Recent Wisconsin News

State’s tort climate gets high ranking

Some good news about Wisconsin’s business climate courtesy of a California-based free market think tank. When it comes to the burden imposed by personal injury lawsuits and related litigation, Wisconsin fares well in the latest rankings by the Pacific Research...

Current Medical Liability Laws

Damage Caps	$750,000 non-economic damages for medical negligence. (2006) A wrongful death action may be brought jointly with a negligence action. Wrongful death actions are capped at $500,000 per occurrence for minors and $350,000 per occurrence for adults.
Joint Liability Reform	Yes. Defendants are responsible only for their proportionate share of negligence if they are less than 51% at fault unless a defendant acted as part of a common scheme or plan.
Collateral Source Reform	Yes. The defendant may introduce evidence of payments received from collateral sources.
Attorney Fees Limited	Yes, as follows: 33 1/3% of the first $1 million, or 25% if certain procedural timeframes are met; 20% of amounts exceeding $1 million. Court has discretion to increase fees.
Periodic Payments Permitted	Yes, if future medical expenses are expected to exceed $100,000.