Martensen v. Rejda Brothers, Inc., 283 Neb. 279 (Neb. 2012)

(plaintiff injured while working in pasture on ranch when he was pinned beneath overturned ATV; brought negligence action against employer for failing to make timely effort to search for him; evidence at trial established that injury would have been much less severe had plaintiff been discovered sooner; jury awarded plaintiff $750,000 for his injuries, court added costs and prejudgment interest; employer and plaintiff both appealed; appellate court adopted Restatement (Third) of Torts § 40(a) and (b)(4) and held employer had special relationship with employee who is in danger or injured, which gives rise to a duty to protect the employee; plaintiff sought additional costs to be awarded, but presented no legal authority and award affirmed; plaintiff also sought review of prejudgment interest award; unliquidated claims are not subject to pre-judgment interest, because plaintiff presented settlement offer rejected by employer but lower than jury verdict, court held interest should have been computed on entire $750,000 award; remanded to trial court for recalculation of interest due).