Motorcycle Accident Complaint

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — NEBRASKA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. General Factual Allegations
4. Count I — Negligence (Against Defendant Driver)
5. Count II — Negligence Per Se (Against Defendant Driver)
6. Count III — Negligent Entrustment / Vicarious Liability (Against Defendant Owner)
7. Damages
8. Prayer for Relief
9. Jury Demand
10. Reservation of Rights and Preservation of Evidence
11. Signature and Service Blocks
12. Verification
13. Certificate of Service
14. Nebraska Practice Notes
15. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY, NEBRASKA

CASE NO. CI [____]-[________]

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (MOTORCYCLE COLLISION)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

COMES NOW Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, and for Plaintiff's causes of action against Defendants, alleges and states as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an individual who at all material times resided in [COUNTY] County, [Nebraska / State], and who was lawfully operating a motorcycle on the public roadways of this State.

2. Defendant [DRIVER NAME] ("Driver Defendant") is, upon information and belief, an individual residing in [COUNTY / STATE] and may be served with process at [SERVICE ADDRESS] pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-505.01 and the Nebraska rules governing service of process.

3. Defendant [OWNER / EMPLOYER NAME] ("Owner Defendant") is [an individual / a corporation / a limited liability company] that, at all material times, owned, controlled, maintained, and/or furnished the vehicle operated by Driver Defendant and/or employed Driver Defendant. Owner Defendant may be served at [SERVICE ADDRESS / REGISTERED AGENT].

4. This action arises under Nebraska tort law for personal injuries and property damage sustained in a motor-vehicle collision occurring in [COUNTY] County, Nebraska, on [__/__/____].

5. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to Neb. Const. art. V, § 9 and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-302, as the District Court has general original jurisdiction over civil matters and the amount in controversy exceeds any applicable jurisdictional minimum.

6. Venue is proper in [COUNTY] County under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-403.01 because the Collision occurred in said county and/or one or more Defendants resides therein.

3. GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

7. On [__/__/____] at approximately [TIME], Plaintiff was lawfully operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] motorcycle traveling [northbound / southbound / etc.] on [ROADWAY] at or near its intersection with [CROSS STREET / LANDMARK / MILE MARKER], in [CITY], Nebraska (the "Collision").

8. At the same time and place, Driver Defendant was operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] [passenger vehicle / pickup truck / SUV / commercial vehicle] owned by Owner Defendant.

9. Traffic, lighting, and weather conditions were [describe — e.g., clear, dry, daylight], and Plaintiff's motorcycle headlamp was illuminated and operating.

10. The Collision occurred when Driver Defendant [SELECT / DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF COLLISION — e.g., turned left across Plaintiff's path of travel; failed to yield the right-of-way at the intersection; changed lanes into the lane occupied by Plaintiff's motorcycle; followed Plaintiff's motorcycle too closely and struck it from the rear; pulled out from a private drive or side street into Plaintiff's path].

11. Although Plaintiff's motorcycle was plainly visible, Driver Defendant "looked but failed to see" Plaintiff's approaching motorcycle, misjudged its speed and distance, and/or failed to keep a proper lookout for motorcycles lawfully sharing the roadway.

12. Plaintiff had the right-of-way and was operating the motorcycle in a lawful, prudent, and careful manner at all material times.

13. As a direct and proximate result of the Collision, Plaintiff was thrown from the motorcycle and sustained severe, painful, and permanent bodily injuries, including but not limited to [LIST INJURIES — e.g., orthopedic fractures, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, internal injuries, road rash / degloving, and disfiguring scarring].

14. Because a motorcyclist lacks the structural protection, restraint systems, and crumple zones of an enclosed vehicle, the forces of the Collision caused Plaintiff to suffer injuries materially more severe than those typically sustained by occupants of passenger vehicles.

15. Plaintiff received emergency care at [HOSPITAL / EMS PROVIDER] and has since undergone [SURGERIES / HOSPITALIZATION / REHABILITATION / ONGOING TREATMENT], and will require future medical care.

