A group representing Nebraska trial attorneys is pushing back on a tort reform package moving through the state Legislature, warning the measure could shield commercial trucking companies from liability and undermine jury authority.
During a sun-kissed outdoor press conference Wednesday at the State Capitol, the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA) said there are plans to use LB1100, a benign housekeeping bill, as a vehicle to carry more substantive policy changes outlined in two other bills: LB79 and LB205.
LB79, introduced in 2025 by Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse, would limit lawsuits against trucking companies by requiring courts to dismiss certain claims of direct negligence if the company admits the driver was acting within the scope of their job. In essence, the bill would narrow the legal standard of responsibility for trucking companies accused in civil cases.
If provisions in LB79 became law, plaintiffs in Nebraska could no longer pursue claims against companies for negligent hiring, training, or supervision, as well as unsafe company policies.
LB205, introduced by Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln and also carried over from last year, would significantly limit how damages are calculated and awarded in personal injury and wrongful death cases, especially those involving commercial trucking companies.
Under the bill, plaintiffs would be limited in what medical costs they could show in court (ultimately reducing or capping the value of damages), required to make new disclosures, and if a jury decided to award noneconomic damages, that payout would be capped at $1 million per plaintiff. Even if the jury awarded more than $1 million, the judge would be required to reduce it to the cap.
Jennifer Turco Meyer, President of NATA, anticipates both bills will be folded into LB1100, the personal priority bill of Sen. Tony Sorrentino of Elkhorn, creating what she called “the largest package of immunities and corporate handouts that we’ve seen.”
The shell bill is currently pending before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, chaired by Bosn. Hallstrom also sits on the committee.
“Let’s be clear about what this means in real life,” Turco Meyer said. “It means a family devastated by carelessness and never made whole. It means corporations and insurance companies are off the hook, facing less responsibility for the harm they cause. It means that decisions about justice are taken out of the hands of Nebraska juries and placed into a system that favors powerful interests. This is not how our justice system is supposed to work.”
According to a 2023 analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, 16.1% of fatal crashes in Nebraska involve large trucks. Turco Meyer noted Interstate 80 is one of the busiest trucking corridors in the country, traversed by thousands of commercial trucks each day.
Several lawmakers joined the conference, including Sens. Victor Rountree, Terrell McKinney, John Cavanaugh, Dunixi Guereca and Danielle Conrad.
“You don’t need to know all of the legal jargon to know that this is unfair and this is not right,” Conrad said. “The Nebraska legislature should not be leaning into a manufactured crisis that doesn’t exist in Nebraska. We have conservative judges and juries. We don’t have runaway verdicts. What we do have is fairness and justice for Nebraskans who are injured through no fault of their own. We need to maintain that balance.”
The legislative debate was personalized with remarks from three citizens personally affected by the proposal.
- Tressa Nelson lost her 19-year-old daughter, Emma, in 2021 after she was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer in rural Wyoming. The driver had a documented history of dangerous driving, according to Nelson.
- The wife of Roger Grunke, Mary, was struck by a commercial truck attempting a U-turn on Highway 15 in January 2023, causing her head to hit the windshield and shatter the glass, resulting in a severe traumatic brain injury. Mary now lives in an assisted living facility, and the disability forced the couple move their special needs daughter to her own assisted living center.
- At age 34, Zac Harger, a warehouse worker, husband, and father, suffered traumatic injuries when a drunk truck driver attempted an illegal U-turn across four lanes of traffic. The crash left Zac with a severe traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures throughout his body, nerve damage, and internal organ injuries. The company denied liability, according to Harger, and he married his wife in his hospital room during his recovery.
NATA ended the conference encouraging residents to contact their senators and urge them to oppose this package.
“Does the good life mean putting profits over people? Does it mean limiting accountability when families are harmed? Does it mean telling Nebraskans that, if something goes wrong, the system may not fully stand behind them?” Turco Meyer asked. “That’s the message this legislation sends.”