Bitten by a Dog in Omaha?

Your first priority is putting distance between yourself and the animal. If the dog is still loose or aggressive, move to a car, a building, or behind a fence. Don’t run — back away slowly and avoid direct eye contact if the dog hasn’t been secured yet.

If someone else is being attacked, don’t try to physically separate a biting dog with your hands. Use a barrier — a jacket, a bag, a trash can lid, anything between the dog and the victim. Call 911 if the attack is serious or ongoing. Omaha Police and the Nebraska Humane Society both respond to dangerous dog situations in the Omaha metro.

Once you’re safe, take a breath. Dog bites are traumatic — even a “minor” one — and your adrenaline is running. What you do in the next few hours matters for both your health and any future claim.

Dog bites are puncture wounds. They drive bacteria deep into tissue and have a high infection rate — much higher than cuts or scrapes. Even a bite that looks small on the surface can cause serious damage underneath: torn muscle, damaged tendons, nerve injury, and crushed tissue.

Go to an emergency room or urgent care within hours of the bite. Omaha has two Level I Trauma Centers: Nebraska Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (42nd & Emile Street) and CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center — Bergan Mercy (7500 Mercy Road). For non-emergency bites, CHI Health Immanuel (6901 N. 72nd Street), Methodist Hospital (8303 Dodge Street), and urgent care clinics throughout the metro can evaluate and treat bite wounds. For children, Children’s Nebraska is the region’s pediatric specialty center.

The doctor will clean the wound, assess for deep tissue damage, and decide whether you need stitches, antibiotics, or a tetanus booster. They’ll also evaluate rabies risk — if the dog’s vaccination status is unknown, the Douglas County Health Department may require post-exposure rabies prophylaxis, which is a series of shots given over two weeks.

Get the medical visit documented. The records linking your injuries to the bite on a specific date are the backbone of any claim you file.

In Omaha, the Nebraska Humane Society (NHS) serves as the contracted animal control authority for the city and Sarpy County. Contact NHS animal control dispatch at (402) 444-7800, ext. 1. Their facility is located at 8929 Fort Street, Omaha, NE 68134. For rabies-specific questions, contact the NHS Rabies Administrator at (402) 905-3413 during weekday business hours (8 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

Give them the address where the bite happened, the dog owner’s name and contact info if you have it, a description of the dog, and what happened. They’ll place the animal under a mandatory 10-day quarantine for rabies observation. If the dog has current vaccinations and the bite isn’t severe enough to trigger a dangerous dog designation, home quarantine may be allowed. Otherwise, the dog will be quarantined at the NHS facility or a licensed veterinarian’s office.

This report does two things for you: it triggers a rabies observation period for the dog, and it creates an official government record of the bite. That record matters if the dog has a history of aggression or bites someone in the future — and it strengthens your claim by establishing the incident through an independent source.

Pull out your phone and photograph your injuries before they’re cleaned or bandaged. Take photos from multiple angles, including close-ups that show the depth and extent of the wounds. Photograph torn or bloody clothing. If you can safely do so, photograph the dog and the location where the attack happened.

Write down what happened while it’s fresh. Where were you? What were you doing? Was the dog on a leash? Was it on the owner’s property or running loose? Did the owner say anything after the bite? Were there witnesses? Get their names and phone numbers.

Keep photographing your injuries as they heal — or as they get worse. Infections, scarring, and surgical outcomes all unfold over days and weeks. A photo timeline of your wound from day one through recovery is powerful evidence of the harm you suffered.

Save every medical bill, prescription receipt, and record of time missed from work. If you need help at home because you can’t use a hand or arm, document those costs too.

This is where Nebraska law works in your favor. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 54-601, a dog owner is liable for any and all damages that result from their dog biting any person, other than a trespasser. Strict liability means you don’t have to prove the owner was negligent. You don’t have to prove the dog had a history of aggression. You don’t have to prove the owner should have known the dog was dangerous.