16. All injuries and damages alleged were the foreseeable, natural, and probable consequence of Defendants' conduct.

4. COUNT I — NEGLIGENCE (Against Defendant Driver)

17. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 16 as if fully set forth herein.

18. Driver Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of a motor vehicle, to obey the Nebraska rules of the road, to keep a proper lookout for motorcyclists lawfully sharing the roadway, and to refrain from conduct endangering others.

19. Driver Defendant breached that duty by, among other things:

• Failing to keep a proper and careful lookout for Plaintiff's plainly visible motorcycle;
• Failing to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff's oncoming or approaching motorcycle;
• Turning left across the path of Plaintiff's oncoming motorcycle when it was unsafe to do so;
• Making an unsafe lane change into the lane occupied by Plaintiff's motorcycle without ascertaining it could be made safely;
• Following Plaintiff's motorcycle more closely than was reasonable and prudent;
• Misjudging the speed and distance of Plaintiff's approaching motorcycle;
• Operating the vehicle at an excessive or unsafe speed for conditions;
• Driving while distracted or inattentive; and
• Failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle.

20. Each of the foregoing acts and omissions, separately and in combination, was a direct and proximate cause of the Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

21. As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff has sustained the damages described in Section 7 below.

5. COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE PER SE (Against Defendant Driver)

22. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 21 as if fully set forth herein.

23. The Nebraska rules of the road impose specific statutory duties on Driver Defendant for the protection of persons lawfully using the roadway, including motorcyclists such as Plaintiff. These include, as applicable to the manner of the Collision:

• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,147 — a driver intending to turn left within an intersection, or into an alley, private road, or driveway, shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or approaching so close as to constitute an immediate hazard;
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,143 — duties governing right-of-way for vehicles approaching or entering an intersection;
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,148 — a driver entering or crossing a highway from an alley, building, private road, or driveway shall yield to approaching traffic;
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,140 — the duty not to follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent; and
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,185 — the duty to operate at a reasonable and prudent speed for conditions.

24. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the foregoing statutes were enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm those statutes were designed to prevent.

25. Driver Defendant violated [CITE THE SPECIFIC SECTION(S) APPLICABLE], and was cited for [TRAFFIC CITATION, IF ANY]. Such violation constitutes negligence per se under Nebraska law, and was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

6. COUNT III — NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT / VICARIOUS LIABILITY (Against Defendant Owner)

26. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 25 as if fully set forth herein.

27. Owner Defendant entrusted the subject vehicle to Driver Defendant when Owner Defendant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that Driver Defendant was an incompetent, inexperienced, reckless, or otherwise unfit driver.

28. Alternatively, at the time of the Collision, Driver Defendant was operating the vehicle as the agent, servant, or employee of Owner Defendant and within the course and scope of that agency or employment, rendering Owner Defendant vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

29. Owner Defendant's negligent entrustment and/or vicarious liability was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

7. DAMAGES

30. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and seeks recovery of the following:

• Past and future medical expenses — emergency, ambulance, hospital, surgical, diagnostic, rehabilitative, pharmaceutical, and physician care;
• Future medical and life care — anticipated surgeries, therapy, assistive devices, and long-term care, to be proven at trial;
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity — past lost income and the permanent impairment of Plaintiff's ability to earn;
• Physical pain, suffering, and mental anguish — past and future;
• Permanent physical impairment and disfigurement, including scarring from road rash and surgical intervention;
• Loss of enjoyment of life; and
• Property damage to the motorcycle, riding gear, helmet, and personal effects, including loss of use and diminution in value.

31. Plaintiff pleads each category of damage separately and in the alternative.

8. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully demands judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, as follows:

• A. Compensatory damages in a fair and reasonable amount to be determined by the trier of fact;
• B. Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as allowed by law;
• C. Costs of this action; and
• D. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

9. JURY DEMAND

Pursuant to Neb. Const. art. I, § 6 and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1104, Plaintiff demands trial by jury on all issues so triable as a matter of right.

10. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS AND PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE

Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this Complaint to add or substitute parties, to assert additional claims, and to conform the pleadings to the evidence as discovery proceeds.

