Bill > LB132

This bill changes Nebraska state law regarding the admissibility of evidence about whether a person was wearing an occupant protection system (such as a seatbelt) during an incident involving personal injury. Currently, such evidence was largely restricted from being used in civil proceedings, with limited allowance for damage mitigation. The proposed bill would modify this restriction, explicitly allowing evidence of not wearing a safety belt to be used in civil proceedings for two specific purposes: (1) determining liability or proximate cause, and (2) assessing mitigation of damages. This means that in a civil lawsuit, such as a personal injury case, the fact that a person was not wearing a seatbelt could now be presented as evidence to help establish fault or reduce the amount of damages awarded. The bill eliminates previous language that limited damage reduction to a maximum of five percent and removes prior restrictions on using this type of evidence, potentially giving more legal latitude to defendants in civil cases involving vehicle-related injuries.

Justice

https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=59070