Nebraska High Court Rules County Not Liable for 2009 Bus Crash

The Nebraska Supreme Court has reversed a lower court’s ruling that found Lancaster County partly liable for a 2009 school bus crash.

Jeff Hall sued Lancaster County District Court and Norris School District in 2010, saying he had incurred more than $350,000 in medical expenses for his injuries from the Aug. 24, 2009 crash. Hall was driving a pickup that collided with the bus at a rural intersection where a stop sign was missing.

Lancaster County District Judge Steven Burns found the school district 50 percent liable, the county 20 percent liable and Hall 30 percent liable. Hall was awarded $770,000.

But on Friday, the state’s high court said Burns was wrong to conclude that the county’s failure to have a road sign inspection policy helped cause the accident.