Wisconsin Mesothelioma Lawyer | Asbestos Claims, Lawsuits & Deadlines

If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with mesothelioma after working in a Wisconsin paper mill, brewery, foundry, machinery works, power plant, or shipyard, several claim paths may be open. These usually include claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts set up to pay asbestos victims, lawsuits against the manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos products, sometimes claims against the owners of the plants where outside contractors' employees worked, and benefits programs: Wisconsin worker's compensation, the Longshore Act for shipyard workers, FECA for federal civilian employees, and VA benefits for veterans.

Wisconsin gives a diagnosed worker three years to file a lawsuit, counted from when the worker knew, or should have known, of the illness and that it was probably caused by asbestos. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. An earlier diagnosis of asbestosis does not start the clock for a later mesothelioma in Wisconsin, and an earlier asbestosis case does not bar it: the three years run from when the cancer was discovered. But the clock can start before the formal diagnosis if the illness and its link to asbestos were already known, so call us right away.

You do not need to know the name of the asbestos product before you call. Many Wisconsin cases begin with one sentence: "Dad worked at the mill in Nekoosa," or "Grandpa was a pipefitter at the Schlitz brewery." We rebuild the exposure history from there using employment and union records, coworker information, trust records, and our database of 200,000+ verified asbestos exposure sites.

You don't need the product names or old records. No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS Request a review

Quick answers

How long do we have to file?	Generally three years from when the worker knew, or should have known, of the illness and that asbestos probably caused it. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. After a death, the family's wrongful-death claim also has three years. Call as soon as you can.
What if my loved one was diagnosed with asbestosis years ago and only now has mesothelioma?	The Wisconsin Supreme Court has held that an earlier non-cancer asbestos diagnosis does not start the clock for a later, distinct asbestos cancer, and that an earlier asbestosis lawsuit did not bar the later mesothelioma case. The three years run from when the cancer was discovered.
Does a claim always mean filing a lawsuit?	No. Some Wisconsin families recover through asbestos bankruptcy trusts and benefits without ever going to court. Some pursue both a lawsuit and trust claims. We plan trust claims and any lawsuit together, because Wisconsin requires a plaintiff to disclose trust claims early in the case.
Who may be responsible?	The companies that made and sold the asbestos products (pipe and block insulation, boilers, refractory, gaskets, packing, joint compound); sometimes the owners of the plants where an outside contractor's employees worked; and, through the trust system, companies that have since gone bankrupt.
What compensation may be available?	Medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering, and the family's own losses after a death. Wisconsin places no cap on pain-and-suffering damages against the product makers and private plant owners. After a death, the family's damages for loss of society and companionship are capped at $350,000. Punitive damages are possible against a company proved to have acted maliciously or in intentional disregard of the worker's rights, within a statutory limit.
What evidence do we need?	Just enough to start the conversation — where your loved one worked, roughly when, and what kind of work they did. We build the rest.
Can an adult child or spouse call?	Yes. Most first calls come from a spouse or adult child. You do not need to come to our office; we handle Wisconsin cases by phone, email, video, and home visits where appropriate.

“I started this firm after learning that the cancers that killed my father and grandparents were caused by asbestos, something we did not realize until it was too late to hold anyone accountable. That experience is why we built this site: so that no other family misses their chance to ask the questions, hear the options, and decide for themselves what to do.”

Justinian C. Lane, Founding Partner

Was the exposure at a Wisconsin paper mill, brewery, foundry, or power plant?

Wisconsin's asbestos exposure follows its rivers and its lakeshore. Milwaukee had the Schlitz, Pabst, and Miller breweries, the Allis-Chalmers works at West Allis, A.O. Smith, Nordberg, and Bucyrus-Erie, and Wisconsin Electric's power plants at Oak Creek and Port Washington. The Fox River Valley had Kimberly-Clark's Neenah mills, Thilmany Pulp & Paper at Kaukauna, and Fort Howard Paper in Green Bay. The Wisconsin River paper towns had Consolidated Papers at Wisconsin Rapids and the Nekoosa-Edwards mills at Nekoosa and Port Edwards. The lakeshore had Manitowoc Shipbuilding, Kohler, and the American Motors plant at Kenosha, and inland there were Brillion Iron Works, the Badger Army Ammunition Plant near Baraboo, Carnation's milk plant at Oconomowoc, and Dairyland Power's station at Alma. The asbestos trusts' lists hold more than 2,000 Wisconsin entries across 234 communities, from 25 asbestos trusts, and more than a dozen of our clients worked at Wisconsin job sites.

Wisconsin worksite	City	Why it matters
Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company	Milwaukee	At least 9 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Steam plant, boilers, and miles of insulated steam and refrigeration lines; the brewery closed in 1981.
Allis-Chalmers	Milwaukee / West Allis	At least 8 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Turbines, engines, and electrical machinery, with foundries and test floors.
Consolidated Papers	Wisconsin Rapids	At least 8 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Paper mills, recovery boilers, and powerhouses on the Wisconsin River.
Fort Howard Paper	Green Bay	At least 7 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Tissue and towel mill with its own steam plant.
Wisconsin Electric Power — Oak Creek plant	Oak Creek	At least 7 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Coal-fired station expanded unit by unit from the 1950s.
Kimberly-Clark Neenah mills	Neenah	At least 6 trusts, including Johns-Manville. The company's first paper mills.
Nekoosa-Edwards Paper — Nekoosa mill	Nekoosa	At least 6 trusts, including Johns-Manville; the Port Edwards mill is listed separately by at least six.
Badger Army Ammunition Plant	Baraboo	At least 6 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Army propellant plant run by contractors.
Brillion Iron Works	Brillion	At least 6 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Gray and ductile iron foundry.
Carnation Company	Oconomowoc	At least 6 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Milk and powdered-milk plant with its own boilers.

