Article 12: Evidence and Witnesses · Last amended 1951 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section allows a written report from a disinterested expert to be admitted through the preparer’s testimony alone, without calling every person who supplied the underlying information, if the court finds no substantial injustice would result.
Full Text of § 25-12,115
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A written report or finding of facts prepared by an expert not being a party to the cause, nor an employee of a party, except for the purpose of making such report or finding, nor financially interested in the result of the controversy, and containing
the conclusions resulting wholly or partly from written information furnished by the cooperation of several persons acting for a common purpose, shall, insofar as the same may be relevant, be admissible when testified to by the person, or one of the persons, making such report or finding without calling as witnesses the persons furnishing the information, and without producing the books or other writings on which the report or finding is based, if, in the opinion of the court, no substantial injustice will be done the opposite party.
Source
Laws 1951, c. 57, § 1, p. 190.
Plain-English Summary
Some expert reports draw on information gathered from several people working toward a common purpose — an engineer’s report built on field notes from multiple technicians, for example, or an accident report compiled from several witnesses’ accounts. Calling every one of those contributors to testify can be impractical and, in many cases, unnecessary. Section 25-12,115 addresses that situation.
It permits a written report or finding of facts, prepared by an expert who is not a party to the case, not a party’s employee except for purposes of making the report, and not financially interested in the outcome, to be admitted through the testimony of the person (or one of the persons) who made the report. The report can rest on written information gathered from several people acting for a common purpose, and none of those underlying contributors has to be called as a witness, and none of the books or writings behind the report has to be produced. The gatekeeper is the trial court: admission requires a finding that no substantial injustice will result to the opposing party.
This section works together with sections 25-12,116 and 25-12,117. Section 25-12,116 addresses cross-examining the people who supplied the underlying information, and section 25-12,117 sets the notice a party must give before offering such a report at trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of report qualifies for admission under section 25-12,115?
A written report or finding of facts prepared by an expert who is not a party to the case, not an employee of a party except for making the report, and not financially interested in the result, where the report draws on written information from several people acting for a common purpose.
Do all the people who supplied information for the report have to testify?
No. The report can be admitted through the testimony of the person, or one of the persons, who prepared it, without calling the individual contributors as witnesses.
Does the party offering the report have to produce the underlying documents the report was based on?
No, section 25-12,115 does not require producing the books or other writings the report or finding was based on for the report to be admitted.
What can stop a court from admitting this kind of report?
The court must find that admitting the report will not cause substantial injustice to the opposing party; if that finding cannot be made, the report is not admissible under this section.
Can an employee of one of the parties prepare a report that qualifies?
Generally no, unless the person’s only connection as an employee is for the purpose of making the report itself; a genuine employee of a party otherwise falls outside the section.
Is a report admissible under this section even if it is only partly relevant to the case?
The section allows admission insofar as the report is relevant, so irrelevant portions would not come in merely because the rest of the report qualifies.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:composite report admissible nebraskaexpert report without calling every witnesswritten finding of facts evidence rulenebraska rule on multi-source expert reportsadmitting report without underlying witnesses