When an injury in Kenosha leaves you with medical bills and questions about who is responsible, a Kenosha personal injury lawyer can handle the insurance side of your claim while you recover. Lindner Law, LLC represents injured people throughout Kenosha County from our Milwaukee office on North Plankinton Avenue, and every client works directly with our attorneys rather than a rotating team of case managers.
We handle falls on unsafe property, car and truck crashes, dog bites, and other injuries caused by someone else's carelessness. The consultation is free, you pay no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you, and you can reach us 24/7 at (414) 271-5300.
Why Kenosha Residents Call Our Milwaukee Office
Our Milwaukee office at 648 N Plankinton Ave, Suite 280, serves all of Kenosha County, including Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Somers, Bristol, Paddock Lake, and Twin Lakes. Most of a Kenosha case happens by phone, email, and records requests, and when a lawsuit is needed, it is typically filed in Kenosha County Circuit Court.
As a personal injury law firm, we stay smaller by choice. That means the attorney who reviews your case at the start is the one you can call months later, and your file does not get handed off to someone who has never heard your story. Clients reach Miles G. Lindner, David J. Bischmann, and the rest of our team directly.
Hurt on Someone Else's Property in Kenosha
Premises liability, meaning injuries caused by unsafe property, is the part of personal injury law our firm focuses on most. In Kenosha, these claims often come from:
- Ice and snow in store parking lots, apartment walkways, and building entrances through the long Wisconsin winters
- Spills and debris in grocery stores and big-box retail aisles
- Broken stairs, loose handrails, and poor lighting in rental properties
- Uneven pavement, potholes, and unmarked curbs in commercial lots
- Hazards in hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues near the lakefront and downtown
Each of those settings raises its own questions about who controlled the property and who was supposed to fix the problem, which is why the first step is always identifying the right owner, manager, or tenant.
The Legal Standard Depends on the Property
Wisconsin applies ordinary negligence to most private property: the question is whether the owner used reasonable care. Businesses and other owners of public buildings and places of employment may also be subject to the state's safe-place statute, which requires them to keep the premises as safe as their nature reasonably permits. Wisconsin's civil jury instruction on the safe-place statute describes that duty as higher than ordinary care.
Under either standard, notice usually decides the case. The owner is responsible if it created the hazard, knew about it, or should have discovered it through reasonable inspection. A store that cannot show when it last checked an aisle, or a landlord who received complaints about a broken step and did nothing, is in a much weaker position than one with clean inspection logs. We request those logs, along with surveillance video and incident reports, as early as possible, because video is often overwritten on a routine schedule.
Serious falls can cause hip and wrist fractures, spinal injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. Older adults are particularly vulnerable, and a fall that looks minor at first can lead to surgery and months of rehabilitation. Traumatic brain injuries are a priority for our firm because they are so easy for an insurer to minimize. When a fall leaves you with headaches, trouble concentrating, or mood changes, that deserves careful medical documentation.
Car and Truck Crashes in Kenosha County
Kenosha sits along one of the busiest stretches of I-94 in Wisconsin, and the county's crash patterns reflect it. We see claims from interstate collisions involving commercial trucks and fast-moving traffic, rear-end crashes along Highway 50 and Highway 158, intersection crashes on Green Bay Road and Sheridan Road, and crashes on rural county roads west of the interstate.
Wisconsin is an at-fault state, so the driver who caused the crash is responsible for your losses, usually through that driver's liability insurer. The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance sets out the minimum coverage every Wisconsin policy must carry:
- $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury
- $10,000 for property damage
- $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in uninsured motorist coverage
When those limits are not enough, we look for other coverage, including your own underinsured motorist and medical payments coverage and, in truck crashes, the motor carrier's commercial policy.
When More Than One Driver Is at Fault
Multi-vehicle crashes are common on I-94, and Wisconsin's fault rules work differently when several people share the blame. Under Wisconsin's comparative negligence statute, you can recover as long as your negligence is not greater than the negligence of the person you are seeking recovery from, and your damages are reduced by your share of fault. The statute also says your negligence is measured separately against each person found causally negligent.
That last point matters in a chain-reaction crash. Suppose a jury finds Driver A 50% at fault, you 30% at fault, and Driver B 20% at fault. Your 30% is less than Driver A's 50%, so you can recover from Driver A, with your damages reduced by 30%.
Your 30% is greater than Driver B's 20%, so you cannot recover from Driver B. Building the evidence carefully, through crash reports, vehicle damage, event data recorder downloads, dashcam footage, and witness statements, can change how those percentages come out.
Dog Bites in Kenosha
Kenosha's parks, including Petrifying Springs and Simmons Island, along with its dense residential neighborhoods, put people and dogs in close contact. Under Wis. Stat. § 174.02, a dog owner is liable for the full amount of damages the dog causes by injuring a person, whether or not the dog had bitten before.