Check Wisconsin asbestos exposure sites · Search the trusts' Wisconsin lists

Not seeing the worksite? That does not mean your family has no claim. Many claims are built from product-handling reconstruction, coworker information, historical invoices, trust documents, and records from similar worksites. Johns-Manville's trust keeps no site list of its own; most workers exposed to asbestos before 1983 can file with it.

Your legal options after a Wisconsin mesothelioma diagnosis

Think in claim paths, not one lawsuit. A Wisconsin mesothelioma family often has several different recovery channels. Which ones to pursue, and in what order, depends on the facts; we decide that case by case with the family and the trial team.

Asbestos trust claims

Dozens of asbestos manufacturers filed for bankruptcy and set up trusts to pay current and future victims. Trust claims are not lawsuits — they are administrative filings against funds already set aside. Wisconsin paper-mill, brewery, foundry, power-plant, and machinery workers often qualify for several trusts. In a Wisconsin lawsuit, the trust claims must be disclosed to the defendants within weeks after the defendants answer, so we plan trust claims and any lawsuit together. We routinely get claims approved by many asbestos trusts. Learn more about asbestos trust claims.

Product liability lawsuits

The manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos products that have not gone bankrupt can still be sued, in Wisconsin state court or federal court. Wisconsin allows strict-liability claims (a defective product, including one sold without adequate warnings) and negligence claims. Most asbestos workers were exposed to many products from many companies, and each company whose product was a substantial factor in causing the disease can be held responsible for its share. Learn more about product liability lawsuits.

Premises claims — Wisconsin's safe-place statute

Wisconsin's safe-place statute requires the owner of a place of employment to make it as safe as the nature of the place reasonably permits, a duty higher than ordinary care. In April 2026 the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that a Milwaukee brewery could be liable under the statute to an outside contractor's steamfitter who breathed asbestos dust while tearing out insulated pipe, because the brewery kept control of the place where he worked. These claims are for outside contractors' employees: a worker's claim against their own employer runs through worker's compensation instead. An owner who turned over complete control of a safe work area to the contractor is not liable under the statute, and claims about asbestos built into a plant during its original construction can be cut off by Wisconsin's construction time limit. Learn more about premises liability lawsuits.

Worker's compensation. A worker's claim against their own employer generally runs through Wisconsin worker's compensation, which covers occupational diseases such as mesothelioma. The employer must generally get notice within 30 days after the worker knew or should have known that the disease was work-related (late notice is excused if the employer was not misled), and an application must generally be filed within two years, unless the employer knew or should have known of the work-related illness within that time. If you are considering comp, call us early.
Shipyard workers. Workers who built and repaired ships at Manitowoc, Marinette, Sturgeon Bay, and Superior may be covered by the federal Longshore Act, and in many cases also by Wisconsin worker's compensation; which program to use is decided case by case.
Federal civilian workers (for example at Fort McCoy or the VA medical centers) are covered by FECA, which is their only remedy against the United States. If a FECA claimant also recovers from a manufacturer, FECA must be repaid from that recovery.
Veterans with in-service asbestos exposure, such as Navy shipboard service, may qualify for VA disability. A lawsuit or trust recovery does not reduce VA disability compensation, but a veteran who is also a former federal civilian employee generally must choose between VA and FECA benefits for the same disease.
Social Security disability (SSDI) is available to insured workers who are under full retirement age. Worker's compensation can reduce SSDI.

Learn more about asbestos disability claims.

Can we choose not to sue?

Yes. Some Wisconsin families decide to pursue only trust claims and benefits and never file a civil lawsuit. We respect that decision and we will not pressure you into a court case you do not want.

Uncomfortable with the idea of a lawsuit? So was Clarence Borel. He spent 33 years as an insulator on the Gulf Coast and didn't believe in suing anyone — until he realized his coworkers would die the same way he was dying. His 1969 lawsuit helped establish the product-liability law that protects families today, and the cases that followed it eventually led to the bankruptcy trusts that pay claims now. Read his story.

How long do I have to file a Wisconsin mesothelioma claim?

Wisconsin gives a diagnosed worker three years to file a personal-injury lawsuit. The clock starts when the worker discovered, or should have discovered, the illness and that it was probably caused by asbestos. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis.

An earlier asbestosis diagnosis. An earlier diagnosis of asbestosis does not start the clock for a later mesothelioma in Wisconsin, and an earlier asbestosis case does not bar it: the three years run from when the cancer was discovered. But the clock can start before the formal diagnosis if the illness and its link to asbestos were already known, so call us right away.

After a death. The family's wrongful-death claim must be brought within three years. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has held that the clock for a death claim can start after the death, when the family discovered, or with reasonable diligence should have discovered, the cause and the company responsible. The court also said courts weigh fairness when a claim is brought many years later, so count three years from the date of death to be safe. Wisconsin's wrongful-death statute allows a claim only where the worker could have sued had he lived, so if the worker's own three years had already run before death, the family's claim may be barred too. The estate's own claim for the worker's illness (the survival claim) keeps the worker's own deadline, separate from the wrongful-death clock.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS — free case review.

