Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Wisconsin

Re: notice of claim time restriction

There is a distinction between a Notice of Injury (Notice of Circumstance) under section 893.80 (1)(a), Wis. Stats, and a Notice of Claim under section 893.80 (1)(b), Wis. Stats. Assuming that you are asking about the latter Notice of Claim that you have filed, the statute requires that the school district be given 120 days to respond to your Notice of Claim. They have three alternatives. They can honor the claim and pay you the amount demanded. They can disallow the claim and send you a denial by registered or certified mail. Thirdly, they can do nothing and let the 120 day time period run without responding either way. If they formally disallow the claim and comply with the registered or certified mail repsonse, that disallownce triggers a 6 month time period from the date of service of the disallowance, during which you must file a lawsuit, or your claim will be extinguished. On the other hand, if they do nothing during the 120 day time period and that time expires without your being served by registered or certified mail of the disallowance, you are not required to file the suit within the 6 months time, and you will have the full statute of limitations time period to file your suit, normally three years from the date of the incident, if the claim involves negligence for an adult in Wisconsin. If you have not allowed 120 days, prior to the running of the statute of limitations time period, it gets a little tricker, and I would suggest that you consult with an attorney. If the claim involves a minor, the statute of limitations is generally until the minor's 20th birthday if the claim was one based upon negligence. If the incident that led to the filing of the notice involved an intentional act or something related to property damage or contract, then there are other applicable statute of limitations in Wisconsin. Claims against municipalities, such as a school district, are often confusing and filled with pitfalls, and you would be best served in at least consulting with an experienced attorney as to the many issues. Again, statute of limitations time periods require either the settlement of a claim or the commencing of a lawsuit, in order to preserve the ability to pursue a claim.