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★ Wisconsin · medical negligence

Medical negligence settlements
in Wisconsin.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

A Wisconsin jury awarded $15 million in noneconomic damages to a woman who lost all four limbs to sepsis after an emergency room sent her home. In 2018 the Supreme Court held the $750,000 cap applies, overruling its own 2005 decision that had struck down an earlier cap.

Facts that decide a medical negligence claim in Wisconsin

Malpractice capNoneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases are capped at $750,000, and the cap is constitutional; economic damages are paid in full by the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund.Wis. Stat. § 893.55(4)(d), upheld in Mayo v. Wisconsin Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund (Wis. 2018)
Fault ruleContributory negligence “does not bar recovery … if that negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought,” and your damages are reduced by your share.Wis. Stat. § 895.045(1), as quoted in Richards v. Badger Mutual Insurance (Wis. 2008)
Deadline to sueThree years for personal injury actions; a claim filed later is barred unless a tolling rule applies.Wis. Stat. § 893.54, as applied in Donaldson v. West Bend Mutual Insurance (Wis. Ct. App. 2009)
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★ WI · reported medical negligence outcomes

What Wisconsin courts have awarded.

Real Wisconsin decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Mayo v. Wisconsin Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund
    Wisconsin Supreme Court · 2018
    $15,000,000 noneconomic award reduced to $750,000

    In May 2011 Ascaris Mayo went to a Milwaukee emergency room with abdominal pain and a high fever and was told to follow up with her gynecologist. The next day another ER diagnosed sepsis from an untreated infection; her organs failed and all four limbs had to be amputated. The jury found she was not told of alternative diagnoses and awarded $8,842,096 in economic damages, $15 million in noneconomic damages and $1.5 million to her husband. The Supreme Court held the $750,000 cap constitutional and overruled Ferdon.

  • Ferdon v. Wisconsin Patients Compensation Fund
    Wisconsin Supreme Court · 2005
    Cap struck down; later overruled

    Matthew Ferdon was injured at birth by a doctor’s negligence and, despite surgeries, has a partially paralyzed and deformed right arm. The jury awarded $700,000 in noneconomic damages and $403,000 for future medical care. The Supreme Court held the noneconomic cap then in force unconstitutional; in 2018 it overruled that decision in Mayo.

★ WI · medical negligence · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a medical negligence settlement in Wisconsin.

  1. 1

    Economic damages are not capped. Mayo’s $8.8 million in economic loss was unaffected by the cap.

  2. 2

    Informed consent claims can succeed even when no provider is found negligent in treatment, as in Mayo.

  3. 3

    Case law can flip. Ferdon’s win on the cap was overruled 13 years later.

★ WI · statute of limitations
3 years from date of injury

Wis. Stat. § 893.54

★ WI · fault rule
Modified comparative, 51% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 51% claimant fault.

★ WI · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a medical negligence settlement in Wisconsin.

★ medical negligence · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Wisconsin's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for medical negligence claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationMedical negligence page
Wisconsin · you are hereModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injury—
IllinoisModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIL · medical negligence →
IndianaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIN · medical negligence →
IowaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIA · medical negligence →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · medical negligence →
MichiganModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMI · medical negligence →
MinnesotaModified comparative, 51% bar6 years for personal injury (uncommonly long); 4 years for medical malpracticeMN · medical negligence →
WyomingModified comparative, 51% bar4 years from date of injuryWY · medical negligence →
ConnecticutModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryCT · medical negligence →
DelawareModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryDE · medical negligence →
FloridaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury (was 4; reduced by HB 837)FL · medical negligence →
AlabamaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryAL · medical negligence →
AlaskaPure comparative negligence2 years from date of injury or discoveryAK · medical negligence →
★ WI · medical negligence · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in Wisconsin. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own medical negligence case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of WI
Wisconsin overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Wisconsin as a whole.

★ national frame
Medical negligence in United States

Medical negligence band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Medical negligence · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of medical negligence bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Wisconsin. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.