Legal detail: Wisconsin filing deadlines

Personal injury and wrongful death — 3 years. Wis. Stat. § 893.54(1m)(a), (b).
Discovery rule. Hansen v. A.H. Robins, Inc., 113 Wis. 2d 550, 335 N.W.2d 578 (1983): tort claims accrue when the plaintiff discovers, or with reasonable diligence should discover, the injury. Borello v. U.S. Oil Co., 130 Wis. 2d 397, 388 N.W.2d 140 (1986): the plaintiff must also know, or should know, that the injury was probably caused by the defendant's conduct or product; a lay suspicion contradicted by physicians does not start the clock.
Separate asbestos disease. Sopha v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., 230 Wis. 2d 212, 601 N.W.2d 627 (1999): a diagnosis of non-malignant asbestos-related lung disease (there, pleural thickening or asbestosis) does not start the limitations period for a later-diagnosed, distinct malignant asbestos condition, and claim preclusion did not bar the mesothelioma action after an earlier action for the non-malignant condition was dismissed on the merits, because the malignancy could not have been predicted then.
Wrongful death and survival accrual. Christ v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 2015 WI 58, 362 Wis. 2d 668, 866 N.W.2d 602: the discovery rule lets survival and wrongful-death claims accrue after the decedent's death; survival claims accrue when the decedent or an appropriate third party (often the personal representative) discovered or should have discovered the claim, whichever is first; reasonable diligence is required, and courts may balance the equities on very old claims.
Derivative words. Wis. Stat. § 895.03 gives a death claim where the act "is such as would, if death had not ensued, have entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof." Miller v. Luther, 170 Wis. 2d 429, 489 N.W.2d 651 (Ct. App. 1992): a death claim was barred where the decedent's own claim was time-barred at death.
Construction time limit. Wis. Stat. § 893.89: 7 years after substantial completion of an improvement to real property (10 years before 2017 Wis. Act 235). See the premises section below.
Products time limit. Wis. Stat. § 895.047(5): a 15-year limit from manufacture for strict-liability claims, which "does not apply to an action based on a claim for damages caused by a latent disease."
Borrowing statute. Wis. Stat. § 893.07 applies the shorter limitation period to a "foreign" claim, generally one where the injury occurred outside Wisconsin (Paynter v. ProAssurance Wis. Ins. Co., 2019 WI 65), and borrows a foreign repose period too (Wenke v. Gehl Co., 2004 WI 103).
Worker's compensation. Wis. Stat. §§ 102.12 (notice; two-year application rule unless the employer knew), 102.17(4)(b) (no statute of limitations for occupational disease, with later benefits paid from the supplemental fund).

Wisconsin's asbestos-specific statutes

Wisconsin has two statutes written for asbestos cases:

Trust-claim disclosure. A plaintiff must disclose asbestos trust claims to the defendants early in a Wisconsin lawsuit, and trust claims can affect what the defendants pay, so we plan trust claims and any lawsuit together.
Successor-company limit. A company that took on asbestos liabilities through a merger before 1972 can limit what it pays to the value of the merged company's assets, unless it carried on the same asbestos business.

Legal detail: Wisconsin asbestos statutes

Asbestos trust transparency. Wis. Stat. § 802.025 (2013 Wis. Act 154, effective March 2014): sworn statement of trust claims within 45 days after joinder of issues, sub. (2)(a); trust claim materials within 60 days, sub. (2)(b); supplementation within 30 days, sub. (2)(c); admissibility and no privilege, sub. (3); defendant's motion to require additional trust claims, with a stay until filed, sub. (4); a trust claims document entered at least 30 days before trial, sub. (4)(e); trust materials may support findings of exposure and substantial-factor causation, sub. (5); assignment of trust claims before collecting a judgment, sub. (6); sanctions, sub. (7).
Asbestos successor liability. Wis. Stat. § 895.61 (2009 Wis. Act 28): limits a successor corporation's asbestos liabilities assumed through a merger or consolidation before January 1, 1972, to the transferor's total gross assets at the merger, adjusted annually; not applicable to a successor that continued the same asbestos business, or to worker's compensation, sub. (2)(b).
Successor liability generally. Springer v. Nohl Electric Products Corp., 2018 WI 48, 381 Wis. 2d 438, 912 N.W.2d 1 (fraudulent-transaction exception to successor non-liability, in a mesothelioma case).

Who can be sued in a Wisconsin asbestos case?

Product manufacturers and suppliers

The companies that made and sold the boilers, turbines, pipe covering, block insulation, refractory, gaskets, packing, joint compound, and other asbestos-containing products used in Wisconsin mills, breweries, foundries, power plants, and shipyards. Wisconsin's 2011 product-liability statute limits strict-liability claims against a seller or distributor that did not make the product, and those claims are often brought against the manufacturer instead.

