The Vehicle That Hit You Belongs to the Government. Now What?

Most crashes in Omaha follow a familiar path: the other driver's insurer opens a claim, an adjuster calls, and there are years to sort it out if talks stall. But if the driver who hit you was behind the wheel of a Metro bus, a city snowplow, a sheriff's cruiser, a county road truck, a school bus, or a State of Nebraska pickup, that path changes completely.

The government can be held responsible when its drivers are careless, but only under special statutes with their own deadline, filing office, waiting period, and ceiling on recovery. People with strong cases lose them by treating a government crash like any other fender-bender.

Step one: figure out who actually owns the vehicle

Everything else depends on the answer, and it is not always obvious from the logo on the door.

• Cities, counties, villages, school districts and other local bodies. Nebraska's Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act applies. The definitions section, § 13-903, lists "villages, cities of all classes, counties, school districts," public power districts, and "all other units of local government." Transit agencies, sanitary districts and similar bodies usually land here.
• The State of Nebraska. A Department of Transportation truck, a State Patrol car, or a vehicle from a state agency or college falls under a different statute, the State Tort Claims Act.
• A private company working for the government. This one catches people off guard. The same § 13-903 says a political subdivision "shall not be construed to include any contractor with a political subdivision." Many towns hire private plow operators during big storms, and some school districts contract out busing. If a contractor's driver hit you, your claim is usually against that company and its insurer, under the ordinary rules.
• The federal government. A mail truck or a military vehicle is a separate federal process with its own deadlines.

To pin it down, I check the crash report, the plate, the unit number and, when needed, the plowing or busing contract.

The written claim: where it goes and what it says

Against a city, county, school district or other local body, the case starts with a written claim, not a lawsuit. Under § 13-905, it is filed with the clerk, secretary or other official who keeps that body's official records. Some governing bodies also let it go to their law department. The statute says plainly that "All such claims shall be in writing," and the claim has to give the time and place of the crash plus the other facts you know.

In practice, a claim I prepare identifies:

• the person making the claim and how to reach them (or me);
• the date, time and exact location of the crash;
• the vehicle involved and, if known, the unit number and driver;
• what happened, in plain terms;
• the injuries, the treatment so far, and the property damage;
• the amount being claimed, with supporting records attached where they exist.

A call to the city's risk-management line or an email to an adjuster is not the same as a written claim filed with the records official the statute names.

The deadline is short. Under § 13-919, the claim is "forever barred unless within one year after such claim accrued the claim is made in writing to the governing body." A lawsuit, if one is needed, generally must come within two years. My Nebraska statute of limitations guide lays out how that compares to the four years you'd have against a private driver, and why negotiating does not stop the clock.

Suing the driver personally doesn't get around it. Section 13-920 applies the same one-year written-claim requirement to a suit against a government employee for something done within the scope of the job, and requires that suit be "begun within two years after the claim accrued."

Then you wait

Once the claim is filed, § 13-906 bars a lawsuit "unless the governing body of the political subdivision has made final disposition of the claim." If six months pass with no decision, the claimant may withdraw the claim in writing and file suit. Section 13-919 adds six months to the suit deadline after a final decision or withdrawal, if the two years would otherwise run out first.

State vehicles: a different office and a different clock

When the vehicle belongs to the State, the claim goes to the State, not to a city clerk. Under § 81-8,212, it is filed "with the Risk Manager" using the procedure "prescribed by the State Claims Board." Under § 81-8,227, it is barred unless "within two years after such claim accrued the claim is made in writing to the Risk Manager."

The State has a waiting period too. Under § 81-8,213, no lawsuit is allowed until the Risk Manager or State Claims Board makes a final decision, unless six months go by without one, in which case the claimant may "by notice in writing, withdraw the claim" and sue.

Snowplows: the winter question

Plow season is coming, and so are the plow crashes: a blade that swings into a lane, a truck backing through an intersection, a wing plow that clips a parked car.

People sometimes assume the city can't be sued over anything involving snow. There is a real exemption in the Act for claims arising from "snow or ice conditions or other temporary conditions caused by nature" on public roads, in § 13-910(10). But that same subsection goes on to say nothing in it limits liability "for any claim arising out of the operation of a motor vehicle by an employee of the political subdivision while acting within the course and scope of his or her employment."

Slick streets alone are one thing. A city employee driving a plow carelessly into your car is another, and the exemption doesn't protect it.

Police cruisers and chases

A patrol car can cause a crash like any other vehicle: running a light without lights and siren, turning across traffic, rear-ending someone. Those are generally ordinary claims under the Act against the city or county that employs the officer.

Chases are different. Under § 13-911, when a vehicular pursuit by a local law enforcement officer kills or injures an innocent third party, the damages "shall be paid to such third party by the political subdivision employing the officer." That's true even if it was the fleeing driver who actually hit you. The city or county can then go after the fleeing driver and others for reimbursement. The statute doesn't define "innocent third party," and the courts have looked at whether the person encouraged the flight, so a passenger in the fleeing car is in a very different spot from a driver waiting at a red light.

