In Wisconsin, for MVA fault calculation there is no MVA fault formula or computer program or law that says what percentage a driver’s fault or responsibility is in an car accident. Wisconsin negligence law is called comparative negligence.
In car accident cases, Wisconsin law presumes that all potential legal causes of the accident must equal 100%. Then, its up to the jury to decide what percentage of negligence or fault each party to the accident is responsible for, with the total of all parties equaling 100%. In general, an injured party may only recover damages against a party whose percentage of causal negligence equals or exceeds that of the injured party. Wis. Stat. § 895.045. If in the comparison of negligence the injured plaintiff is equal to or less than a defendant’s negligence, then the amount of compensatory damages awarded to a plaintiff in a negligence action will be reduced by the percentage of causal negligence attributed to the plaintiff, Wis. Stat. § 895.045. So, if an injured plaintiff’s damages are $10,000.00 and he is 40% causally negligent and the only other party, the defendant is 60% causally negligent, then the plaintiff is entitled to recover $6,000.00.
A party that is less than 51% causally negligent is liable for damages only to the extent of its percentage of the causal negligence. However, parties that are at least 51% causally negligent are jointly and severally liable for all recoverable damages. Wis. Stat. § 895.045(1).
For strict product liability claims under Section 895.045(3), there is a two-step process. First, the jury determines if a product is defective. Then it decides whether the contributory negligence of the injured party is greater than the causal responsibility of the product’s defective condition. If the injured party’s contributory negligence is greater than that of the product, the injured party cannot recover damages. If the causal responsibility resulting of the product’s defective is equal to or greater than the contributory negligence of the injured party, then the injured party can recover damages, reduced by the percentage of the injured party’s contributory negligence. If multiple defendants are responsible, each defendant is liable for the percentage of damages equal to that defendant’s percentage of causal responsibility for the product’s defective condition. Defendants less than 51% causally responsible are liable only for their percentage, while defendants found to be 51% or more causally responsible are jointly and severally liable for all of the injured party’s damages. The fact that the injured party’s contributory negligence is greater than the causal responsibility of a particular defendant does not bar recovery.
McCormick Law Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for MVA fault calculation. Believe in better.
