If you were hurt in Green Bay because someone else was careless, a Green Bay personal injury lawyer can help you sort out who pays for your medical care, your lost income, and the disruption to your life. At Lindner Law, LLC, we represent injured people throughout Brown County from our Appleton office, and when you call, you talk with the attorneys who will actually handle your case.
This page brings together what we know about the injury claims Green Bay residents bring to us most often: falls on unsafe property, car crashes, and dog bites. It also covers the Wisconsin deadlines and insurance rules that shape every one of those claims. Consultations are free, and we are available 24/7 at (414) 271-5300.
How We Serve Green Bay From Our Appleton Office
Our nearest office sits at 5793 W Grande Market Dr, Suite I, in Appleton, a straight drive down I-41 from Green Bay. We chose to stay a smaller, founder-led firm on purpose. You will not be passed to a call center or a rotating case manager, and you can reach Miles G. Lindner, David J. Bischmann, and the rest of our team directly.
Much of a Green Bay injury case runs through local institutions. A lawsuit filed over a crash on Lombardi Avenue or a fall at a store in Ashwaubenon would typically be heard in Brown County Circuit Court. Your treatment records may come from Bellin Health, HSHS St. Vincent Hospital, or Aurora BayCare Medical Center. We gather those records, deal with the insurers, and keep you informed so you can focus on getting better.
We also represent people from the communities around Green Bay, including De Pere, Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Howard, Suamico, and Bellevue. If you are not sure whether your location or your type of case is a fit, call and ask. We will give you a straight answer.
Premises Liability and Slip and Fall Injuries in Green Bay
Premises liability is the core of our practice. It covers injuries caused by an unsafe condition on someone else's property: a wet floor in a grocery aisle, a broken stair in an apartment building, a pothole in a parking lot, or a railing that gives way. In a city where winter lasts from November well into March, ice on walkways and parking lots causes a large share of the falls we see.
Wisconsin gives injured people two main legal tools in these cases. The first is ordinary negligence, which asks whether the property owner used reasonable care. The second is the state's safe-place statute, which requires owners of public buildings and places of employment to keep them as safe as the nature of the premises reasonably permits.
Wisconsin's own civil jury instruction on the safe-place statute explains that this duty is higher than the ordinary-care standard, which can matter a great deal when a business argues it did "enough."
Most premises cases turn on notice. For a temporary hazard like spilled liquid or fresh ice, the question is usually whether the owner knew about it, or whether it existed long enough that the owner should have found and fixed it. Evidence of that timeline disappears quickly, so these are the records we try to secure first:
- Surveillance video from the store, lot, or building, which many businesses overwrite within days or weeks
- Incident reports and the names of employees who responded
- Maintenance, inspection, and snow-removal logs
- Photos of the hazard, the lighting, and the footwear you were wearing
- Contact information for anyone who saw the fall
Taken together, those records often show whether the owner had time to fix the problem. If you can safely photograph the spot or keep your shoes and clothing in a bag, those small steps can help your claim later.
Falls often cause fractures, spinal injuries, and head trauma. A fall that ends in a traumatic brain injury deserves particular care, because symptoms like memory trouble or personality changes may not show up fully until weeks later. We work with treating doctors to document how a brain injury has changed your daily life, which is often the most important part of the claim.
Car Accidents in Green Bay and Brown County
Green Bay drivers deal with a mix of interstate traffic on I-41 and I-43, busy commercial corridors like Oneida Street and Military Avenue, the Highway 29 and 32 connections, and the crowds that fill the roads around Lambeau Field on game days. The area also has many roundabouts, where failure-to-yield and lane-change crashes are common.
Wisconsin is an at-fault state, so the driver who caused the crash, and that driver's insurer, is responsible for your losses. The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance explains that every Wisconsin auto policy must carry at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability, $10,000 in property damage liability, and uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.
The same guide notes that crashes involving injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage must be reported, and that a driver's report goes to the DMV within 10 days when police do not investigate.
Those minimums are low compared with the cost of a serious injury. A single surgery can use up a $25,000 policy, which is why we look beyond the at-fault driver's policy to your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage, and any other policy that might apply. When the other driver has no insurance at all, or drives away, your own uninsured motorist coverage may be the main source of recovery.
How Shared Fault Affects a Green Bay Crash Claim
Insurers often argue that you were partly to blame, for example by claiming you were speeding slightly or entered a roundabout too quickly. Under Wisconsin's comparative negligence statute, you can still recover if your share of the negligence is not greater than the negligence of the person you are pursuing. Your damages are then reduced by your percentage of fault, and your fault is measured separately against each person found causally negligent.
Here is how that math works in practice. Suppose a jury values your damages at $100,000 and finds the other driver 80% at fault and you 20% at fault. You would recover $80,000. If the jury instead found you 51% at fault, you would recover nothing from that driver.
Because a few percentage points can decide the outcome, we build the fault picture carefully with scene photos, vehicle damage, dashcam or traffic camera footage, the data stored in many vehicles' event data recorders, and witness statements.
Dog Bite Injuries in Green Bay
Wisconsin treats dog bites differently from most injury claims. Under Wis. Stat. § 174.02, a dog's owner is liable for the full amount of damages the dog causes by injuring a person, without the injured person having to prove the owner was careless.
