Nebraska — Hospital Mandatory Reporting Guide

Category 1 — Adverse Events

No statewide mandatory hospital adverse-event reporting system identified in OIG’s 2008 inventory (verify whether enacted/changed since 2008).

Who Must Report: N/A.

Deadline: N/A.

Destination: N/A.

Citation: Source.

Attorney Notes: Even without a statewide adverse-event system, hospitals may have other mandatory reporting duties and federal/contractual obligations.

Category 2 — Child Abuse / Neglect

Trigger: Reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect.

Who Must Report: Any person (universal reporting).

Deadline: Immediately.

Destination: DHHS or law enforcement.

Citation: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-711.

Attorney Notes: Universal duty broadens liability exposure and undercuts “not my role” defenses.

Category 3 — Weapon Injuries

Trigger: Treatment of gunshot wound.

Who Must Report: Physicians, hospitals.

Deadline: Immediately.

Destination: Police.

Citation: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-902.

Attorney Notes: Creates a law-enforcement notice trail relevant to reconstructing timelines and response.

Category 4 — Communicable Diseases

Trigger: Diagnosis, suspicion, or laboratory identification of a state-defined reportable/notifiable disease or condition, including certain outbreaks.

Who Must Report: Healthcare providers and/or laboratories; hospitals report qualifying diagnoses and outbreak clusters.

Deadline: Varies by condition (immediate/24 hours for urgent diseases; longer for others).

Destination: Report to Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services per notifiable disease reporting instructions.

Citation: Nebraska Reportable Disease guidance.

Attorney Notes: Time classes support compliance evaluation; timestamps support foreseeability and outbreak-control arguments.

Category 5 — Complaints / Investigations

Timeline: Nebraska law authorizes complaint investigations for hospitals but does not impose a specific “within X days” statutory requirement for initiating an investigation.

Citation: Complaint authority exists; no explicit statutory start-time identified.

Attorney Notes: Absence of a codified timeline allows attorneys to scrutinize delays in serious patient-safety cases.