Plaintiff places Defendants on notice to preserve all evidence relating to the Collision, including but not limited to the vehicles, event-data-recorder ("black box") and telematics data, photographs, video, electronic and cell-phone records, maintenance logs, and insurance communications. Failure to preserve such evidence may result in sanctions, adverse-inference instructions, or other remedies.

11. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

Respectfully submitted this [____] day of [MONTH], 20[____].

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: /s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME], Neb. Bar No. [________]

Attorney for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

12. VERIFICATION

STATE OF NEBRASKA

COUNTY OF [COUNTY]

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], being first duly sworn, state that I am the Plaintiff in the foregoing action; that I have read the foregoing Complaint; and that the facts stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

[________________________________]

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff

Subscribed and sworn to before me this [____] day of [_______________], 20[____].

[________________________________]

Notary Public

My Commission Expires: [_______________]

13. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this the [____] day of [_______________], 20[____], a true and correct copy of the foregoing COMPLAINT was served upon the following by [summons and service of process under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-505.01 / the Court's electronic filing system]:

[NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) OF DEFENDANT(S) / COUNSEL]

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME]

14. NEBRASKA PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Actions for personal injury (an injury to the rights of the plaintiff, not arising on contract) must be commenced within four years of accrual. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207. Wrongful-death actions carry a separate two-year period (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-810). Claims against political subdivisions or the State trigger separate notice and limitation rules under the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act and State Tort Claims Act.
• MODIFIED COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE — 50% BAR (equal-or-greater). Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09, the plaintiff's contributory negligence reduces recovery proportionately but completely bars recovery if the plaintiff's negligence is equal to or greater than the total negligence of all persons against whom recovery is sought. Practically, a 50/50 allocation bars the plaintiff. The jury must be instructed on the effect of its allocation of negligence; failure to do so is reversible/plain error (Pleiss v. Barnes; Russell v. Stricker). Developing fault evidence to keep the plaintiff below the defendant's share is essential.
• Universal helmet law and "biker bias." Nebraska requires a DOT-compliant protective helmet and eye protection for operators and passengers, subject only to a narrow exception for certain riders 21 or older holding a Class M license who completed an approved safety course. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,279. If the rider was helmeted, emphasize compliance; if not, the defense will argue helmet non-use as comparative fault on the head-injury component — a serious risk under the 50% bar. Retain medical/biomechanical experts to separate crash causation from injury causation, and anticipate "biker bias" in voir dire.
• No punitive damages. Nebraska does not allow punitive damages; the Nebraska Constitution directs penalties and fines to the school fund. Do not plead punitive damages. Aggravating conduct (e.g., DUI, extreme speed) is relevant to liability and fault allocation only.
• UM/UIM context. Nebraska is a fault state. Motorcyclists are frequently struck by minimally insured or uninsured drivers, and medical costs commonly exceed liability limits. Promptly identify and notify the plaintiff's own uninsured/underinsured-motorist carrier (and any household policies), preserve UM/UIM claims, and comply with consent-to-settle and subrogation procedures before resolving the liability claim.
• Court and procedure. The Nebraska District Court is the court of general original jurisdiction for personal-injury actions; the County Court has concurrent civil jurisdiction subject to a statutory amount limit (verify the current threshold). Pleadings follow Nebraska's notice-pleading rules; service is governed by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-505.01 et seq. Confirm county venue, the correct judicial district, and any local rules and e-filing requirements.

15. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Revised Statutes of Nebraska (Chapter 25 — Courts; Civil Procedure; Chapter 60 — Motor Vehicles) — https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/browse-chapters.php
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207 (four-year limitations) — https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-207
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09 (comparative negligence) — https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-21,185.09
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,147 (vehicle turning left; yield) — https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,147
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,279 (protective helmets; eye protection) — https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,279
• Nebraska Court Rules of Pleading in Civil Actions; service of process (§ 25-505.01)
• Nebraska Jury Instructions — Civil (Negligence; Comparative Negligence allocation)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in Nebraska must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.