The statute also allows double damages in a narrower situation: when the dog bites with enough force to break the skin and cause permanent scarring or disfigurement, and the owner was notified or knew the dog had previously done the same.
Two limits are worth knowing. The owner's liability is still subject to Wisconsin's comparative negligence rule, so an insurer may argue that the injured person provoked the dog. The statute also has exceptions, such as certain injuries to people committing crimes on the owner's property.
In most Green Bay dog bite cases we handle, the claim is paid through the owner's homeowner's or renter's insurance rather than by the owner personally.
Dog bites are especially hard on children, who are often bitten on the face. The claim should account for scar revision, counseling for fear or nightmares, and the effect of visible scarring over a lifetime, not just the emergency room bill.
Other Injury Cases We Handle for Green Bay Clients
Beyond falls, car crashes, and dog bites, our attorneys represent Green Bay residents in:
- Truck accidents on I-41 and I-43, where federal trucking rules and commercial insurance policies change how the claim is built
- Motorcycle and bicycle crashes, where riders often face unfair assumptions about fault
- Pedestrian injuries in crosswalks, parking lots, and residential streets
- Traumatic brain injuries from any cause
- Wrongful death claims on behalf of families who have lost someone to another person's negligence
If your situation is not on this list, call us anyway. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you so.
Wisconsin Deadlines That Apply to Green Bay Claims
Wisconsin's statute of limitations for injury claims generally gives you three years to file a lawsuit for personal injuries, including injuries from motor vehicle crashes, falls, and dog bites. A wrongful death claim generally has three years as well, but a wrongful death claim arising from a motor vehicle accident must be filed within two years.
Claims against a government body follow an additional, much shorter timeline. If you were hurt on city or county property, or by a municipal vehicle, Wis. Stat. § 893.80 generally requires written notice of the circumstances within 120 days of the event. The same statute generally caps recovery against a governmental body at $50,000 per claimant, with some exceptions.
Deadlines can shift based on when an injury was discovered, the injured person's age, and other circumstances, so the dates in your case may differ from these general rules. Contacting a lawyer well before any deadline gives time to investigate while the evidence is still available.
What Compensation May Cover
A Wisconsin personal injury claim aims to put you in the position you would have been in if the injury had never happened. Depending on the facts, compensation may include:
- Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, therapy, and medication
- Lost wages and reduced ability to earn in the future
- Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of companionship for a spouse or family member
Every case is valued on its own facts, including how serious the injury is, how clear liability is, and how much insurance is available. We will give you an honest assessment rather than a number designed to win your business.
Results From Northeast Wisconsin Cases
Our published case results include several cases from the Fox Valley and nearby counties. Among them are a $155,000 settlement for a Kaukauna client who slipped on icy stairs with no railing at a rental property, a $100,000 settlement for a Kimberly client struck in a crosswalk by a tired driver, and a $53,000 settlement for a woman bitten in the leg by a German Shepherd in Oconto County.
Past results do not predict future outcomes, and the result in any case depends on its specific facts.
Frequently Asked Questions About Green Bay Injury Claims
How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in Green Bay?
Most personal injury lawyers in Green Bay, including Lindner Law, LLC, work on a contingency fee, which means you pay no attorney fee unless money is recovered for you. The fee is a percentage of the settlement or verdict, and the consultation is free. Ask any lawyer you speak with to explain the percentage and how case costs are handled before you sign.
Should I talk to the other driver's insurance company after a Green Bay car accident?
You can give the other driver's insurer basic facts, but you are not required to give a recorded statement to that insurer in Wisconsin. Adjusters often use early recorded statements to argue that you were partly at fault or that your injuries are minor. Speaking with a lawyer first helps you avoid statements that could reduce your claim.
Does uninsured motorist coverage pay after a hit-and-run in Wisconsin?
Yes, Wisconsin uninsured motorist coverage generally protects you when you are injured by a hit-and-run driver as well as by a driver with no insurance. It covers bodily injury, not damage to your vehicle, and the minimum required limit is $25,000 per person. Report the crash to police promptly and notify your insurer, since policies set their own reporting requirements.
How long does a personal injury case take in Wisconsin?
A Wisconsin personal injury case with clear liability and a completed course of medical treatment may settle within months, while a case that requires a lawsuit can take a year or more. Most lawyers wait until your treatment has stabilized before negotiating, so the full cost of the injury is known. Disputed fault, serious injuries, and multiple insurers usually add time.
Do most personal injury cases go to court?
Most personal injury cases in Wisconsin settle without a trial, often after the injured person's lawyer sends a detailed demand to the insurer. Filing a lawsuit does not mean the case will reach a jury, and many cases settle during the lawsuit. Preparing a case as though it could go to trial tends to put the injured person in a stronger position during negotiation.
Talk With a Green Bay Injury Attorney at Lindner Law, LLC
After an injury, what most people want is a clear explanation of where they stand and someone they can reach when they have questions. That is how we run our practice. Our Appleton office holds a 5.0-star rating across 150+ Google reviews, and our Milwaukee office holds a 4.9-star rating across 400+ reviews, with many clients mentioning how easy it was to reach the people handling their cases.
Call Lindner Law, LLC at (414) 271-5300, any time of day, for a free consultation about your Green Bay injury. We will listen to what happened and tell you honestly what options you have.
The information on this page is general and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results depend on the specific facts of each case.