Nebraska Statutes 44-2826. Advance payment; not construed as admission of liability; inadmissible as evidence; reduction or adjustment of judgment; claim not assignable
(1) Any payment made by a health care provider or his insurer to or for the patient or any other person in the patient’s behalf in advance of a final determination of liability of all health care providers shall not be construed as an admission of liability for injuries or damages suffered in any action brought under sections 44-2801 to 44-2855.
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 44-2826
- Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Health care: shall mean any act or treatment performed or furnished, or which should have been performed or furnished, by any health care provider for, to, or on behalf of a patient during the patient's care, treatment, or confinement. See Nebraska Statutes 44-2811
- Insurer: shall mean the authority or an insurance company engaged in writing malpractice liability insurance in this state. See Nebraska Statutes 44-2814
- Patient: shall mean a natural person who receives or should have received health care from a licensed health care provider under a contract, express or implied. See Nebraska Statutes 44-2805
- Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
(2) Evidence of an advance payment shall not be admissible until there is a final judgment in favor of the plaintiff, in which event the court shall reduce the judgment to the plaintiff by the amount of such advance payment. The advance payment shall inure to the exclusive benefit of the defendant making the payment. If the advance payment exceeds the liability of the defendant, the court shall order any adjustment necessary to equalize the amount which each defendant is obligated to pay, exclusive of costs. In no case shall an advance payment in excess of the amount found to be due from any health care provider be repayable to the health care provider making it.
(3) A patient’s claim for compensation under sections 44-2801 to 44-2855 shall not be assignable.