Damages can be doubled when the dog bites hard enough to break the skin and cause permanent scarring or disfigurement and the owner already knew the dog had done so before.
These claims are usually paid through the owner's homeowner's or renter's policy. Reporting the bite to police or animal control creates an official record, and photographs of the wound as it heals help show the full extent of the injury, especially when scarring is involved.
What Happens After You Call Us
Many people put off calling a lawyer because they are not sure what the process looks like. Here is how a Kenosha case usually moves with our firm:
- We talk through what happened, answer your questions, and tell you honestly whether we think we can help. There is no charge for this conversation.
- If we take your case, we notify the insurers, request the crash or incident reports, and send preservation letters for video and other evidence that could be lost.
- While you focus on treatment, we collect your medical records and bills and track how the injury is affecting your work and daily life.
- Once your medical condition has stabilized, we prepare a demand that lays out liability and the full value of your losses, then negotiate with the insurer.
- If the insurer will not make a fair offer, we discuss filing a lawsuit in Kenosha County Circuit Court and what that would involve for you.
Throughout that process, you can call with questions and expect an answer from someone who knows your file. Most cases resolve during negotiation, but the decision to settle is always yours.
Other Cases We Handle for Kenosha Clients
Our attorneys also represent Kenosha County residents in motorcycle and bicycle crashes, pedestrian injuries, drunk driving crashes, and wrongful death claims on behalf of families. If you are not sure whether your situation fits, a short call will tell you. We would rather give you an honest answer at the start than take a case we cannot help with.
Deadlines for Kenosha Injury Claims
Most Wisconsin personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years under Wisconsin's statute of limitations for injuries. Wrongful death claims generally share that three-year period, except that a wrongful death claim arising from a motor vehicle accident must be filed within two years.
If a city, county, or other government body may be responsible, for example a city bus crash or a fall caused by a defect on public property, Wis. Stat. § 893.80 generally requires written notice within 120 days of the event and generally limits recovery to $50,000 per claimant. Exceptions to these rules exist, including rules that can extend deadlines for minors, so it is worth confirming the dates that apply to your situation early.
What a Kenosha Injury Claim Can Recover
Compensation in a Wisconsin personal injury case can include medical expenses you have already paid and those you will need in the future, lost wages and reduced earning ability, pain and suffering, scarring, and loss of enjoyment of life. A spouse may also have a claim for loss of companionship. The value of a claim depends on the severity of the injury, the strength of the evidence on fault, and the insurance available.
Our published case results include a $425,000 settlement for a Waukesha client hit by a school bus and a $273,000 settlement for a Wauwatosa client struck by a reckless driver while shoveling a sidewalk. Those results reflect their own facts. Past results do not predict the outcome of any future case.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kenosha Personal Injury Claims
Who pays my medical bills after a car accident in Wisconsin?
In Wisconsin, your own health insurance and any medical payments coverage on your auto policy usually pay medical bills first, and the at-fault driver's liability insurer pays through the final settlement rather than bill by bill. Health insurers that paid your bills may seek reimbursement from the settlement. Keeping every bill and explanation of benefits makes that accounting easier at the end of the case.
Do I have to report a car accident in Wisconsin?
Yes, Wisconsin requires a crash to be reported when anyone is injured or killed or when property damage exceeds $1,000. If police investigate, the officer files the report. If police do not investigate, the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance says a Driver's Report of Accident must be filed with the DMV within 10 days.
What should I do if a Kenosha store says my fall was my own fault?
A store's claim that a fall was your fault does not end a Wisconsin premises liability claim, because Wisconsin compares fault instead of barring recovery for any carelessness. You can still recover if your share of fault is not greater than the store's, with your damages reduced by your percentage. Avoid giving a recorded statement to the store's insurer before you understand how your words may be used.
Is there a cap on pain and suffering in a Wisconsin injury case?
Wisconsin does not place a general cap on pain and suffering damages in most personal injury cases, such as car crashes, falls, and dog bites. Caps do apply in certain situations, including medical malpractice claims and claims against government bodies. The amount a person actually recovers is often limited in practice by the insurance coverage available.
Can I still bring a claim if I did not see a doctor right away?
Yes, you can still bring a Wisconsin injury claim if you delayed medical treatment, but the delay gives the insurer an argument that something else caused your injuries. Many injuries, including concussions and soft tissue damage, are not obvious for hours or days. Getting evaluated as soon as symptoms appear, and explaining the delay to your doctor, helps connect the injury to the incident.
Talk to a Kenosha Personal Injury Attorney
A good first conversation should leave you understanding where you stand, what the insurer is likely to argue, and what happens next. That is the conversation we try to have with every person who calls. Our Milwaukee office holds a 4.9-star rating across 400+ Google reviews, and many of those reviews describe being able to reach the attorneys directly.
Call Lindner Law, LLC at (414) 271-5300 for a free consultation about your Kenosha injury. We are available 24/7.
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.