Plant owners — the safe-place statute

The owners of the plants where outside contractors' employees worked may be liable under the safe-place statute. An ordinary negligence claim against the owner is much narrower: a company that hires a contractor is generally not liable in ordinary negligence to the contractor's employees for injuries from the contracted work, unless it was itself affirmatively negligent or the work was extrahazardous. The safe-place claim depends on the owner keeping control of the place where the work was done and on the kind of hazard: airborne asbestos during later repairs and maintenance can be an unsafe condition the owner had to address, while asbestos released during a plant's original construction has been treated as a construction defect, which the construction time limit cuts off.

Asbestos bankruptcy trusts

Dozens of asbestos manufacturers — Johns-Manville, Owens Corning, Babcock & Wilcox, A.P. Green, Eagle-Picher, Combustion Engineering, W.R. Grace, U.S. Gypsum, and others — have set up trusts. Trust claims are separate from the lawsuit, but Wisconsin law ties them together, so we plan them together.

Employers

A worker cannot usually sue their own employer: Wisconsin worker's compensation is the exclusive remedy against the employer, its insurer, and coworkers. That bar does not stop claims against the product manufacturers or against the owner of a plant where the worker was an outside contractor's employee. The employer's share of fault can still be weighed by the jury, and the employer or its insurer has a right to be repaid from a lawsuit recovery for the comp benefits it paid.

Legal detail: product liability, premises, and worker's compensation

Strict product liability. Wis. Stat. § 895.047 (2011 Wis. Act 2; applies to actions commenced on or after February 1, 2011): the claimant must prove a manufacturing defect, a design defect (foreseeable risks reducible by a reasonable alternative design), or inadequate instructions or warnings (foreseeable risks reducible by reasonable warnings), that the defect made the product unreasonably dangerous, existed when it left the manufacturer, that the product reached the user without substantial change, and that the defect caused the damages, sub. (1). Sellers and distributors are strictly liable only in the cases listed in sub. (2). Defenses include a rebuttable presumption from compliance with government standards, sub. (3)(b), and dismissal where the damage was caused by an inherent characteristic recognized by an ordinary person, sub. (3)(d). The section does not apply to negligence or warranty claims, sub. (6).
Causation. Wisconsin uses the substantial-factor test (Sampson v. Laskin, 66 Wis. 2d 318, 224 N.W.2d 594 (1975)). Trust claim materials may support findings of exposure and substantial-factor causation, Wis. Stat. § 802.025(5).
Owner negligence. Tatera v. FMC Corp., 2010 WI 90, 328 Wis. 2d 320, 786 N.W.2d 810 (mesothelioma): a principal employer is not liable in tort to an independent contractor's employee injured while performing the contracted work, except for the principal's own affirmative negligence or extrahazardous work. In Lorbiecki the circuit court dismissed the common-law negligence claim against the brewery under Tatera; the safe-place claim went to trial.
Safe-place statute. Wis. Stat. § 101.11(1) (employers and owners of places of employment); § 101.01(10) ("owner"), (11) ("place of employment"), (13) ("safe"). Estate of Lorbiecki v. Pabst Brewing Co., 2026 WI 12 (Apr. 15, 2026): a jury could find the brewery liable to an independent contractor's steamfitter exposed to airborne asbestos while removing pipe insulation; the owner's non-delegable duty runs to frequenters, including contractors' employees; Tatera's general rule limiting a principal employer's liability to a contractor's employee does not apply to the safe-place duty; the Potter v. City of Kenosha exception requires that the owner did not control the work and turned over control and custody of a safe place. Viola v. Wisconsin Electric Power Co., 2014 WI App 5, 352 Wis. 2d 541, 842 N.W.2d 515: asbestos in the air during and after routine repairs was an unsafe condition associated with the premises. Barry v. Employers Mut. Cas. Co., 2001 WI 101, 245 Wis. 2d 560, 630 N.W.2d 517: liability for structural defects without notice; for unsafe conditions associated with the structure, actual or constructive notice is required. Anderson v. Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co., 924 F. Supp. 2d 996 (E.D. Wis. 2013) (asbestos; Green Bay paper mill; owner relieved only if it gives up complete control of a safe premises).
Construction time limit and premises claims. Wis. Stat. § 893.89(2) bars claims against owners and persons involved in an improvement to real property after the exposure period, but "does not affect the rights of any person injured as the result of any defect in any material used in an improvement to real property to commence an action for damages against the manufacturer or producer of the material." Mohn v. CBS Corp., 2018 WI App 62, 384 Wis. 2d 271, 921 N.W.2d 16 (claims against Sprinkmann Sons, which furnished asbestos turbine blankets for a power plant's construction, barred as "furnishing of materials" for the improvement). Nooyen v. Wisconsin Electric Power Co., 2020 WI App 9, 390 Wis. 2d 687, 939 N.W.2d 621 (safe-place claims for airborne asbestos during the original construction of two power plants barred as a structural defect; the maintenance exception in § 893.89(4)(c) did not apply; the version in force at diagnosis governs).
Worker's compensation exclusivity. Wis. Stat. § 102.03(2). Third-party claims are preserved, and the employer or insurer is repaid after one-third of the net recovery goes to the employee; a third-party settlement must be approved by the court or the department, § 102.29(1). The employer's negligence may be included on the special verdict (Connar v. West Shore Equipment of Milwaukee, Inc., 68 Wis. 2d 42, 227 N.W.2d 660 (1975)).

What evidence do we need to prove a Wisconsin asbestos case?

You do not need to gather everything before calling. We can begin a case with surprisingly little, and we know where to look for the rest.

