Wisconsin Law Office

Wisconsin’s laws regarding personal injury and property damage claims have certain nuances that you need to know about. Here’s a snapshot of the law in our state so you can understand your legal rights and options.

Personal Injury Time Limits

Wisconsin law is more generous than that of many other states, allowing injured claimants to file personal injury suits for up to three years after the accident occurred or the injury was discovered. Many states in the nation only offer a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury.

This timeline is important for several reasons. If you ask any personal injury attorney if you should wait three years to file, they’ll tell you that you should take action as soon as possible. There are, however, situations where filing immediately isn’t an option. For example, suffering multiple severe injuries may result in prolonged hospital stays, and the true cost of the injuries may not be apparent right away.

The Concept of Shared Fault

Many states, including Wisconsin, have a comparative negligence (or contributory negligence) law.

Here’s how it works: After many accidents, especially auto accidents or slip and falls, the insurance company and the defendant may argue that the injury victim (the plaintiff) shared some of the blame for the incident. For example, a driver who hit you may have run a red light, but maybe you were speeding, or you turned in front of a car that you should have seen coming. The other driver is more at fault, but you may share some of the blame.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get compensation, but the insurance company will argue that your compensation should be reduced based on your portion of fault. For instance, if the court decided your injuries warranted a verdict of $100,000 but they also came to the conclusion that you were 20 percent at fault for the accident, you would only be awarded $80,000.

One important aspect of this law to consider is the 50 percent threshold. In some states, even if you are 80 percent at fault, you can still recover some money for the 20 percent that wasn’t your fault. Wisconsin is not one of these states. If you were 49 percent at fault, you could recover some compensation, but if you are 51 percent at fault, you will not be able to recover any compensation in Wisconsin. This is known as the modified comparative negligence rule. Contact a Wisconsin personal injury lawyer to learn more.

Damage Caps

Damage caps are controversial laws that some states have put in place to limit the amount of damages a personal injury plaintiff can be awarded. These caps are sometimes applied to specific categories of damages, like punitive damages or pain and suffering.

Wisconsin has a law that caps non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering or lost enjoyment of life, in medical malpractice cases. This cap is set at $750,000.

There are also some procedural caps on punitive damages, which are usually awarded by the court when a defendant’s behavior is found to be harmful. These can’t be more than double your compensatory damages or $200,000, whichever of those numbers ends up being larger in your case.

Lastly, Wisconsin caps claims against the state government. If a government entity’s actions cause an injury or death, the victim or their family won’t be able to recover more than $250,000 (or $50,000 against municipal governments) in most cases.