In Nevada, the elements of a wrongful death claim are set forth by statute as follows:

                           Wrongful Death - NRS 41.085
1. Plaintiff is an heir or personal representative of decedent;
2. Defendant caused decedent's death by wrongful act or neglect;
3. Therefore, under NRS 41.085, plaintiff may maintain an action for damages against defendant, or, if defendant is dead, against his or her personal representative.

In a wrongful death lawsuit, it is alleged that the deceased was killed as a result of the conduct of the defendant and that the surviving heirs are entitled to monetary damages. Under "common law," the general legal principles brought over from England to the United States, wrongful death claims did not exist. Claims died with victims, and surviving family members
could not claim damages from the person who caused the death. To correct this, individual states passed "wrongful death statutes."

Damages

In a wrongful death action, the following types of damages may be available:

1. Loss of probable future companionship, society and comfort.
2. Loss of services of monetary value, including present as well as future loss of support.
3. Any special damages, such as medical expenses, which decedent incurred or sustained before death.
4. Funeral expenses.
5. Exemplary or punitive damages that the decedent would have recovered if he had lived.
6. Pain and suffering, if consciously experienced by the decedent.