Temperatures and courtroom tensions are rising every year in Southern Nevada as hundreds die in the desert heat and some families seek justice in the form of monetary settlements. According to over a half-dozen lawsuits that the Las Vegas Review-Journal has identified, the extreme heat of the Mojave Desert has killed people in a broken-down tour bus, in the parking lot of a hospital and in homes without adequate air conditioning. In decades past, their deaths could have been written off as health-related accidents. But an increasing number of lawsuits in Clark County have been accusing businesses and organizations of negligence when someone dies from the extreme heat. … The Review-Journal has identified at least 10 lawsuits in recent years in which attorneys have claimed that businesses or organizations have acted negligently when someone died of extreme heat.

Related:

• Las Vegas Review-Journal: Thousands live in Clark County without AC. For some, it’s a death sentence
• Las Vegas Review-Journal: These Las Vegas neighborhoods bear the brunt of extreme heat waves. Here’s why