Wisconsin Personal Injury Law

Tragedy doesn’t send an advance notice. In a single instant, someone else’s negligence can leave you with life-altering injuries. Your daily life is made up of doctor’s appointments, stress as you wonder how you are going to pay your bills, and emotional distress as the pain takes over your mind. Your Wisconsin personal injury lawyer will have to prove that the person whose negligence caused your injuries is at fault as per Wisconsin personal injury law.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Law – What You Need To Know

As per Wisconsin’s negligence law, if you want to get the compensation you deserve, your lawyer has to prove that every individual whose negligence caused your injuries were at fault. The state defines ‘negligence’ as incidents or circumstances that caused an unreasonable risk of injury.

One of the best examples of this is of a driver who drives over the speed limit in a residential neighborhood or a school zone. Since the driver failed to use ‘ordinary care’ he/she can be charged with negligence and face a personal injury lawsuit.

However, that does not mean that the person who was injured is not at fault. In some cases, they may be found guilty of negligence themselves. As per the Wisconsin comparative injury law, if the aforementioned driver hit another car, the driver of that car could be at fault if say he/she failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign right before the collision.

In this case, negligence is divided into percentages. In this example, the speeding driver may be 90% at fault while the driver who ran the stop sign may be 10% at fault. As such, the second driver can be found to be ‘contributory negligent.’ As per Wisconsin’s comparative negligence law, you only have grounds for a personal injury claim if your fault is 50% or less for the accident.

A personal injury lawyer in Kenosha who is representing the person who is mostly at fault will typically argue that the other party is to blame so they can reduce the compensation their client has to pay.

Wisconsin’s Statute Of Limitations For Personal Injuries

In Wisconsin, an adult has about three years to file a personal injury case from the date they were injured. If they miss the deadline, they may be barred from making a legal claim for damages so time is of the essence. However, the time limit can be postponed for injured minors – their countdown starts on their 18th birthday i.e. when they are adults in the eyes of the state. Similarly, injured victims who also have a disability besides mental illness can file their lawsuit two years after their disability ends.

If you are searching for an experienced Wisconsin personal injury lawyer in Kenosha, get in touch with us at the Law Offices of John V. O’Connor today. John has more than 30 years of experience advocating for personal injury clients and knows Wisconsin laws and regulations like the back of his hand. He has earned the trust and respect of his peers and clients so you know your case will be in good hands.