Evidence	Why it helps	What if you do not have it?
Pathology / diagnosis	Confirms mesothelioma and the type	We work with treating physicians to obtain records
Employment history	Identifies the worksite, era, and trade	Social Security earnings records, union records, coworker statements, and our worksite database often fill the gap
Military records (DD-214 for veterans)	Supports VA claims and shipboard exposure	We request records from the National Personnel Records Center
Product knowledge	Identifies the manufacturer defendants and applicable trusts	Not required from you — coworker testimony, historical invoices, and our database often establish this
Family / household witness testimony	Supports take-home exposure claims	A spouse or adult child's recollection of clothing, work boots, and dust is often the key piece

Wisconsin juries are asked whether each company's product or conduct was a substantial factor in causing the disease; we do not need to prove that any one product was the only cause.

How does Wisconsin divide responsibility when many asbestos companies were involved?

Wisconsin uses modified comparative fault. In a negligence claim, the worker can recover from a company as long as the worker's own fault is not greater than that company's fault, and the damages are reduced by the worker's share. In a strict product-liability claim, the worker's share is compared with the share caused by the defective product, not with each company separately. In real asbestos cases, the worker's own fault is rarely a major issue — workers were not told the truth about asbestos — but defendants can raise it.

When several companies are responsible, a company found 51% or more responsible pays the whole judgment; a company below 51% pays only its own share, unless the companies acted under a common plan. The shares of settling companies, bankrupt companies, and the employer can appear on the verdict, which can reduce what the remaining companies pay. When the family settles with one company, the claim against the others is reduced by that company's share of fault, not by the dollars paid, so a low settlement with a company the jury later finds heavily at fault can cost the family that company's share. Punitive damages are never joint: each company pays only its own.

Legal detail: comparative fault, joint liability, and settlements

Negligence. Wis. Stat. § 895.045(1): recovery if the plaintiff's negligence "was not greater than the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought"; damages diminished by the plaintiff's share; the plaintiff's negligence "measured separately against the negligence of each person found to be causally negligent"; a person less than 51% at fault is liable only for that share; 51% or more, jointly and severally.
Concerted action. § 895.045(2): parties acting under a common scheme or plan are jointly and severally liable, except for punitive damages.
Strict product liability. § 895.045(3) (2011 Wis. Act 2): the plaintiff is barred only if the plaintiff's share of causal responsibility is greater than the defective product's; each product defendant's share is its share of the defect multiplied by the product's share of the injury; a product defendant at 51% or more of the total is jointly and severally liable; a plaintiff whose share exceeds one product defendant's share may still recover from it, sub. (3)(e); sub. (3) does not apply to negligence or warranty claims, sub. (3)(f).
Punitive damages. § 895.043(5): joint and several liability does not apply to punitive damages.
Settlements. Wisconsin settlements commonly use a Pierringer release (Pierringer v. Hoger, 21 Wis. 2d 182, 124 N.W.2d 106 (1963)): the settling defendant's share stays on the special verdict and the plaintiff's claim is reduced by that percentage.
Trust claims and judgments. § 802.025(6): assignment of trust claims to the paying defendant before collection (all trust claims to a defendant 51% or more responsible; future claims to others).

What compensation can a Wisconsin mesothelioma case recover?

Wisconsin places no overall cap on compensatory damages in asbestos cases against private companies; the medical-malpractice cap does not apply. Claims against a Wisconsin city, county, school district, or other local government are different: they require written notice within 120 days and are capped at $50,000, and claims against the State have their own rules.

Personal-injury compensation

Medical expenses at their reasonable value; the defendant cannot use the discounted amount an insurer actually paid to prove that value
Lost wages and lost earning capacity
Pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
Loss of consortium for the spouse
Punitive damages, where the evidence meets the statutory standard (see below)

Punitive damages

Punitive damages are possible against a company proved to have acted maliciously toward the worker or in an intentional disregard of the worker's rights. They are capped at twice the compensatory damages recovered from that company, or $200,000, whichever is greater. The cap applies to every lawsuit filed since February 2011, however long ago the exposure happened. Punitive damages are decided company by company. After a death, they are available only through the estate's claim for the worker's own pain and suffering, not in the family's wrongful-death claim.

Wrongful-death compensation

When mesothelioma takes a loved one, the family can recover its pecuniary loss — the financial support, services, and benefits the family would have received — with no cap, and medical and funeral expenses. Damages for loss of society and companionship are capped at $350,000 for the death of an adult ($500,000 for the death of a minor), for all family members together. The claim belongs first to the surviving spouse; if no spouse survives, to the children, and then to other relatives in the order the statute sets. An adult child does not have a separate society claim while a spouse survives.

The estate can also continue the worker's own claim (the survival claim) for medical expenses, lost wages, and the worker's pain and suffering before death.