The dog bit you. The owner is liable. That’s it.

Some states use a “one bite rule” — the dog essentially gets a free first bite before the owner can be held responsible. Nebraska specifically rejected that approach for bite injuries. Here, the owner is on the hook from bite number one.

There is one important nuance: Nebraska’s strict liability statute applies specifically to bites. If a dog causes injury through “playfulness or mischievousness” — for example, a large dog jumping on you and knocking you down — the strict liability statute does not apply. In those cases, you’d need to prove the owner knew or should have known about the dog’s dangerous tendencies (the common-law “one bite” standard). But for actual bite injuries, strict liability controls.

What this means in practice: your case doesn’t hinge on proving the owner was careless. The legal question is simply whether the dog bit you and caused your injuries. If it did, the owner pays. The main disputes are about the extent of your damages and whether any defenses apply.

Dog bite injuries often go well beyond the initial wound. Nebraska law allows you to recover compensation for the full range of damages caused by the bite.

Medical expenses are usually the largest component — emergency room visits, wound care, antibiotics, surgery, reconstructive procedures, physical therapy, and any future treatment related to the bite. If the bite gets infected (which is common), the costs climb fast. The national average dog bite insurance claim reached $69,272 in 2024 according to the Insurance Information Institute — a figure that’s risen 86% over the past decade.

Lost wages cover time missed from work while recovering, and any reduction in your ability to earn income going forward. If a hand or arm injury affects your ability to do your job, that lost earning capacity has real value.

Pain and suffering accounts for the physical pain of the bite and recovery, plus the emotional and psychological impact — anxiety, fear of dogs, nightmares, PTSD. These are especially pronounced in children.

Scarring and disfigurement matter a lot in dog bite cases. Bites frequently leave permanent scars, especially on the face, hands, and arms. Courts take facial scarring in children particularly seriously because scars stretch as a child grows.

Nebraska does not cap non-economic damages in standard personal injury cases (the $2.25 million cap applies only to medical malpractice). There is no statutory limit on what you can recover for a dog bite claim.

Strict liability doesn’t mean automatic full recovery. The dog owner (or their insurance company) can still raise defenses to reduce or eliminate what they owe you.

Trespassing is the strongest defense under the statute. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 54-601 explicitly excludes trespassers from strict liability protection. If you were unlawfully on the owner’s property when the bite occurred, the strict liability statute does not apply — though you may still have a claim under common-law negligence.

Provocation is the other major defense. If the owner can show you were teasing, hitting, or otherwise intentionally provoking the dog before the bite, your claim may be barred. This comes up often with children — a child pulling a dog’s tail or ears may be considered provocation, though courts weigh the child’s age and understanding.

Nebraska’s comparative negligence rule (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09) also applies. If you’re found partially at fault — say you ignored warning signs or approached a chained dog that was clearly agitated — your damages get reduced by your percentage of fault. And here’s the critical part: Nebraska uses a 50% bar, which is stricter than many states. If you’re found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing. The tie goes to the defense.

Most dog bite claims are paid through the owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy. Insurance companies will try to settle quickly and cheaply. They know strict liability puts them in a weak position, so they’ll push for a fast resolution before you understand the full extent of your injuries.

Don’t accept an early offer before you know your total medical costs and whether scarring will be permanent. Dog bite injuries evolve over weeks and months — infections develop, scars mature, and the full cost of treatment becomes clear only with time.

A personal injury attorney can evaluate the strength of your claim, negotiate with the insurance company, and make sure you’re not settling for less than the claim is worth. Most dog bite attorneys in Nebraska work on contingency — no upfront cost, and they only get paid if you recover. A free consultation gives you a clear picture of what your claim may be worth.

Note that Omaha has some of the strictest local dog ordinances in the country, including breed-specific regulations that require certain breeds to be leashed, muzzled, and insured with $100,000 in liability coverage. If the owner violated these local requirements, it strengthens your case and may support additional claims.