Lein Law Offices

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Wisconsin Car Accident Lawyers

If you have been injured in a car accident in Wisconsin, the attorneys of Lein Law Offices will fight for the compensation you deserve.

Maximizing Compensation For Those Injured In Car Accidents

How Lein Law Car Accident Attorneys Can Help

At Lein Law Offices, our experienced attorneys fight aggressively for fairness, respect, and compensation for our clients. Our team of car accident attorneys will thoroughly investigate and analyze the circumstances surrounding your case to maximize compensation and hold the negligent party accountable for your injuries.

Lein Law Offices LLP, is a personal injury law firm located in Wisconsin that helps those injured in a car accident recover damages for their injuries. If you have been injured in accident anywhere in Wisconsin we offer free consultation, remote consultations, and we can be anywhere at anytime to help you in your personal injury lawsuit or to settle your claim with the other drivers’ insurance company for maximum compensation.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident due to the negligence of another party, we are the injury advocates you want to represent your case. US Government statics show that 95% of all personal injury cases settle out of court. Our team of personal injury attorneys will be able to accurately calculate compensation based on the severity of your injuries, how long you will be out of work, and the amount of negligence for the other driver. Going it alone on a personal injury case and trusting that insurance companies will compensate you fairly is not recommended.

All cases are taken on a contingency basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win.

Car Accident Attorney

Car accidents are a leading cause of injury and wrongful deaths in Wisconsin and across the nation.

The Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles reports that more than 500 people are killed annually in traffic crashes across the state — an average of more than one life lost on our roads daily. In addition, nearly 40,000 people are injured in Wisconsin motor vehicle collisions each year.

Approximately 8 percent of those are considered incapacitating injuries. A significant number of fatal and serious injury crashes in Wisconsin are the result of alcohol-impaired drivers, with a serious or fatal drunk driving crash occurring every 3.1 hours.

Common Compensation Awards for Accident Victims

  • Lost Wages: When your injured in a car accident it is common to be unable to perform your duties at work temporarily or even permanently. 

At Lein Law Offices, our Hayward car accident attorneys can help you determine whether you may have grounds to pursue a tort action against other motorists or third parties for your injuries.

Unlike some states, Wisconsin does not have a no-fault car accident insurance system. Rather, we are considered a “tort state,” meaning in the event of a motor vehicle collision, you can sue for your injuries, but you must prove fault on the part of the defendant(s).

These claims can include economic losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, as well as noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering, disfigurement, and loss of consortium. In some cases (particularly drunk driving), they can entail punitive damages, intended per WI Stat. § 895.403 to penalize the defendant rather than simply “make whole” the plaintiff.

Minimum auto insurance required in Wisconsin, per the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, is:

Bear in mind these are the minimum amounts required. It’s often a smart idea to purchase excess insurance. For instance, underinsured motorist coverage isn’t mandatory, but it can provide additional coverage in the event the minimum limits of the at-fault driver’s insurance aren’t sufficient to cover your damages.

Proving Negligence In Crash Cases

Although the term “car accident” is a familiar one, the truth of the matter is these are not truly accidents, but avoidable events caused by a single variable or chain of variables — with the catalyst usually being human error. This could mean distraction or impairment or not using ordinary care when driving in inclement weather.

In crash cases, we will need to establish negligence. As our Wisconsin car accident attorneys can explain, a finding of negligence requires establishing:

  • Defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff. In crash cases, this is usually fairly easy as all motorists have a responsibility to other motorists, passengers and pedestrians to obey traffic laws and use reasonable care. This duty can also extend to employers whose employees are trusted to drive vehicles in the course and scope of employment.
  • Defendant breached that duty of care. This could mean defendant violated a traffic law. It could mean they failed to exercise ordinary or reasonable care, such as maintaining an assured clear distance.
  • The breach of care caused plaintiff’s injuries. The injuries of plaintiff must have been caused by defendant. Plaintiff can collect damages for exacerbation of an existing injury, but not if the pre-existing injury was solely caused by something else.
  • Plaintiff’s injuries resulted in monetary damages. Your injuries must have cost you something — whether payment of medical bills or necessitating time off work. In many cases, the issue of damages is one of the most contentious. Some defendants will agree they are liable, but then fight vigorously to reduce the amount of damages awarded.

Some people think of car accident cases as relatively straightforward, but the reality is each of these elements must be proven beyond a preponderance of credible evidence (as noted in WI Stat. § 895.443), and that can be more complex in many situations.

Common Injuries in Car Accident

While not all fender-benders result in injuries, a lot of car crashes do end injuries and at times even catastrophic injuries. These are the common injuries found in Car Accidents.

