Nebraska · Updated
Injured in Nebraska: deadlines, rules and lawyers
Most of what to do after an injury is the same everywhere. The deadline to file, and a few other rules, are set by each state. Here are Nebraska’s, each with the law it comes from. This is general information, not advice about your case.
We don’t list firms in Nebraska yet. You can still check how to look up a lawyer’s license.
Know this first
Step 1: Four years to file in court
4 years(2 for a death)
In Nebraska, most injury lawsuits must be filed in court within four years1.
When the clock starts, and whether an exception applies, can depend on the facts. A lawyer can tell you your exact date.
The law, as written
Personal injury4 years
In Nebraska, an action “for an injury to the rights of the plaintiff, not arising on contract, and not hereinafter enumerated” can only be brought within four years1.
More detail
Professional negligence, including medical malpractice, has its own Nebraska period: two years after the act or omission, or one year from discovery if it could not reasonably be discovered within two years2. Under the Nebraska Hospital-Medical Liability Act the same two-year rule applies, with a ten-year outside limit3.
If a family member died
Step 2: If someone died
A claim for a death can have its own deadline, and it may start on a different day. Here is the rule as the research found it.
The law, as written
Wrongful death2 years from death
In Nebraska, a wrongful-death action “shall be commenced within two years after the death of such person” and is brought by the personal representative4.
More detail
In Nebraska, the personal representative may not compromise or settle a wrongful-death claim until the appointing court has consented to and approved the terms4.
If a government body was involved
Step 3: Claims against the state or a local government
If a government vehicle, government property or a public employee was part of what happened, a shorter notice or claim step may come first. Ask a lawyer about it early.
The law, as written
Claims against cities, counties and other political subdivisionsWritten claim within 1 year
Under the Nebraska Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act, a claim is “forever barred” unless it is made in writing to the governing body within one year after it accrued, and suit must be begun within two years after the claim accrued5. The time to sue is extended six months from the mailing of the governing body's final disposition, or from withdrawal of the claim, if it would otherwise expire sooner5.
More detail
In Nebraska, the written claim is filed with the clerk, secretary or other official who keeps the political subdivision's records, and must set out the time and place of the occurrence6. The same one-year written claim is required before suing a political subdivision's employee for acts in the scope of employment7.
Claims against the State of NebraskaWritten claim within 2 years
Under the Nebraska State Tort Claims Act, a tort claim is “forever barred” unless it is made in writing to the Risk Manager within two years after it accrued8. Claims are filed with the Risk Manager in the manner the State Claims Board prescribes9.
More detail
In Nebraska, the time to sue under the State Tort Claims Act is extended six months from the mailing of the final disposition, or from withdrawal of the claim, if it would otherwise expire sooner8.
How fault is counted
Step 4: If you were partly at fault
50% bar
In Nebraska, if you are found 50% or more at fault, you generally can’t recover. If you are less at fault, what you get is cut by your share10.
The law, as written
Bar to recovery50% bar
In Nebraska, a claimant's contributory negligence reduces damages proportionately, but the claimant is “totally barred from recovery” if that negligence “is equal to or greater than the total negligence of all persons against whom recovery is sought”10.
More detail
In Nebraska, the jury “shall be instructed on the effects of the allocation of negligence”10.
Next
Step 5: What to do with this
- Write down the datesThe day you were hurt, the day treatment ended, and anything a government body or hospital sent you.
- Ask a lawyer about your factsThese rules have exceptions that depend on details. A lawyer licensed in Nebraska can tell you which ones apply.
- Ask each firmWhich deadline applies to me, does a notice need to go out, and by when?
How to check a lawyer’s license in Nebraska
Each state keeps a public list of lawyers. Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up by name and read what the listing says about their license. If it isn’t clear, call the office that keeps the list.
Case types
Each case type’s page has Nebraska’s deadline and rules for it.
More about deadlines
- What to do after a car accident: learn your deadline
Plain steps after a crash: stay safe, get care, keep a record, talk to insurance companies carefully, and learn your state’s deadline to file.
- After a truck accident: your deadline to file still applies
How a crash with a big commercial truck differs from a car crash: federal safety rules, more than one company involved, larger insurance, and records that are only kept for a while.
- After a motorcycle or bike crash: your deadline to file
What’s different when you were on a motorcycle or a bicycle: keeping your helmet and gear, your rights on the road, helmet rules, fault, road hazards and insurance.
- Hit by a car while walking: your deadline to file
What to do if a car hit you while you were walking: first steps, the evidence that disappears fastest, whose insurance may pay, how fault gets argued, and your deadlines.
- After a slip and fall: your deadline to file
What to do after you fall on someone else’s property: get care, report it, keep a record, and learn the questions that decide a premises case, including falls on public property and at work.
- Wrongful death basics: the deadline often starts at the death
If someone in your family died because of another person’s carelessness: what a wrongful-death claim is, who can bring it, how it differs from a survival claim, getting records, and the deadline.
- Hurt at work: your deadlines
What to do after an injury on the job: get care, tell your employer in writing, and learn how workers’ compensation works and when a separate injury claim against someone else may exist.
- After a dog bite: your deadline to file
What to do after a dog bites you or your child: get care, find out who owns the dog, keep a record, and learn how state rules on dog bites differ.
- After a head or brain injury: deadlines keep running while you recover
What to do after a head injury from a crash, a fall or another accident: get checked, keep a record of how you feel, get help from family, and why legal deadlines keep running while you recover.
- When medical care goes wrong: deadlines are often different, and strict
What to do if you think a doctor, hospital or clinic hurt you: get care, get your records, and learn the extra steps and short deadlines that medical-malpractice claims often have, state by state.
- Deadlines in every state
The usual deadline in all 50 states and DC, side by side. Where we haven’t checked one yet, we say so.
How we list firms
How we list firms
We don’t rank firms. Listing is free and doesn’t depend on buying anything.
Firms are listed for free, in A–Z order. Every fact shows its source and date. We don’t recommend lawyers, and we don’t pass on your details.
Sources
Where the legal facts on this page come from
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-222Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-222
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-2828Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-2828
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-810Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-810
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-919Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-919
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-905Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-905
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-920Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-920
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-8,227Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-8,227
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-8,212Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-8,212
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09Read the source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09
This is general information, not legal advice.