Personal Injury Law in Madison, WI
Were you hurt due to another’s negligence in Madison? If so, it may have far-reaching consequences such as a loss of wages or extensive medical treatment. Personal injury law allows an injured person to get damages if the responsible person acted recklessly. A personal injury attorney in Madison, WI can help navigate the lawsuit to make sure you receive all of the compensation you deserve.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
In Madison, personal injury law focuses on obtaining compensation for injuries caused by another’s negligence. Here, the injured party, or plaintiff, seeks financial recovery for expenses and losses tied to the defendant’s careless actions. Often, both parties’ insurance companies negotiate, and many cases settle before reaching the courtroom.
Examples of Personal Injury Claims in Madison, WI
Some personal injury claims are more common than others. However, almost any incident that ends with a physical or mental injury could qualify, depending on the circumstances.
A few of the most common personal injury claims are:
- Car Accidents
- Slip and Fall
- Dog Bites
- Medical Malpractice
- Workplace Accidents
- Burn Injuries
Most Common Injuries in Madison
In Madison, WI, one of the most common causes of injuries that lead to personal injury lawsuits is motor vehicle accidents. With busy streets and a growing population, collisions involving cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians are frequent. These accidents often result in serious injuries, ranging from whiplash and broken bones to traumatic brain injuries and spinal damage. Many incidents are caused by factors like distracted driving, speeding, and impaired driving, which can make victims eligible for compensation.
Steps in a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Madison, WI
Once you determine that you wish to proceed forward with a personal injury action in Wisconsin
A lawsuit begins when a complaint is filed with the court and served on the defendant. The complaint alleges your assertion as the plaintiff that the defendant’s negligent behavior resulted in damage to your body or mental state. As the process proceeds forward, you may have to go through depositions, independent medical evaluations, and document production. This discovery process is lengthy and ends in either a settlement or a court appearance. After both sides have established the facts, the State Bar of Wisconsin asserts that a judge can make mediation compulsory. Since the 1970s, this process has become known as Alternative Dispute Resolution. A settlement can occur at any time before a jury in Madison gives their decision, but this stage focuses on finding a solution. Mediators attempt to successfully forge an agreement through evaluations, conferences, and direct negotiations. With most personal injury cases, insurance companies and injured parties prefer settlement negotiations rather than going to court for a trial. You may wonder how much you should seek in your settlement and the factors that impact the final amount. A report on Dane County from the Department of Health Services found that car accidents alone caused 13,219 hospitalizations in 2 years. The average cost of incidents that required inpatient medical care was $27,145. The average would be $33,181 as of 2021 after adjusting for inflation. While these direct economic costs factor into the amount a jury can award, you can also consider the non-economic damages. Suffering, loss of quality of life, and other less tangible factors can come into play. The actual amount a Madison citizen may receive is a subjective choice based on precedent and the personal injury cap. If the other party has insurance, their insurer will likely aim to settle out of court, avoiding the unpredictability of a jury decision. Settlements can benefit injured parties too, offering compensation more quickly than a trial might. Going to court in WI also carries a risk—you could end up with no compensation at all if the verdict doesn’t go in your favor. If your Wisconsin personal injury lawsuit goes before a judge or jury, your legal team will be ready with a request for damages. In personal injury cases, there are three types of damage awards a court may order the defendant to pay to compensate you for the damage he or she inflicted. Special compensatory damages reimburse you for things such as lost income, medical bills and insurance deductibles. You submit receipts proving these losses. General compensatory damages are subjective. If you receive special compensatory damages, you may also collect general damages. If your injury was particularly painful, you might request that the judge order the defendant to compensate you for the pain and anguish. Punitive damages are the most rarely awarded and are up to the court. The judge or jury may determine that the defendant’s negligence was particularly heinous and the resulting injury to you was equally horrific. The State Bar of Wisconsin reports that the state supreme court decided on a $750,000 cap for non-economic damages. As of June 2018, residents of Madison cannot receive more than this amount from a jury after a successful lawsuit. Punitive damages for recklessness or malicious acts also cannot go over $200,000. The injured party may have a set amount of time to file suit for a personal injury case. State law establishes statutes of limitation. Commonly, the plaintiff’s injury or discovery of the injury begins the statute of limitations. However, the latter factor is trickier, as the plaintiff will have to prove when the injury was first realized. You can file a personal injury lawsuit in Madison up to 3 years from when the incident occurred. However, an exception exists for civil actions against the government. In that case, you have to give the state up to 120 days’ notice before filing with the Wisconsin Court System. We recommend you speak with a personal injury lawyer for this matter. Don’t wait too long and miss out on receiving the compensation you deserve for your injury. Pursue a personal injury claim in Madison against the responsible person if you are dealing with an injury caused by someone else. One of our experienced lawyers can help you navigate your personal injury claim. We can even help you connect with an attorney across Wisconsin state lines. Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area! Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States. With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations. If you would like to know more about other areas of law in Madison, WI, we’ve also got you covered!Wisconsin Personal Injury Settlement
Damage Awards in Wisconsin
Statute of Limitations in Madison, WI Personal Injury Law?
Work With an Experienced Madison, WI Lawyer
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