Wisconsin Personal Injury Law

The following summary of Wisconsin personal injury laws and case types will help you understand important aspects of injury claims in this state.

Wisconsin Statute of Limitations:

• Personal Injury: 3 years for negligent conduct
• Medical Malpractice: 3 years; or 1 year from discovery of the injury
• Products Liability: 3 years

Caps on Personal Injury Awards in Wisconsin:

With regard to all non-economic personal injury awards, there is a $350,000 dollar cap on any medical malpractice action that involves a child and a $500,000 dollar cap on those that involve an adult.

Wisconsin Serious Injury Threshold:

There is no serious injury threshold in the state of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is a Fault state and will reduce the plaintiff's recovery based upon their degree of fault. The state follows the modified comparative fault - 50% doctrine meaning that the plaintiff must be no more than 50% at fault in order to seek damages.

Personal Injury Claims & Theories of Liability in Missouri:

Slip and Falls: Property owners are responsible to ensure that their properties are maintained in a safe, hazard free manner. When a person is injured due to an overt condition or one which the property owner would have known about had he/she performed a reasonable inspection, the property owner will be liable under the premises liability theory of negligence.

Auto Accidents: Drivers are responsible to operate motor vehicles in a careful manner. When they do not they are liable to injured parties, whether it is pedestrians, passengers or other drivers on the road. This may be limited, however by the injured party's degree of fault.

Product Liability: Products should go through a long testing & review process before they are made available to consumers. Within each step there is a potentially liable party - in the event that the product fails to conform to the applicable standards. Therefore, manufacturers, designers and distributors can be held strictly liable when a faulty product causes damage.

Workers' Compensation: In Wisconsin, workers compensation is compulsory therefore employers are required to carry insurance and no waivers are permitted.

Wrongful Death: Sometimes a death occurs due to the negligence of another. While this may not rise to the level of criminal liability, there may be civil liability (which has a different standard of proof) under a negligence theory.

Medical Malpractice Case: A doctor, nurse or hospital can be held responsible for any serious injuries that a patient suffers if they failed to exercise that degree of care and skill required of a professional medical provider.

For More Information Check out these sites:

Official Wisconsin State Website

Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance

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