Legal detail: Wisconsin damages, punitive damages, and wrongful death

No general compensatory cap in private-defendant tort cases. Medical malpractice: Wis. Stat. § 893.55. Local governments: § 893.80(1d) (notice within 120 days) and (3) ($50,000 cap).
Medical expenses. Leitinger v. DBart, Inc., 2007 WI 84, 302 Wis. 2d 110, 736 N.W.2d 1 (the collateral source rule bars evidence of amounts actually paid to prove reasonable value); Orlowski v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2012 WI 21, 339 Wis. 2d 1, 810 N.W.2d 775 (written-off amounts).
Punitive standard and procedure. Wis. Stat. § 895.043(3) ("acted maliciously toward the plaintiff or in an intentional disregard of the rights of the plaintiff"), (4); Strenke v. Hogner, 2005 WI 25, 279 Wis. 2d 52, 694 N.W.2d 296.
Punitive cap. § 895.043(6) (created by 2011 Wis. Act 2, § 23m; first applies to actions commenced on or after its effective date, § 45(5)): "twice the amount of any compensatory damages recovered by the plaintiff or $200,000, whichever is greater." Estate of Lorbiecki v. Pabst Brewing Co., 2026 WI 12: an asbestos case filed in 2018 for 1970s exposure; "compensatory damages recovered by the plaintiff" means only the amounts the plaintiff is legally entitled to receive from that defendant after judgment, not damages apportioned to nonparties; the evidence was sufficient to submit punitive damages to the jury.
Punitive damages after death. Wangen v. Ford Motor Co., 97 Wis. 2d 260, 294 N.W.2d 437 (1980): punitive damages are not recoverable incident to wrongful-death damages, but may be awarded to the estate incident to the decedent's pain and suffering.
Survival. Wis. Stat. § 895.01(1)(am)7. (causes of action for "damage to the person" survive).
Wrongful death. Wis. Stat. §§ 895.03 (death caused by a wrongful act "in this state"; Schnabl v. Ford Motor Co., 54 Wis. 2d 345, 195 N.W.2d 602 (1972): the act in Wisconsin suffices, the death need not occur there), 895.04(1) (personal representative or the person to whom the recovery belongs), (2) (spouse or domestic partner, with a set-aside for minor children; then lineal heirs; then siblings), (4) (pecuniary loss; loss of society and companionship up to $500,000 per occurrence for a deceased minor or $350,000 for a deceased adult, to the spouse, children or parents, or minor siblings), (5) (medical and funeral expenses), (7) (reduction to the cap). Pierce v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 2007 WI App 152 ("children" in sub. (4) includes adult children); Bowen v. American Family Ins. Co., 2012 WI App 29 (sub. (4) does not expand the class beyond sub. (2)'s order).

How trust claims, lawsuits, and benefits fit together

Path	What it is	How fast it moves
Asbestos trust claims	Administrative filings against the bankrupt manufacturers' trust funds	Often months, depending on the trust
Wisconsin lawsuit (products and safe-place premises claims)	Civil action against solvent manufacturers, suppliers, and plant owners	Months to a few years, depending on defendants and court
Comp, Longshore Act, FECA, VA, Social Security	Benefits programs with their own rules	Varies by program

These paths affect one another. Wisconsin requires early disclosure of trust claims in a lawsuit and can assign trust claims to a paying defendant. FECA and worker's compensation must be repaid from a lawsuit recovery, comp can reduce SSDI, and VA and FECA for the same disease generally require a choice. A lawsuit or trust recovery does not reduce VA disability. Which claims to file, and when, depends on the facts; we decide that case by case with the family and the trial team.

Shipyard, Navy, and federal-facility exposure

Manitowoc Shipbuilding built submarines and other warships for the Navy during World War II, and the yards at Marinette, Sturgeon Bay, and Superior built and repaired naval and commercial vessels. Shipyard workers on navigable waters may be covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, and in many cases also by Wisconsin worker's compensation. Either program, not a lawsuit, is their remedy against their employer.
Fort McCoy (Monroe County), Volk Field (Camp Douglas), General Mitchell Air National Guard Base (Milwaukee), and the VA medical centers at Milwaukee, Tomah, and Madison employed federal civilian workers, whose remedy against the United States is FECA. Federal installations are not sued as premises owners in these cases.
The Badger Army Ammunition Plant was run for the Army by private contractors such as Olin Mathieson; its workers were contractor employees covered by Wisconsin worker's compensation, not FECA.
Veterans with in-service asbestos exposure, especially Navy shipboard service, may qualify for VA disability. National Guard service generally counts for VA benefits only for federal active duty or active duty for training, so the details of the service matter.

Legal detail: federal programs and shipyard workers

Longshore Act. 33 U.S.C. § 905(a) (employer's liability exclusive); Sun Ship, Inc. v. Pennsylvania, 447 U.S. 715 (1980) (a state may apply its compensation law to land-based injuries the Longshore Act also covers); § 933(b) (acceptance of compensation under an award assigns the third-party claim to the employer unless the worker sues within six months after the acceptance; the claim reverts if the employer does not sue within 90 days); § 933(f) (employer's credit against its liability for the net third-party recovery); § 933(g) (prior written approval of the employer and its carrier for a settlement below the compensation due; failure to report a settlement or judgment ends benefits).
FECA. 5 U.S.C. § 8116(c) (exclusive remedy against the United States), § 8116(b) (election between VA and FECA benefits for the same injury), § 8132 (repayment from a third-party recovery).
VA. 38 U.S.C. § 101(22), (24) (active duty for training; active military service).
SSDI. 42 U.S.C. § 423 (insured status; under full retirement age); § 424a (reduction for worker's compensation).
Government-contractor defense. Manufacturers of military-specification equipment often raise the federal government-contractor defense under Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988): reasonably precise specifications approved by the United States, conformity with them, and a warning to the United States about dangers known to the supplier but not to the government. Such cases are often removed to federal court.

