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Personal Injury & Product Liability

An unexpected injury can upend a person’s life. Whether the injury arises from a car accident, a defective product, or a workplace accident, it is important to know the circumstances under which someone (or something) else may be held at fault for the harm caused.

Most personal injury actions involve claims of negligence, which impose liability for injuries caused by a defendant’s failure to act with due care under the circumstances. A plaintiff must prove the following four elements to establish a negligence claim: (1) the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to act in a certain way; (2) the defendant breached that duty by failing to conform its conduct to the applicable standard of care; (3) the defendant’s conduct caused the plaintiff’s harm; and (4) the injury resulted in damages. Apart from negligence claims, however, other statutory causes of action are commonly asserted by injured parties. For example, Wisconsin’s safe-place statute provides that "employers" and "owners" of "places of employment" or "public buildings" must provide a safe environment to those who frequent the building. Wis. Stat. § 101.11(1).

In other cases, a plaintiff or its property is injured by a defective product. In these situations, the manufacturer of the product, as well as its distributors, wholesalers, and the retailer who sold it, may be liable to the injured party under numerous theories of liability. 

Regardless of how your injury occurs or whether you have been accused of injuring another, Barton Cerjak understands the complexities of personal injury claims. Give us a call today for a free consultation.

Representative Matters

  • Represented the principal defendant in a product-liability suit venued in the Central District of California with over $1MM in dispute, which resolved under terms favorable to the client. See Abrica v. Grob, Inc., Case No. 2:10-cv-03424 (C.D. Cal.).
  • Obtained summary judgment against plaintiff on her personal injury suit because she failed to comply with the notice requirements governing claims against municipalities. Tomczyk v. Mid-State Technical College et al., Case No. 2011-CV-000639 (Wood County Cir. Ct.)
  • Obtained summary judgment against numerous plaintiffs on their claims for negligence and violation of the Safe Place Statute against MATC for their alleged injuries. See Durrah v. Wisconsin County Mutual Ins. Co., Case No. 2010-CV-008706; see also Jennings v. Wisconsin County Mutual Ins. Co., Case No. 2009-CV-017943. 

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