Hit by a Car While Walking in Omaha?

If you’ve been hit by a car, your first job is to get out of the traffic lane if you can move safely. Omaha’s high-volume roads — Dodge Street, 72nd Street, the I-80/I-680 interchange area, and the 132nd/L Street junction — are dangerous for anyone on foot, especially after a crash when other drivers may not see you.

Call 911 immediately. If the driver who hit you is still at the scene, do not let them leave without police documenting the incident. If the driver fled, give the dispatcher every detail you can: vehicle make, model, color, direction of travel, any part of the plate number. Omaha Police have a dedicated hit-and-run reporting process through police.cityofomaha.org.

Even if your injuries seem minor, get police on the scene. A crash report is your most important piece of evidence. Without it, proving what happened becomes exponentially harder.

Pedestrian injuries are almost never minor. When a 4,000-pound vehicle hits an unprotected human body, the result is broken bones, head trauma, spinal injuries, internal bleeding, and severe soft tissue damage. You may feel functional at the scene because of adrenaline, but that doesn’t mean you’re okay.

Get to an emergency room. Nebraska Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is the only ACS-verified Level I Trauma Center in the state that treats both adult and pediatric patients — it’s built for the worst injuries. CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center — Bergan Mercy (7500 Mercy Road) is another Level I trauma center. For children struck by vehicles, Children’s Nebraska is the region’s pediatric specialty center.

A same-day medical visit does two things: it gets you treated, and it creates a documented link between the crash and your injuries. If you wait days or weeks to see a doctor, the insurance company will argue your injuries came from something else or aren’t as serious as you claim.

If you’re physically able, pull out your phone before you leave the scene. Photograph the vehicle that hit you — front end, license plate, any damage to the hood or bumper. Pedestrian impacts leave distinctive marks on vehicles: dents in the hood, cracked windshields, broken headlights. Those marks are evidence.

Photograph the intersection or road where you were hit. Capture crosswalk markings (or the lack of them), traffic signals, sight lines, lighting conditions, and any road hazards. Take wide shots that show the full scene and close-ups of specific details.

If witnesses saw what happened, get their names and phone numbers before they leave. Witness testimony is often the deciding factor in pedestrian cases, especially when the driver claims they didn’t see you. Also look for security cameras on nearby buildings and businesses — footage can be requested through your attorney or the police investigation.

Write down exactly where you were when you were hit. Were you in a crosswalk? At an intersection? Midblock? Which direction were you walking? Where was the car coming from? These details matter for determining right-of-way under Nebraska law.

Nebraska law gives pedestrians the right-of-way in crosswalks. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,153, drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing within a crosswalk. When traffic signals are not in place or not operating, drivers must yield to a pedestrian in the driver’s lane or the immediately adjacent lane by coming to a complete stop. No vehicle may overtake and pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross.

Pedestrians crossing outside a marked crosswalk or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield to all vehicles (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,154). Between adjacent signalized intersections, pedestrians are required to cross only in a marked crosswalk. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb and walk or run into the path of a vehicle so close it cannot stop.

But here’s the critical point: regardless of right-of-way, Nebraska law requires every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,109). A driver who was speeding, texting, running a red light, or impaired cannot escape liability simply because the pedestrian was outside a crosswalk.

Nebraska’s modified comparative negligence rule (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09) applies to pedestrian accidents. If you’re found partially at fault, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you’re 50% or more at fault, you get nothing.

Insurance companies will try to blame pedestrians. They’ll argue you were distracted by your phone, wearing dark clothing at night, crossing outside a crosswalk, or stepping into the road too suddenly. Some of these arguments carry weight; many don’t. The driver always has a statutory duty to exercise due care to avoid hitting pedestrians — and violating that duty is strong evidence of negligence.

Nebraska’s 50% bar is stricter than many states. In a state with a 51% bar, a 50/50 fault split still allows some recovery. In Nebraska, 50/50 means zero. This makes documenting the scene, preserving evidence, and getting witness statements particularly important in Omaha pedestrian cases.

Pedestrian accident injuries tend to be severe and the damages reflect that. Nebraska allows you to recover the full range of personal injury damages with no cap on non-economic damages (the $2.25M cap applies only to medical malpractice).

Medical expenses include everything from the ambulance and ER visit through surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, and any future treatment. Pedestrian injuries — traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, pelvic fractures, internal organ injuries — often require months or years of ongoing care.

Lost wages cover time missed from work during recovery and any permanent reduction in your earning capacity. If a TBI or spinal injury prevents you from returning to the same type of work, the difference in lifetime earnings is compensable.

Pain and suffering accounts for the physical pain, emotional distress, anxiety, PTSD, and the lasting psychological impact of being hit by a car. Many pedestrian crash survivors develop a persistent fear of crossing streets that affects their daily life for years. You can also recover for property damage — your phone, laptop, glasses, clothing, or any mobility device you were using.

You have four years from the date of the pedestrian accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207). If the crash was fatal, the wrongful death statute of limitations is two years from the date of death (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-810).

If you were hit by a city vehicle, a metro bus, or on a road with a dangerous design defect maintained by a government entity, you may need to file a notice of claim under the Nebraska Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-919). Government entity claims have shorter deadlines and specific procedural requirements.

Don’t let the four-year window lull you into waiting. Evidence degrades. Witnesses forget. Surveillance footage gets overwritten — often within 30 to 90 days. The sooner you start, the stronger your case.

Pedestrian accident cases often involve severe injuries, contested fault, and complicated insurance situations — especially when the driver fled or was uninsured. An attorney can investigate the crash, obtain surveillance footage and traffic camera data, hire accident reconstruction experts if needed, and negotiate with the insurance company.

If the driver fled, your attorney will pursue compensation through your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage and push for a thorough police investigation. Nebraska requires UM coverage on all auto policies, and your UM coverage applies even when you’re a pedestrian — not driving. If the crash was caused by a dangerous road design — no crosswalk, poor lighting, a missing sidewalk — there may be a claim against the municipality responsible for the road.

Most pedestrian accident attorneys in Omaha work on contingency. No upfront cost, and they only get paid if you recover. A free consultation tells you whether you have a case and what it might be worth.