The multiplier method with Wisconsin's actual rules applied: modified comparative, 51% bar, a 3-year filing window. Every statute cited and linked, every line of arithmetic shown.
Based on the multiplier method used by insurers and attorneys. This is an educational estimate, not legal advice. Every claim is different.
You recover as long as your negligence is “not greater than” the defendant's, even at exactly 50/50, with the award reduced by your share. At 51% you're barred. (Wis. Stat. §895.045(1))
3 years from the injury, but wrongful-death claims from car accidents get only 2 years, a trap in fatal-crash cases (Wis. Stat. §893.54). The clock is jurisdictional. One day late and no court will hear the case.
At-fault state. UM coverage of 25/50 is mandatory on every policy. UIM must be offered. (Wis. Stat. §632.32(4))
Minimum liability coverage: 25/50/10, meaning $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, $10,000 property damage. (Wis. Stat. §344.01; §632.32) Policy limits are the practical ceiling on most settlements, which is why identifying every available policy (including your own underinsured-motorist coverage) matters.
Wisconsin's direct-action statute (Wis. Stat. §632.24) lets an injured person sue the at-fault driver's insurer directly, up to the policy limits, nearly unique nationally, and it changes settlement dynamics because the carrier is a named defendant a jury will see.
The same multiplier method used everywhere, so (medical bills + lost wages) × a 1.5–5× severity multiplier + property damage. Then Wisconsin's fault rule is applied: You recover as long as your negligence is “not greater than” the defendant's, even at exactly 50/50, with the award reduced by your share. At 51% you're barred. The calculator on this page runs exactly that math and prints every line.
3 years from the injury, but wrongful-death claims from car accidents get only 2 years, a trap in fatal-crash cases (Wis. Stat. §893.54). Miss the deadline and the claim is barred permanently, no matter how strong it is. Claims against government entities often have much shorter notice requirements.
At-fault state. UM coverage of 25/50 is mandatory on every policy. UIM must be offered.
Compensatory damages: No cap in ordinary injury cases. Medical malpractice (non-economic): $750,000 per occurrence, upheld by the state supreme court in 2018. Wrongful death, loss of society: $350,000 for a deceased adult, $500,000 for a deceased minor (pecuniary losses remain uncapped).