A personal injury lawsuit might be your best option if you are looking for compensation. You probably have some pretty serious auto repair bills or medical bills (depending on the nature of your injury), and an insurance claim might just not be enough. To help you figure out whether a personal injury lawsuit is right for you and to help you plan your lawsuit, here are some very specific laws that you will need to handle when filing in Nebraska:
The Statute of Limitations
Your first concern will almost always be the statute of limitations. Even if you have a very strong case on your hands, you might lose before you even file if you fail to abide by the statute of limitations. In Nebraska, you have four years to file, from the date of the injury. This can be extended in certain circumstances, but that really only applies to minors and individuals that did not discover the extent of their injuries until long after the initial accident or injury.
Modified Comparative Fault
When it comes to figuring out how much money you will win, you will need to think about the legal concept of modified comparative fault. The short version is that your compensation will be reduced if you are found to be partially responsible for your injuries.
The long version is that your compensation will be reduced proportionately to how much responsibility the defense can prove. If they have some piece of evidence that indicates that you were 30% responsible for your injuries, then you might lose out on 30% of your compensation. While you might have initially asked for $100,000, you would instead get only $70,000.
You should be aware of a serious problem that arises if you are found to have more than half the responsibility. If that does happen, then you will likely lose out on all compensation completely.
Dog Bites
States are often pretty divided when it comes to dog bite cases, with some states saying that the owner can't be responsible for the dog's first act of aggression, while other states hold that owners can be held responsible for any aggressive behavior by their dog.
Nebraska falls into the second category, which means that you can sue for any dog bite, regardless of whether the owner knew that their dog might be dangerous. Of course, this doesn't apply in cases of trespassing, since you cannot sue if you were bitten by a dog while trespassing.
If you get into a car accident, visit an attorney in your area like Gelman Gelman Wiskow & McCarthy LLC.
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