Prairie Banniste Winter 2025

Bringing the Pain and Suffering

NATA PAC by Matt Lathrop

I apologize if this column lacks my usual flair; I am rushing it to press to address an urgent matter.

This legislative session, two significant bills—LB199 and LB205—have been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature. If enacted, these bills will profoundly affect our ability to secure justice for our clients in personal injury cases.

LB199: COMPRESSING TIME, INCREASING PRESSURE

Introduced by freshman Sen. Tony Sorentino, LB199 proposes reducing the statute of limitations for personal injury claims from four years to two years for actions accruing after the bill’s effective date. It also expands the Nonrecourse Civil Litigation Act to include administrative proceedings, requiring mandatory disclosures of litigation funding to opposing parties.

This reduction in the statute of limitations will place immense pressure on plaintiffs and their counsel. The shorter timeline will force earlier filing of lawsuits, leaving little room to build strong cases in complex claims requiring extensive investigation. Compounding this burden are the mandatory expert disclosure deadlines recently imposed by the Nebraska Supreme Court’s discovery rules. Together, these changes create a system that compels plaintiffs’ attorneys to “shoot first, ask questions later,” risking incomplete or premature litigation.

Identifying, suing, and serving the correct parties within the abbreviated timeline will necessitate filing lawsuits before fully understanding the case’s scope. This will likely lead to more defendants being named initially, resulting in skyrocketing litigation costs for insurance companies and corporate defendants. Plaintiffs, too, will bear the brunt, as the reduced timeline forces them into early, preemptive lawsuits—potentially disrupting alternative dispute resolution efforts.

LB205: UNDERMINING FAIR COMPENSATION

Introduced by Legislative Committee Chair Sen. Carolyn Bosn, LB205 imposes caps on noneconomic damages and restricts evidence related to medical expenses.

The bill seeks to alter longstanding case law and statutes governing the admissibility of medical expense evidence. By limiting recoverable medical expenses to the amounts actually paid or standardized rates (e.g., Medicare or Medicaid), LB205 eliminates the “collateral source rule.” This change unfairly benefits negligent defendants, allowing them to exploit insurance payments they neither secured nor funded.

Moreover, the bill neglects to address the financial burden plaintiffs endure from insurance premiums or the insurance industry’s right to first-dollar recovery under ERISA subrogation claims. Our clients are, in effect, victimized multiple times—first by negligence, then by the legal system’s failure to ensure full accountability.

LB205 also caps noneconomic damages in cases involving commercial motor vehicles at $1 million, a move that blatantly devalues Nebraskans’ pain and suffering. Why are the losses to Nebraskans injured or killed by drunk, high, sleep-deprived, unqualified truckers, worth less than if the same damages were caused by any other drunk, high, sleep-deprived driver? This cap disproportionately affects individuals with catastrophic injuries or wrongful death claims, including stay-at-home parents, children, and the elderly, who may have significant noneconomic damages but limited economic losses.

Statutory caps violate the constitutional right to trial by jury, stripping juries of their ability to fully assess and award damages based on case-specific facts. They also infringe on plaintiffs’ due process rights, limiting access to fair remedies for harm caused by negligence.

THE BROADER IMPLICATIONS

Both LB199 and LB205 undermine fundamental principles of justice and accountability. By limiting access to fair compensation, these bills erode equal access to the courts and diminish the rights of injured Nebraskans.

CALL TO ACTION

Time is short, and the stakes are high. I urge each of you to:

• Engage with legislators and share the real-world impacts these proposals will have on your clients.

• Educate the public about the dangers of limiting access to justice.

• Collaborate with advocacy organizations to safeguard the rights of injured individuals.

Finally, I ask for your continued support of the NATA PAC. Your contributions enable us to recruit and support candidates who prioritize full access to the courts and a fair justice system. Together, we can protect the rights of all Nebraskans and ensure that justice prevails.