2014 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
893. Limitations of commencement of actions and proceedings and procedure for claims against governmental units.
893.04 Computation of period within which action may be commenced.
893.04 Computation of period within which action may be commenced. Unless otherwise specifically prescribed by law, a period of limitation within which an action may be commenced is computed from the time that the cause of action accrues until the action is commenced.
In attorney malpractice actions, as in medical malpractice cases, when the date of the negligence and the date of injury are the same, the statute of limitations runs from that date, for that is the time when the cause of action accrues. Denzer v. Rouse, 48 Wis. 2d 528, 180 N.W.2d 521 (1970).
The loss of the right to a patent is the loss of the right to exclude others and, therefore, the injury occurred on the date that the right to the patent was lost. Boehm v. Wheeler, 65 Wis. 2d 668, 223 N.W.2d 536 (1974).
Because s. 67.11 requires moneys in a sinking fund to remain inviolate until the bonds are retired, a cause of action regarding the fund could only accrue at retirement. Joint School District No. 1 of Chilton v. City of Chilton, 78 Wis. 2d 52, 253 N.W.2d 879 (1977).
A tort claim accrues when the injury is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. This "discovery rule" applies to all tort actions other than those governed by a statutory discovery rule. Hansen v. A. H. Robins, Inc. 113 Wis. 2d 550, 335 N.W.2d 578 (1983).
When the plaintiff's early subjective lay person's belief that a furnace caused the injury was contradicted by examining physicians, the cause of action against the furnace company did not accrue until the plaintiff's suspicion was confirmed by later medical diagnosis. Borello v. U.S. Oil Co. 130 Wis. 2d 397, 388 N.W.2d 140 (1986).
Claimed ignorance of, and a blatant failure to follow, applicable regulations cannot be construed as reasonable diligence in discovering an injury when following the rules would have resulted in earlier discovery. Stroh Die Casting v. Monsanto Co. 177 Wis. 2d 91, 502 N.W.2d 132 (Ct. App. 1993).
The day upon which a cause of action accrues is not included in computing the period of limitation. Pufahl v. Williams, 179 Wis. 2d 104, 506 N.W.2d 747 (1993).
A plaintiff can rely on the discovery rule only if he or she has exercised reasonable diligence. Jacobs v. Nor-Lake, 217 Wis. 2d 625, 579 N.W.2d 254 (Ct. App. 1998), 97-1740.
The discovery rule applies to statutes of limitations that limit the time to sue from the time when the action "accrues," being the time of discovery. The discovery rule does not apply to a statute of repose, a statute that specifies the time of accrual and limits the time suit can be brought from that specified date. Tomczak v. Bailey, 218 Wis. 2d 245, 578 N.W.2d 166 (1998), 95-2733.
The discovery rule does not extend to causes of action not sounding in tort. State v. Chrysler Outboard Corp. 219 Wis. 2d 130, 580 N.W.2d 203 (1998), 96-1158.
Knowing that a particular product caused an injury, an injured party cannot extend the accrual date for a cause of action against the product's manufacturer due to the subsequent discovery of possible connections between that product and another manufacturer's product in causing the injury. Baldwin v. Badger Mining Corporation & Mine Safety Appliances Co. 2003 WI App 95, 264 Wis. 2d 301, 663 N.W.2d 382, 02-1197.
Computing time in tort statutes of limitation. Ghiardi, 64 MLR 575 (1981).
Computing Time. Ghiardi. Wis. Law. March 1993.
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