The cap, and why your own policy matters

Recovery against a local government is limited. Section 13-926 caps it at $1 million for any one person and $5 million for all claims from a single occurrence. For most crashes that ceiling never comes into play. For a bus crash with many injured riders, or a catastrophic injury, it can.

That is where your own coverage enters. Your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may help close a gap, particularly when a fleeing driver with no insurance caused the crash. Section 13-911 even lists "Any uninsured or underinsured motorist insurer or self-insurance surety legally liable to the innocent third party" among the sources a city can seek reimbursement from after a pursuit, and it states that the section "shall not relieve any public or private source required statutorily or contractually to pay benefits."

Whether your UIM coverage applies when the vehicle belongs to a self-insured government body depends on your policy's wording and the statutory definitions, so don't assume either way, and don't sign a release with the government without knowing how it affects your own insurer's rights.

Evidence that only the government has

The good news about government vehicles is that they often generate more records than private cars. The bad news is that the government controls them. Depending on the agency, there may be:

• interior and exterior bus or plow cameras, if the vehicle has them;
• GPS or automatic vehicle location data showing speed and route;
• radio and dispatch recordings and call logs;
• cruiser dashboard and body-worn camera video;
• the driver's training, discipline and accident history;
• maintenance and inspection records for the vehicle;
• for plows, the route assignment and the shift log for that storm.

I send a written preservation demand right away, because systems overwrite. Nebraska's public records law can also help. Under § 84-712, the custodian must respond "not more than four business days after actual receipt of the request." But § 84-712.05 lets law enforcement withhold investigatory records, so police video tied to an open investigation may take a subpoena. My page on dashcam video, phone records and vehicle data covers how long some of that footage is kept.

Three hypotheticals

These are made-up examples, not real cases.

The bus at the curb. A driver stopped in traffic on Dodge Street is sideswiped by a city bus pulling away from a stop. She files with the bus company's adjuster by phone and gets a claim number, then spends ten months on treatment. The phone call is not a written claim to the governing body, and by month thirteen her claim could be gone. A one-page claim filed with the right records official in month one would have avoided that.

The contractor plow. After a January storm, a pickup with a plow blade knocks a car into a light pole in a suburban neighborhood. The truck has a city decal on the window, but the driver works for a landscaping company with a snow-removal contract. The claim runs against the company and its commercial insurer, on the normal four-year timeline. Filing only with the city would aim at the wrong party.

The chase. A driver fleeing a deputy runs a stop sign and T-bones a minivan. The fleeing driver has no insurance. The family's claim under § 13-911 is against the county that employed the deputy, subject to the § 13-926 caps, and their own UM coverage and the county's reimbursement rights all have to be fit together before anyone settles.

Mistakes I see in government-vehicle claims

• Waiting for the adjuster to "get back to you." A polite, responsive risk manager doesn't extend a deadline.
• Filing an incomplete claim. Leaving out the time, place or basic facts invites a fight over whether a valid claim was ever made.
• Ignoring your own policy. UM/UIM and medical payments coverage may matter more here than in an ordinary crash.

These rules are not theoretical. Among my published results is "$300,000 — Pedestrian who suffered injuries after colliding with a city bus." Pedestrians hit by public vehicles face these same rules; my pedestrian accident page explains the rest of that picture. For drivers and passengers, my Omaha car accident lawyer page covers the rest of a crash claim.

Why people hit by public vehicles call me

A government crash case is won or lost on procedure before it's ever argued on the facts. I know where claims go, what they need to say, and how to get the video and records an agency would rather keep to itself, and I prepare every case as though a judge will decide it. My clients have recovered more than $23 million, with a top recovery of $5.4 million, and they've left many five-star reviews about how hard I fight. Omaha readers named my firm Best of Omaha in the Personal Injury Law Firm category in 2025 and again in 2026.

If a bus, plow, cruiser, school bus or state vehicle hit you or your family, don't let the clock run out while you wait on an adjuster. Call me at (402) 378-9208 or send me a message for a free consultation. You pay no fee unless I win your case.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Metro bus crash in Omaha a claim against the government?

Usually it is handled as a claim against a unit of local government, which means a written claim within one year. Confirm the owner and operator first, because a contracted service can change who the claim goes against.

Can I sue the city if a snowplow hit my car?

Nebraska's snow-and-ice exemption does not limit liability for a government employee's operation of a motor vehicle on the job. If a contractor was driving, the claim is usually against that company instead.

What if a police chase caused my crash but the officer never touched my car?

Under § 13-911, the political subdivision that employs the pursuing officer pays an innocent third party hurt in the pursuit, and then seeks reimbursement from the fleeing driver and others.

How much time do I have against the State of Nebraska?

A written claim must reach the Risk Manager within two years. Don't wait that long; evidence and witnesses fade much faster.

Your Attorney

Frank Younes

Every page on this site is written by Frank Younes, a Nebraska trial attorney with a published record of verdicts and settlements, selection to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and a practice that covers every county in Nebraska and Iowa. No case is handed to an associate — the lawyer you read here is the lawyer who works your case.

More about Frank → · Free consultation: (402) 378-9208