PERSONAL INJURY

How Do You Protect Your Rights If You Have Been Injured?

• Seek Medical Attention
  Make sure the injured person receives the best medical care available and that there is no delay in seeking treatment.
  
  
• Preserve All Documents
  Be sure the proper authorities are contacted immediately and the appropriate reports are completed. Police should be contacted for automobile accidents and a supervisor or company official for work accidents.
  
  
• Giving Statements
  If you are asked to give a statement, try to calmly recount what happened as accurately as possible. Remember that everything you say can be used against you. Avoid conclusionary statements about who is or is not at fault. For many situations in Wisconsin, fault is comparative; so several parties may be at fault.
  
  
• Carefully review everything you sign
  If you do not understand the document, do not sign it, or indicate in writing that you do not understand or necessarily agree with the statements.
  
  
• Contact A Lawyer
  Call a lawyer as soon as possible. A lawyer can better investigate a case while evidence at the scene of the accident is fresh. Witnesses are better able to recall the incident shortly after it happens. Photographs preserving the scene are helpful in proving a case.
  
  
• Notify Insurance Carriers
  Notify your insurance company even if you think you are not at fault since the other driver may have no coverage. Most companies require notification of an injury as soon as reasonably possible. Some companies have strict notification requirements (i.e., 20 days). If you fail to notify an insurance carrier in a timely manner, you could forfeit coverage and/or a defense.
  
  
• Preserve Damaged Property
  Preserve any damaged property and any physical items that are related to the accident.
  
  
• Keep Records
  The injured person, a family member, or both should record the details related to the injury and the pain and suffering experienced. These are helpful both in seeking treatment for your injuries and recalling your injures at a later date.
  
  
• Dealing With Claims Adjusters
  Be careful about saying or signing anything for claims adjusters. Anything said to claims adjusters can be used against you.

Do not settle any serious injury claim unless you have carefully thought about your options!! Once you have signed a release, you have no further claim. If you are not careful, a release you sign could also release other responsible parties.

How Long Do You Have To Decide Whether To Sue?
There are statutes of limitations that state the time limits within which you must file a claim. If the statute of limitations expires, you are barred from compensation for any claims you might have had.

For most personal injures, you have three years to file a claim. If the personal injury was intentionally inflicted (i.e., battery claims), you have two years to file the claim.

Since statutes of limitation vary for each situation, it is important to ask your lawyer when the statute of limitations expires for your case.

WORKERS COMPENSATION

What Should You Do If You Are Injured At Work?
It is important to immediately report injuries to your employer. You should seek medical or chiropractic care for your injury.

What Kinds Of Injuries Are Covered By Worker’s Compensation?
Wisconsin law covers injuries resulting from accidents or occupational diseases (example: hearing loss or carpal tunnel syndrome). A compensable injury may be physical, mental or both.

An injury must have occurred within the course of your employment. However, "employers take their employees as they find them." If a worker has a pre-existing condition that made them more susceptible to injury, this does not bar the worker from compensation.

How Much Will I Be Paid While I Am Off From Work?
While you are off work for your injury, you will be paid two-thirds of your average weekly wage. If you are part time, you may be entitled to be paid based on a forty-hour week during the time that you are off from work.

There are caps on weekly compensation which change yearly. There is no compensation due for the first three days off from work. However, after you have been off for seven days, then those first three days will also be paid.

Will My Healthcare Expenses Be Paid?
You are entitled to have all medical and other healthcare expenses paid by your employer’s workers compensation insurance company. You must obtain permission from the insurer or self-insured employer before receiving out-of-state treatment, otherwise, your treatment may not be paid. If you are injured at work, you should tell your healthcare providers that your injury is work related. However, you should also give them the billing information of your health insurer. If the Worker’s Compensation claim is denied, they can then bill your health insurance so that you are not left with an unpaid bill.

What Other Benefits Am I Entitled To Receive?

If you have a permanent injury there are other benefits to which you may be entitled. These include:
• Permanent Partial Disability payments;
• Vocational Rehabilitation;
• Loss of Earning Capacity payments;
• Other penalties, such as safety violations and disfigurement payments.

What Should I Do If My Workers Compensation Claim is Denied?
Contact an attorney who specializes in worker’s compensation. First consultations are usually free. The attorney will be able to tell you whether or not you have a viable claim and if legal representation is in your best interests.

FAMILY LAW

What Are The Basic Issues In A Divorce?
Grounds: Wisconsin is a no-fault divorce state. This means that the court is not interested in why a party is seeking a divorce. The court however, must be convinced that the marriage is irretrievably broken. In other words, the court will grant the divorce if there is no reasonable prospect that the married couple can reconcile their differences.

Custody: means authority to make major decisions for a child. "Major decisions" include, but are not limited to, decisions regarding consent to marry, consent to enter military service, consent to obtain a motor vehicle operator's license, authorization for non-emergency health care and choice of school and religion. If both parents have equal decision-making authority, this is called "joint legal custody." If one parent has the right to make major decisions, this is called "sole legal custody."

Physical Placement: The condition under which a party has the right to have a child physically placed with that party and has the right and responsibility to make, during that placement, routine daily decisions regarding the child's care, consistent with major decisions made by person(s) having legal custody.

Child Support: Payments made from one parent to another for the purpose of assisting in the costs of raising the child(ren). Support calculations can be very complex and vary based on the amount of time each parent has placement of the child(ren) and the level of income of either or both parents. (See back panel for more information.)

Maintenance: Formerly called alimony, maintenance is a payment from one spouse to the other. When determining if maintenance should be awarded, the court will consider: the length of the marriage; the age and health of both spouses; the property division; the education of each spouse; the standard of living of each spouse and the likelihood that each is or can be self-supporting; tax consequences; agreements between the spouses; the contributions of each spouse toward the other or the family; and other factors the court deems relevant. Maintenance can be awarded for a fixed amount of time or indefinitely.

Property Division: the court will attempt to divide the marital estate equally between the spouses. The marital estate consists of assets and debts acquired during the marriage. There are rules that allow certain property to be excepted from the marital estate: inheritance, gifts, etc..

What Should I Look For In A Good Divorce Lawyer?
According to the Divorce pamphlet produced by the State Bar of Wisconsin:
"Contrary to what many people believe, good divorce lawyers don’t push their clients into full-scale war. This only leaves behind damage and resentment that can linger for years. The best outcome is a divorce that allows two people to begin to heal and get on with their lives. Toward that end, divorce attorneys help their clients settle their divorce, if at all possible, rather than go to trial."

How Are Child Support Payments Calculated?

1. If one parent has primary placement, the court typically orders child support based on the following guidelines:
   • One Child: 17% of gross income
   • Two Children: 25% of gross income
   • Three Children: 29% of gross income
   • Four Children: 31% of gross income
2. If the parents share placement, the courts will consider the amount of child support mom would pay for the child(ren) for the time the child(ren) are with dad and offset that figure by the amount dad would pay for the time the child(ren) are with mom.
3. The court may use alternative formulas for high and low income child support payers.
4. Either parent may argue for deviation from these standard calculations.

What Other Considerations Should Be Discussed With An Attorney?

Other procedures, which may require a Family Law Attorney, include the following:
• Adoption
• Paternity
• Post Judgment Modifications
• Domestic Violence Cases