Mark A. Eisenberg | September 7, 2026 | Personal Injury, Wisconsin Law
If you share fault for an accident in Wisconsin, your compensation may be reduced or barred depending on your percentage of responsibility. Wisconsin follows a modified comparative fault system that considers the actions of everyone who contributed to the accident.
Being partially at fault does not automatically prevent you from recovering compensation. Instead, your percentage of responsibility can determine whether you can recover damages and how much you may receive.
Wisconsin’s modified comparative negligence law is found in Wis. Stat. § 895.045. When multiple people contribute to an accident, each person may be assigned a percentage of fault based on their role in causing it.
The 51% threshold determines whether an injured person can recover compensation. If you are 50% at fault, you may still recover from someone who is equally at fault, but your damages will be reduced by 50%. If you are 51% at fault, you cannot recover from someone who has a smaller share of responsibility.
When multiple parties are responsible, Wisconsin generally compares your percentage of fault separately with that of each person from whom you seek compensation.
Your percentage of fault directly affects how much compensation you can recover. The greater your share of responsibility, the greater the reduction in your damages.
For example, suppose you have $100,000 in damages after an accident:
These reductions can have a significant financial impact, particularly when an accident results in substantial medical expenses, lost income, or long-term injuries.
Fault is based on each person’s actions before and during the accident and how those actions contributed to it. More than one person can share responsibility for the same incident.
For example, one driver might have been speeding while another failed to yield. In a slip and fall case, a property owner may have failed to address a dangerous condition, while the injured person may be accused of failing to notice an obvious hazard.
Insurance companies may assign percentages of fault while evaluating a claim. If the case goes to trial, a judge or jury may ultimately determine how fault is allocated.
You do not have to accept an insurance company’s assessment of your responsibility for an accident. An insurer may argue that you were partially at fault and use that percentage to reduce the amount it offers to pay.
The evidence may support a different allocation of fault. Photographs, witness statements, video footage, accident reports, and other records can help establish what each person did and how their actions contributed to the accident. You may be able to use this information to challenge the insurance company’s assessment through settlement negotiations or litigation.
Evidence can help establish how an accident occurred and clarify each party’s role in causing it. This can be especially important when the parties disagree about the events leading up to an injury.
Useful evidence may include:
Some evidence can disappear or become less reliable over time. Surveillance footage may be deleted, accident scenes may change, and witnesses may become harder to locate. Preserving evidence early can help create a clearer record of what happened when fault is disputed.
Sharing fault does not necessarily prevent you from recovering compensation in Wisconsin. If you are 50% or less at fault, you may still recover damages, although your compensation can be reduced based on your share of responsibility.
Eisenberg Law Offices S.C. is a trusted personal injury law firm in Madison, WI, dedicated to fighting for your deserved compensation. Our experienced attorneys will negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf and ensure your rights are protected. Contact us today for a free consultation.
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