Hurt, wronged, or owed money
THINKING ABOUT SUING
What Wisconsin law says about the time to bring a claim, by the kind of claim, and about the court that hears small ones. Every period here is one the guide already states, with the section it comes from and the law that section cites.
A period runs from the event its statute names. When that event happened, and whether anything paused the count, are facts a lawyer applies; whether a claim is worth bringing is a question for one too. Nothing here answers either.
THE TIME TO SUE
An injury to a person
Hurt in a fall, a crash, a dog bite, or by somebody's carelessness.
3 years
Suing for personal injury or wrongful death
- From
- The claim accruing
An action for injury to the person, including in a car accident, or for wrongful death is brought within 3 years; wrongful death arising from a motor vehicle accident has 2 years after the claim accrues.
Damage to property
A car, a phone, a fence, or anything else damaged or taken.
6 years, or 3 from a motor vehicle accident
Suing for damage to property
- From
- The claim accruing
An action not arising on a contract to recover damages for an injury to real or personal property is commenced within 6 years after the cause of action accrues, or within 3 years where the damage arose from an accident involving a motor vehicle.
A written contract
A signed agreement, a lease, a written estimate or invoice.
6 years
Suing on a contract
- From
- The claim accruing
An action on a contract, obligation or liability, express or implied, is brought within 6 years after the claim accrues.
A contract not in writing
A deal made in words or a handshake, or an account with no signed paper.
6 years
Suing on a contract
- From
- The claim accruing
An action on a contract, obligation or liability, express or implied, is brought within 6 years after the claim accrues.
A CLAIM AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT
A claim against a public body often has a step of its own before a lawsuit, and a shorter period for it. These are the ones the Wisconsin guide carries, in the order they come. A body none of them names is not covered here yet.
Step 1
120 days
Notice of a claim against a governmental body
- From
- The event giving rise to the claim
Written notice of the circumstances of the claim, signed by the claimant, an agent or an attorney, is served on the governmental body and on the officer or employee within 120 days after the event. A late notice does not bar the action where the body had actual notice and the delay did not prejudice it.
Step 2
6 months
Suing a governmental body after a claim is disallowed
- From
- Service of the notice that the claim is disallowed
No action on the claim may be brought more than 6 months after the notice of disallowance is served. A body that does not disallow a claim within 120 days after it is presented has disallowed it.
SMALL CLAIMS COURT
The Wisconsin guide does not have a page on small claims yet, so its limit is not stated here.
WHAT TO HAVE TOGETHER
Whoever looks at a claim, a lawyer, a legal aid office or a small claims clerk, works from the same handful of facts. These are the ones people are most often asked for, gathered in one place.
When and where it happened
The date, the time if you know it, and the place, as exactly as you can say it.
Who was involved
The person or business on the other side, and the name it uses on its papers or its sign.
What happened, in order
Written down while it is fresh, in your own words, with what was said.
What it cost
Bills, receipts, estimates, repair quotes, and days of work missed, each with its amount.
Photos and papers
Pictures of the place, the damage or the injury, and every letter, contract, receipt or email.
Witnesses
Who saw it, and a phone number or address for each.
Reports already made
A police or incident report, a claim number with an insurer, or a complaint to an agency.
Insurance
Your own policy, and any insurer for the other side that you have been told about.
Keep it in one place
A case keeps all of it together in your account: what happened and when, what it cost, the people involved, every photo and paper kept privately, and one folder ready to download or send to a lawyer.
MyRightz is legal education, not legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney client relationship. Applying the law to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Wisconsin attorney.