How Long Do You Have to Report a Car Accident Injury in Wisconsin?

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It can be difficult to determine the proper course of action after a car accident. There are multiple reports that must be filed in order to recover compensation related to a crash.

You should report your car accident injury to the police immediately after your accident. Next, you should report your injury to your insurance company as soon as possible. Different insurers will have varying deadlines for reporting injuries. Finally, you will have three years from the date of your crash to file a car accident lawsuit, although it is recommended that you consult with a lawyer as soon as possible following the incident.

If you were injured because of a car accident in Wisconsin, get help filing the necessary reports. Contact our experienced Wisconsin car accident lawyers by calling Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166 for a free case review.

When to Report a Car Accident Injury to the Police in Wisconsin

You should call 911 immediately after suffering a car accident injury in Wisconsin. Under Wis. Stats. § 346.70, drivers involved in crashes that cause injuries must report their accidents to the police as soon as possible. If you flee the scene of a harmful accident, you may be charged with a hit and run.

After calling 911, a police officer will visit the crash scene to draft an accident report. Accident reports are one of the first items examined by attorneys when determining fault for a crash. These reports will contain various information pertaining to your accident. For instance, an accident report may provide the following:

A diagram of the accident
Statements from witnesses
Statements from drivers involved
Information regarding the location of the crash
Information regarding the property damaged because of the accident
Notes from the officer regarding why or how the accident occurred

Such reports are required after any injurious accident. If you did not report your accident to the police right away, you still have 10 days to file your own accident report. You can submit your own written report to the police station that has jurisdiction where your crash occurred. However, you should be prepared to provide the following information:

Your driver’s license number
Your vehicle insurance information
Your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
Your social security number

You can reach out to our Milwaukee car accident lawyers for help completing your report.

Do I Need to Report My Car Accident Injury to My Insurance Company in Wisconsin?

You should also report your car accident injury to your insurance company as soon as possible after suffering a car accident injury in Wisconsin. Accident victims will usually recover financial compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Still, you may have to report your car accident injury to your insurer even if you were not at fault.

Many insurance companies require policyholders to report any car accident injuries they suffer. Failure to report your injury could cause your insurance rates to rise.

Different insurers will have varying deadlines for reporting injuries. After reporting your injury, your insurance company may ask you to provide a written statement. You should approach any written statements regarding your accident with caution. Do not apologize or admit fault for your crash. These statements may be used against you when seeking monetary damages through a car accident lawsuit. Our experienced Milwaukee personal injury lawyers can help when reporting your car accident injury to your insurance company.

When to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Wisconsin

Time limits for filing various types of lawsuits are established by states’ statutes of limitations. Under Wis. Stats. § 893.54, you will generally have three years after your crash to file a car accident lawsuit. However, you should not wait to file your claim. There are numerous requirements that must be complied with when filing a case. For instance, plaintiffs must investigate their claim, gather and preserve evidence, prepare the lawsuit, file in the correct court, pay the necessary filing fees, and serve all named defendants. Failure to satisfy any of these conditions could force you to re-file your lawsuit. By attempting to file your case early, you afford yourself time to re-file your case if required.

Furthermore, waiting to file your case could cause important evidence to become lost. For instance, witnesses may disappear or forget crucial details, or important financial documents may be misplaced. Accordingly, you should contact our Wisconsin car accident lawyers immediately after suffering a car accident injury, so our team can begin preserving evidence and start the process of recovering the money you’re owed.

An exception to the statute of limitations exists for children who suffer car accident injuries. A parent may bring a lawsuit to court on behalf of their child at any point until the child turns 18. Additionally, under Wis. Stats. § 893.16, a victim will have three years after turning 18 to file lawsuits related to car accident injuries that occurred while they were a minor. Injured parties can contact our attorneys for help assessing how the statute of limitations applies to their case.

When to Report Your Car Accident Injury to a Physician in Wisconsin

Furthermore, you should report your injuries to a physician as soon as possible after your accident. Documentation of your injuries is critical not only to your health but to ensure that you in recover financial compensation through car accident lawsuits if necessary. Accordingly, you should not wait for injuries to heal on their own. Our Chicago car accident lawyers can help refer the right doctors for you.