What happens after you call?

A free case review is a conversation, not a commitment to file a lawsuit.

We listen. You tell us what you know — where the worker worked, what they did, when they were diagnosed.
We check our Wisconsin database against the trusts' lists for the worker's job sites.
We explain the paths — trust claims, a lawsuit, worker's compensation, and benefits — and what is realistically available in your situation.
If you decide to move forward, we sign a contingent-fee agreement. No fee unless we recover.
We request records and contact witnesses, and decide with you and the trial team which claims to file and in what order.
If a lawsuit is right, we file in the appropriate court. Wisconsin venue is generally the county where the claim arose or where a defendant lives or does substantial business, and some cases belong in federal court in Milwaukee or Madison.
We discuss every settlement offer with the family before anyone responds to it. A Wisconsin plaintiff who loses, or who turns down a defendant's formal settlement offer and then does not do better at trial, can be ordered to pay the defendant's court costs.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS or request a free case review.

Legal detail: venue and costs

Venue. Wis. Stat. § 801.50(2): the county where the claim arose, where the property is, or where a defendant resides or does substantial business; otherwise any county the plaintiff designates.
Costs. Wis. Stat. §§ 814.01, 814.03 (costs to the prevailing party), 814.04(2) (taxable disbursements, including an expert witness fee of up to $300 per testifying expert).
Offers of settlement. Wis. Stat. § 807.01(1) (a plaintiff who rejects a defendant's offer of judgment and fails to recover a more favorable judgment recovers no costs, and the defendant recovers costs), (3) (double costs for a plaintiff whose rejected offer is beaten at trial), (4) (interest from the date of the offer).

How Wisconsin's laws may work in practice

Worker recognition. Glenn is a 76-year-old retired pipefitter from West Allis. From 1968 through 2008 he was a member of the Milwaukee steamfitters' union and was employed by outside mechanical contractors, never by the plants where he worked. Through the 1970s much of his work was at the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company in Milwaukee, tearing out and replacing insulated steam and refrigeration lines, until the brewery closed in 1981; in later years he worked repair outages at Wisconsin Electric's Oak Creek power plant, cutting out old pipe insulation and replacing gaskets and packing. In 2010 a doctor told him he had asbestosis, a non-cancer asbestos lung condition; he did not file a claim. In January 2026 he developed shortness of breath and chest pain, and in March 2026 a biopsy at Froedtert Hospital confirmed pericardial mesothelioma of the epithelioid type.

What this can mean for the family. Glenn's 2010 asbestosis diagnosis does not start the clock for his mesothelioma, so his deadline runs from 2026; counting from his January 2026 symptoms to be safe, the lawsuit is filed well before January 2029. The Schlitz brewery appears on the lists of at least 9 trusts, including Johns-Manville, and the Oak Creek plant on the lists of at least 7, including Johns-Manville, so Glenn can file trust claims; because Wisconsin requires a plaintiff to disclose trust claims within weeks after the defendants answer, we plan the trust claims and the lawsuit together. The lawsuit names the solvent companies that made the insulation, boilers, gaskets, and packing he worked with, on strict-liability and negligence claims. Because Glenn was an outside contractor's employee at Oak Creek, the utility may also be liable under Wisconsin's safe-place statute for the airborne asbestos during repair outages, if the evidence shows it kept control of the work areas; exposure from the plant's original construction would be cut off by the construction time limit. Glenn cannot sue his former employers; his worker's compensation claim is an occupational-disease claim, generally against the last contractor whose work exposed him, and any comp benefits are repaid from the lawsuit recovery. Punitive damages are possible against a company whose conduct meets Wisconsin's standard, within the statutory cap. At 76, Glenn is past the age for SSDI, and he did not serve in the military. His wife washed his work clothes for decades; we offer free asbestos health screening to the family members of every client who may have been exposed at home, and a household member later diagnosed may have a claim of their own. The screening is a chest X-ray read by a B-reader, with a CT scan if needed; it looks for asbestos-related changes in the lungs and isn't a diagnosis or a reliable way to find mesothelioma early. If Glenn dies before the case ends, his estate continues his own claim, including his pain and suffering and any punitive damages, and his wife brings the wrongful-death claim for her financial losses and for loss of society and companionship, up to $350,000.

Legal analysis of this hypothetical

Limitations. Sopha v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., 230 Wis. 2d 212, 601 N.W.2d 627 (1999): the 2010 non-malignant diagnosis does not start the § 893.54(1m)(a) period for the distinct mesothelioma. Under Hansen and Borello, the mesothelioma claim accrues when Glenn discovered, or should have discovered, the cancer and its probable cause; to be safe, the firm counts from his January 2026 symptoms and files well before January 2029. The § 895.047(5) products time limit does not apply to a latent disease.

Defendants and theories. Strict liability under Wis. Stat. § 895.047 (the action is commenced after February 1, 2011) and negligence against the manufacturers of the products Glenn worked with and around. A safe-place (§ 101.11) claim against Wisconsin Electric for exposure to airborne asbestos during repair outages, as an unsafe condition associated with the structure (Viola, 2014 WI App 5; Estate of Lorbiecki, 2026 WI 12), subject to the owner's retained control and notice; a common-law negligence claim against the utility is limited by Tatera (2010 WI 90); claims based on the original construction of the units are barred by § 893.89 (Nooyen, 2020 WI App 9). No safe-place or negligence claim against Glenn's own employers (§ 102.03(2)); claims against insulation contractors and suppliers for construction-era work and materials face § 893.89 (Mohn, 2018 WI App 62).

