Nebraska's rule: barred at an exact tie
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09, Nebraska follows the stricter version of modified comparative fault, sometimes called a "50% bar." A claimant whose own fault is equal to or greater than the defendant's fault — not only when it exceeds it — is completely barred from recovery.
The genuinely important distinction from a 51% bar
This is a real, meaningful difference from the more common 51%-bar rule used in many neighboring states. In a 51%-bar state, a claimant found exactly 50% at fault still recovers half of their damages, because their fault wasn't greater than the defendant's. In Nebraska, that same exact 50/50 finding results in zero recovery, because the claimant's fault was equal to the defendant's — and equal is already enough to bar the claim under Nebraska's stricter standard.
Worked example
Someone with $100,000 in damages, found 30% at fault, recovers $70,000. That same person, found 49% at fault, still recovers $51,000. But found at exactly 50% — the precise tie — that same person recovers nothing at all under Nebraska's rule.
Why the line sits one point earlier here
Because Nebraska draws its bar at equal fault rather than requiring the claimant's fault to actually exceed the defendant's, a disputed case sitting right around the midpoint carries genuinely higher stakes in Nebraska than in a neighboring 51%-bar state. A fault finding that would still pay out meaningfully just across certain state lines can mean a complete loss in Nebraska.
A separate cap worth knowing: medical malpractice damages
Apart from the comparative fault analysis itself, Nebraska caps total damages in a medical malpractice case at $2.25 million — a limit that applies on top of, not instead of, the fault-percentage reduction.