What Types of Accidents Must be Reported to the Police in Wisconsin?

Wis. Stats. § 346.70(1) establishes the criteria for which types of accidents must be reported to the police. Any crash that results in the following must be reported:

Injury or death of a person
$1,000 or more in damage to a person’s vehicle or property
$200 or more in damage to government-owned property

If you were involved in one of the aforementioned types of accidents, you should report the incident to the police as soon as possible. Victims who do not report their accidents will have difficulty recovering compensation related to their injuries.

If You Were Injured Because of a Car Accident in Wisconsin, Our Lawyers Can Help

If you were injured because of a car accident, seek guidance and support from our experienced Indiana car accident lawyers by calling Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166 for a free case review.

$25,000,000

Traumatic Brain Injury

Client injured in auto accident after driver ran stop sign.

$940,000

Post-Concussion Disorder

Women rear-ended while stopped at red light

$1,250,000

Medical Malpractice

Patient suffering nerve damage following hip operation.

$12,000,000

Semi-truck Accident

Woman suffering a traumatic brain injury following semi-truck accident.

$10,500,000

Slip and Fall

Woman suffering severe hip and ankle fracture after falling on defective step.

$797,000

Post-Concussion Disorder

Man suffered headaches and other post-concussion symptoms from vehicle crash.

$1,750,000

Semi-Truck Accident

Woman suffering post-concussion syndrome after vehicle rear-ended by tractor trailer.

$7,250,000

Traumatic Brain Injury

Man physically assaulted at his workplace.

$875,000

Nursing Home Abuse

Woman suffering physical and emotional abuse at nursing home.

$945,000

Auto Accident

Woman suffered from an ankle fracture after a truck turned in front of her vehicle.

$1,525,000

Auto Accident

Man suffered back injury after head-on collision.

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"My case wasn’t very large, but they made it easy to recover damages when the insurance company didn’t even want to cover basic costs. The firm was responsive to my inquiries, and very clear about what was required and what could be expected, during every step of the process."

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"Attorney Wruck did an amazing job in settling my personal injury case. His knowledge and experience specific to semi truck accidents made all of the difference in the outcome of my case; the settlement exceeded my expectations! The staff at his firm was helpful, responsive and caring during a difficult time following a life-altering experience. I highly recommend Attorney Wruck and his firm."

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Meet Don

Best Indianapolis Personal Injury Attorneys

Don Wruck

Founding Partner

Top-Rated Litigator.

Helping injury victims move forward.

Don is a founding partner and one of the nation’s top-ranked personal injury litigators. He is a member of the Multi-million Dollar Advocates Forum, which includes less than 1% of the nation’s trial lawyers, and awarded the highest ranking given by Martindale Hubbel and AVVO.

More importantly, Don understands representing personal injury victims is about more than recovering the best settlement: it’s about helping clients get back on their feet and supporting them in every aspect of their recovery.

Meet Jason

Jason Paupore

Founding Partner

Understanding the Insurance Company:

Getting Results.

In nearly all cases, our clients seek compensation from the wrongdoer’s insurance company. Before forming Wruck Paupore, Jason worked for a prominent law firm representing some of the world’s largest insurers. This experience gives Jason a deep understanding of the insurance industry and the strategies it uses to pay injury victims as little as possible.

Jason -- and our entire team -- put this inside knowledge to work to force insurance companies to pay what is actually owed. Often, we use the insurance company’s own tactics against them as we fight for the full compensation our client deserves.

Best Personal Injury Lawyers Indianapolis

Meet Keith

Keith Medved

Of Counsel

More than 40 Years of Experience.

Still Fighting for Justice.

For more than four decades, Keith has been fighting for injury victims. During that time, he’s watched the insurance industry change, with insurers now more interested in protecting their stock price than treating injury victims fairly.

Since the beginning, Keith has put people first. From his childhood in Gary, Indiana during the 1960’s and working his way through law school, Keith has risen to become one of the Midwest’s most respected trial lawyers. He has never forgotten that being a lawyer is about helping people -- and seeing injury victims through struggles in a way that could change their lives forever.

Over the decades, Keith, Don and Jason have fought relentlessly for clients, even when other lawyers have said the case was impossible to win.