  • Whiplash: This injury is typically caused by a sudden impact that jolts the head backward or forward quickly. Whiplash can cause headaches, soreness, and tingling in the neck, shoulder area and back.
  • Head Injuries; Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI):  These can be catastrophic or non-catastrophic depending on the severity. A severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) could cause death, while mild ones may just cause headaches and short-term memory loss.
  • Head Cut:  A head cut happens when there is a blunt impact to the head which can result in lacerations, contusions and bleeding.
  • Back Injuries:  These can be extremely painful and debilitating. Depending on the injury, there may be temporary or permanent issues with the back. Symptoms of back injuries include pain that start in a particular area and spreads out to other parts of the body. You could have problems moving your arms or legs normally. Muscle spasms, numbness and tingling could also be present.
  • Spinal Cord Injuries:  These are usually caused by a hard impact and can result in paralysis or death. Such injuries may require lifelong medical care and rehabilitation.
  • Internal Bleeding:  Some accidents can result in internal bleeding which is a serious injury. Symptoms include coughing up blood, pain that increases, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, pale skin color, weakness and fatigue.
  • Nerve Damage:  This occurs when the nerves in a particular area are pinched, cut or inflamed and can cause numbness, tingling or weakness in body parts depending on where the nerve damage is. If you have any of these symptoms after an accident then contact your doctor right away.
  • Burns:  This is a common injury in car accidents and may happen if your clothes catch fire or if there is an explosion. Symptoms of burns include swelling, pain, skin color changes and flaking. In many cases the affected area will be sensitive to touch and you may feel nauseous or lightheaded as well.
  • Concussions: These often result from a violent blow to the head and may cause vomiting, confusion, dizziness, memory loss, balance issues and headaches.
  • Soft Tissue Injuries:  Such injuries are common in car accidents which cause bruising or muscle tears. Whether the impact is at high speed or slow motion, it’s likely you will be bruised in some way. The bruising can range from mild to severe and usually appears 24-48 hours after an accident.
  • Lacerations, Contusions and Bruises: These usually cause pain and are a side effect of the accident itself. But left untreated, even mild injuries can become infected. If you’re in an accident, make sure you are seen by a doctor to check for any laceration or contusions especially if there is bleeding.

It is important after any car accident to be checked out by a physician, and even then some injuries get misdiagnosed or fail to appear for weeks; or, even months to come. It is not uncommon for an injury to lay dormant and then make a serious impact on your life. This is why it is vitally important to retain a lawyer after an accident. Because you can never be sure you are not injured.

Types Of Car Accidents In Wisconsin

Although there are many reasons why car accidents occur in Wisconsin, it almost always comes down to human error and negligence. While the 1943 Wisconsin Supreme Court case of Lembke v. Farmers Mutual Auto Ins. Co. stipulates that no one has an absolute duty not to injure or endanger any person or property, there is a duty to use ordinary care that would enable them to avoid a crash. A failure to use ordinary care occurs when one acts or omits a precaution in circumstances wherein an ordinarily prudent or intelligent person could reasonably foresee that such action or omission would put someone else at unreasonable risk of injury or damage.

Some of the most common types of crashes reported in Wisconsin include:

  • Rear-end collisions. These are collisions wherein one vehicle crashes into the vehicle ahead of it. These can involve just two cars, but sometimes, they can also be a chain reaction. As noted in the 1983 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in Millonig v. Bakken, there is a presumption that the rear driver is at-fault, though that presumption can be refuted. Whiplash injuries are unfortunately common in these cases.
  • Side-impact collisions. These are also sometimes referred to as T-bone or broadside collisions and refer to instances wherein the side of a vehicle is impacted by the front or rear of another vehicle or fixed object. These can result in severe injuries, particularly to passengers.
  • Sideswipe collisions. These often occur when sides of two parallel vehicles touch and “swipe” each other. If both drivers maintain control of the vehicles, it typically only results in cosmetic damage to the vehicles. However, if a driver does lose control, damages can be far more serious.
  • Head-on collision. This occurs when the front ends of two vehicles collide. These crashes are often fatal.
  • Single-vehicle accidents. As the name implies, these are when only a single vehicle is involved. Sometimes, vehicles may strike a fixed object, such as a pole or tree. Barring a vehicle defect, drivers may be barred from pursuing damages in these cases, but passengers can typically file a claim against the driver to recover damages for personal injuries.

Tell Us About Your Injury. We’re Here To Listen.

If you are injured in a Wisconsin car accident, our longtime Wisconsin injury attorneys can help.

Contact Lein Law Offices for information about your personal injury in Wisconsin by calling 715-634-4273 .

Free consultations — Flexible office hours and appointments — In-home and hospital visits available

FAQs

It is common to have been in a car accident and not feel injured but then to have those injuries develop in the future. Both physical and emotional injuries can have delayed onset at times, which is usually why taking some time before making any decisions is a good idea.

It is common to have been in a car accident and not feel injured but then to have those injuries develop in the future. Both physical and emotional injuries can have delayed onset at times, which is usually why taking some time before making any decisions is a good idea.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident that has related in injury, you should consult with an attorney. To recover the compensation that you deserve you will need someone to look out for your best interest. It has been shown that injury victims who do not lawyer up, only get a small percentage of what is owed to them.

The average, typical settlement can take up to six weeks to process. This may very from case to case and is dependent upon the plaintiff settling. 

Pain and suffering settlements are usually calculated using a multiplier value of how much lost wages the person was going to make because they could not work due to the injuries. This is then multiplied by another number, which represents how much money the individual would have made if they did not have any pain or suffering from the accident.

Medical expenses can be a big reason why many car accident victims go after settlements or court awards to cover their costs. These can include everything from X-rays and MRI to drugs and hospital stays depending on how seriously hurt you were in the collision.

No, but most people do since it can be difficult to get additional compensation later on. If you are prepared to take this risk and pursue additional damages in court, then go ahead and say “no” to a fair settlement.

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