Drunk Driving Accident Victim in Omaha: Your Rights and Next Steps

Call 911 immediately. If you suspect the other driver is impaired — slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, the smell of alcohol, erratic behavior, or open containers in the vehicle — tell the 911 dispatcher specifically. Omaha police will conduct a DUI investigation at the scene, including standardized field sobriety tests and a chemical test under Nebraska's implied consent law (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,197).

Stay in your vehicle if you are on the highway or interstate. If you are on a surface street and can safely move, get to a protected location away from traffic. Do not approach or confront an impaired driver — they may be unpredictable or aggressive. Let law enforcement handle the investigation.

When officers arrive, provide a thorough account of the crash and your observations of the other driver's behavior. DUI crashes in Omaha peak during late-night hours on weekends, particularly near the Old Market entertainment district, along Dodge Street, and on I-80. The officer's DUI investigation, field sobriety test results, and BAC reading will all be documented in the crash report and arrest report — both critical evidence for your civil claim.

Photograph everything you can safely capture — vehicle damage, road conditions, the overall scene layout, traffic signals, and any visible evidence of impairment. Open containers, beer cans, liquor bottles, or drug paraphernalia in or around the other driver's vehicle are powerful evidence. Photograph them from a safe distance without touching anything.

Get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses. Ask if they saw the other driver's behavior before the crash — swerving across lanes, running red lights, driving the wrong way, or showing signs of intoxication. Witness testimony about the driver's condition strengthens your civil claim significantly, especially when it comes to proving the full extent of negligence for maximum compensatory damages.

If you have a dashcam, preserve the footage immediately. Video showing the drunk driver weaving, failing to stop, or driving erratically before impact is compelling evidence in both the criminal case and your civil lawsuit. Back it up to a separate device or cloud storage before it gets overwritten.

DUI crashes produce some of the most severe injuries because impaired drivers typically fail to brake or take any evasive action before impact. The collision happens at full speed. Victims frequently suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, multiple fractures, internal organ damage, and severe soft tissue injuries.

Accept ambulance transport to the hospital. Nebraska Medicine is Omaha's Level I trauma center and handles the most critical injuries — multi-system trauma, severe TBI, spinal cord damage, and complex surgical cases. CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center - Bergan Mercy is also a Level I trauma center. For pediatric injuries, Children's Nebraska is a Level I pediatric trauma center. Tell the medical team you were hit by a suspected drunk driver and describe every symptom, even ones that seem minor.

Follow through on every treatment recommendation without gaps. Your medical records are the foundation of your damages claim. Since Nebraska does not allow punitive damages, maximizing your compensatory recovery depends on thoroughly documenting every injury, every symptom, every treatment, and every way the crash has affected your daily life. Keep records of every appointment, prescription, therapy session, and out-of-pocket expense.

The criminal DUI case (State of Nebraska v. the drunk driver) and your civil injury case (you v. the drunk driver) are entirely separate proceedings. The criminal case is prosecuted by the Douglas County Attorney. Your civil case is a personal lawsuit you file for damages. They have different timelines, different rules of evidence, and different standards of proof.

A DUI conviction is powerful evidence in your civil case — it essentially confirms negligence. But even if the drunk driver is not convicted (charges reduced, plea to a lesser offense, or acquittal), you can still win your civil claim. The civil standard is preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not), far lower than the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. BAC test results, police observations, crash reconstruction, and witness statements can all establish impairment in your civil case regardless of the criminal outcome.

Contact the Douglas County Attorney's Victim-Witness Unit to stay informed about the criminal case proceedings. Evidence from the criminal case — BAC results, officer testimony, dash or body camera footage, the arrest record — is admissible in your civil case and strengthens your position substantially.

Nebraska is one of a handful of states that does not allow punitive damages in personal injury cases. This means you cannot recover a separate award designed to punish the drunk driver for reckless behavior. This is a meaningful difference from many neighboring states. However, it does not mean your case is worth less than you think.

Compensatory damages in Nebraska cover every financial and personal loss caused by the crash: past and future medical expenses, lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, and loss of consortium for your spouse. In serious DUI crashes — which often involve high-speed impacts and catastrophic injuries — these compensatory categories alone can result in six- and seven-figure recoveries.

Because there is no punitive damage component, your attorney will focus on building the strongest possible case for the full scope of compensatory damages. This means detailed medical documentation, expert testimony on future care needs, vocational experts for lost earning capacity, and compelling evidence of how the injuries have changed your daily life. Every dollar of your recovery will come from these compensatory categories, so thoroughness matters.

Nebraska's dram shop law (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 53-404) is more limited than many other states. In Nebraska, a bar, restaurant, or liquor licensee can only be held liable for injuries caused by an intoxicated person if the person they served was under 21 years old. If the drunk driver who hit you was 21 or older, you generally cannot hold the bar or restaurant responsible for over-serving them.

If the drunk driver was under 21, a dram shop claim is viable and adds a defendant with commercial liability insurance, which can significantly increase your total recovery. You must file a dram shop claim within 180 days of the incident. Evidence includes surveillance footage, credit card or tab receipts, server testimony, and witness statements about the minor's visible intoxication.

This limited dram shop liability makes it even more important to pursue every available source of recovery from the drunk driver directly, including their auto insurance policy and personal assets, as well as your own UM/UIM coverage.

Nebraska requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage (25/50/25). These minimums are often inadequate for serious DUI crash injuries — a single surgery or ICU stay can exceed $25,000 quickly.

Nebraska also requires insurers to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage with minimum limits of $25,000/$50,000 (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-6408). If the drunk driver's policy limits are insufficient, your own UIM coverage fills the gap up to your policy limits. If the drunk driver had no insurance at all, your UM coverage applies. Review your own auto policy for these coverages — they are often the most important source of recovery in DUI cases.

Because Nebraska does not allow punitive damages and dram shop claims are limited to cases involving minors, your own UM/UIM coverage becomes an especially critical safety net. If you carry higher UM/UIM limits, those limits directly protect you in exactly this kind of situation.

Hit by a drunk driver in Omaha? Take our free Injury Claim Check at /check. Answer four quick questions about your accident, injuries, and the circumstances, and you will receive a personalized report covering your filing deadline, Nebraska legal rules, your compensation options, and next steps — plus the option to connect with an Omaha attorney who handles DUI victim cases.

Being hit by a drunk driver is one of the most frustrating injuries because it was entirely preventable. Someone chose to drive impaired, and you are dealing with the consequences — pain, medical bills, missed work, and stress. While Nebraska does not allow punitive damages, compensatory damages for serious DUI crash injuries can still be substantial. Do not let the drunk driver's insurance company minimize what happened to you. Start with the free claim check. It takes 60 seconds and costs nothing.