Workmen's Compensation - Evidence - Nebraska Workmen's Compensation Court May Not Be More Restrictive Than Nebraska Trial Courts in Admitting Evidence
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Authors
Fraizer, Theodore Duncan
Issue Date
1979
Volume
12
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION|The Nebraska Workmen's Compensation Act is administered and enforced by the Nebraska Workmen's Compensation Court. In the recent decision of Fite v. Ammco Tools, Inc., the Nebraska Supreme Court clarified the evidentiary rules applicable to hearings before the Nebraska Workmen's Compensation Court. Fite involved a plaintiff's attempt to show that her husband's death in an airplane crash occurred in the course of his employment, therefore entitling her to compensation. Three statements made by the decedent on the date of his death were offered to show that he intended to go to work, thereby tending to prove that the decedent's subsequent death was in the course of his employment. The compensation court received these statements of intent only to show that they were made, and not to prove the truth of the matters asserted therein. On appeal, the supreme court determined that the statements were fully admissible under the Nebraska Evidence Rules. Although the compensation court is not bound by the Nebraska Evidence Rules, the supreme court held that, in view of the beneficent purposes of the Workmen's Compensation Act, the compensation court could not be more restrictive than Nebraska trial courts in its admission of evidence. Fite's holding and implications can best be understood in light of statutory history, prior evidentiary and policy decisions, and changing standards of appellate review....
Description
Citation
12 Creighton L. Rev. 446 (1978-1979)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law