is to resolve lower value disputes faster and with less strain on crowded district court dockets.

Either side can still request a trial after arbitration if they are unhappy with the result, but doing so carries its own risks and costs, which is part of why the program has shaped so much personal injury litigation in Clark County for the past two decades.

What Doubling the Threshold Changes for a Typical Claim

Before this year, only cases valued at $50,000 or less were funneled into the arbitration and short trial track. Assembly Bill 3 doubled that ceiling to $100,000, meaning a much larger share of everyday injury claims, think a moderate car crash with real medical bills but no catastrophic injury, now start in arbitration rather than heading straight toward a jury trial setting.

That shift can move a case toward resolution faster, but it also means claimants and their attorneys need to value a case accurately from the outset, since landing just above or below the new threshold changes the entire procedural path a claim will follow.

The New Carve Outs That Skip Arbitration Entirely

Lawmakers also expanded the list of case types that are automatically exempt from the mandatory arbitration program regardless of dollar value. Sexual assault and battery claims, product liability actions, and insurance bad faith claims seeking punitive damages now bypass the program entirely and proceed on the standard civil litigation track.

That carve out reflects a recognition that some categories of harm do not fit neatly into a streamlined, lower dollar dispute resolution process built for routine claims.

What This Means for How Long Your Case Takes

For an injured Las Vegas resident with a claim now falling under the new $100,000 threshold, arbitration is likely to be the first stop rather than a courtroom. The increased attorney fee award available to a prevailing party, up to $15,000 instead of $3,000, also changes the incentive structure for how seriously a case gets prepared even at the arbitration stage.

None of this changes the underlying right to eventually seek a trial if arbitration does not produce a fair result. It does mean an experienced litigation team needs to build a case for arbitration with the same rigor it would bring to a jury, since a well prepared arbitration presentation often resolves a claim without months of additional court proceedings.

5 Things to Know About Nevada's Bigger Arbitration Threshold

The higher threshold reshapes the early path of a huge share of Las Vegas injury claims. Here is what matters most.

1. It applies to cases filed in 2026 and after: Claims filed before January 1, 2026 generally follow the prior $50,000 threshold.
2. It only applies in the state's two largest counties: Clark and Washoe Counties, home to Las Vegas and Reno, are covered by the updated program.
3. Arbitration is not the final word: Either side can still request a trial after an arbitration decision, subject to its own cost and fee rules.
4. Certain serious claims skip the program entirely: Sexual assault, product liability, and bad faith punitive damage claims are automatically exempt.
5. Case valuation matters more than ever: Whether a claim lands above or below $100,000 now determines its entire early procedural path.

Frequently asked questions

Does arbitration mean I cannot go to trial?

No. You can still request a trial after arbitration if you are not satisfied with the outcome, though doing so comes with its own costs and risks under the program's rules.

Why did Nevada raise the threshold to $100,000?

The change was the first update to the program's dollar threshold since 2005 and was designed to route more routine injury claims into a faster resolution process while easing pressure on district court trial calendars.

Does this change apply to a case filed before 2026?

Generally the new threshold applies to civil cases filed on or after January 1, 2026, so the procedural path for an older, already filed case may differ.

Is my case automatically exempt if I am suing over a defective product?

Product liability actions are now on the list of case types automatically exempt from the mandatory arbitration program regardless of dollar value.