Trust claims. Schlitz: at least 9 trusts, including Johns-Manville; Oak Creek: at least 7, including Johns-Manville. Section 802.025 requires the sworn trust statement within 45 days after joinder of issues and the trust materials within 60 days; trust materials are admissible and can support exposure and causation findings for the bankrupt companies' products, which the defendants will use to place those companies on the verdict; trust claims are assigned to the paying defendant before collection (§ 802.025(6)).

Fault and damages. Negligence counts under § 895.045(1) and strict-liability counts under § 895.045(3); joint and several liability only for a defendant at 51% or more; Pierringer releases for settlements. No cap on compensatory damages against private defendants. Punitive damages under § 895.043(3), capped by § 895.043(6) at the greater of $200,000 or twice the compensatory damages recovered from that defendant (Estate of Lorbiecki), and never joint (§ 895.043(5)).

Worker's compensation. Occupational-disease claim, generally against the last employer whose employment caused the disability (§ 102.01(2)(g)2.; §§ 102.12, 102.17(4)(b)); the § 102.29(1) reimbursement after one-third of the net third-party recovery to Glenn; court or department approval of a third-party settlement (§ 102.29(1)(d)).

After death. The estate continues Glenn's personal-injury claim (§ 895.01(1)(am)7.), including his pre-death pain and suffering and punitive damages incident to it (Wangen). His wife's wrongful-death claim under §§ 895.03 and 895.04: pecuniary loss uncapped; loss of society and companionship up to $350,000 (§ 895.04(4)); medical and funeral expenses (§ 895.04(5)). The adult children have no separate society claim while their mother survives (§ 895.04(2), (4); Bowen).

Federal coordination. No military service; no FECA; no SSDI (past full retirement age).

This example is general. Every case depends on the diagnosis, exposure history, dates, defendants, applicable law, and available evidence.

Why families choose our firm

Our firm has recovered over $400 million for asbestos clients nationally. We maintain a proprietary database of 200,000+ verified asbestos exposure sites, including every one of the more than 2,000 Wisconsin entries on the asbestos trusts' lists, and more than a dozen of our clients worked at Wisconsin job sites.

Wisconsin worksite knowledge — paper mills, breweries, foundries, machinery works, power plants, and shipyards
Wisconsin claims — strict-liability and negligence claims against manufacturers, and safe-place claims against plant owners where the facts support them
Earlier asbestosis diagnoses — we check whether an earlier non-cancer diagnosis affects the deadline before anyone tells your family it is too late
Filing during life — filing while the worker can still testify preserves the worker's own claim; call as soon as possible after diagnosis
Trust claims planned with the lawsuit — we routinely get claims approved by many asbestos trusts
Benefits coordination — worker's compensation, the Longshore Act, FECA, VA, and Social Security, coordinated case by case with the trial team
Remote handling for Wisconsin families — phone, video, and home visits; you do not need to travel to our office
No fee unless we recover for your family

Learn more about our firm and asbestos database.

Court decisions: 62 asbestos cases from Wisconsin courts

Frequently asked questions

What is the statute of limitations for mesothelioma in Wisconsin?

Three years from when the worker knew, or should have known, of the illness and that asbestos probably caused it. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis.

How long does my family have to file after a death?

Three years. Wisconsin allows the clock for a death claim to start after the death if the family could not reasonably have discovered the cause and the company responsible, but courts look closely at late claims, so count three years from the date of death to be safe. If the worker's own three years had already run before death, the family's claim may be barred too.

What if my loved one was diagnosed with asbestosis years ago but never sued — and now has mesothelioma?

An earlier diagnosis of asbestosis does not start the clock for a later mesothelioma in Wisconsin, and an earlier asbestosis case does not bar it: the three years run from when the cancer was discovered. But the clock can start before the formal diagnosis if the illness and its link to asbestos were already known, so call us right away.

Can my family still call if my loved one already died?

Yes. The surviving spouse, or if there is none, the children or other relatives in the statute's order, can bring the wrongful-death claim. Financial losses are not capped; loss of society and companionship is capped at $350,000 for an adult. The estate can also continue the worker's own claim for the illness, including pain and suffering.

Do I need to know the asbestos product names?

No. Many Wisconsin cases begin with a family knowing only the plant's name and a rough description of the work. Product identification comes through coworker testimony, historical records, trust records, and our worksite database.

Do I need old employment records before calling?

No. We obtain Social Security earnings records, union records, military records, and worksite documentation. Anything you have helps; anything you do not have, we can usually find.

Can an adult child call for a parent?

Yes. Most first calls are from a spouse or adult child. We can speak with you first and then bring the diagnosed worker into the conversation if and when that is appropriate.

Will we have to file a lawsuit?

Not necessarily. Some Wisconsin families pursue trust claims and benefits without ever filing a lawsuit. We discuss the options before any decision is made.

Are trust claims separate from lawsuits?

Yes. Trust claims are administrative filings against the bankrupt manufacturers' funds and do not require a lawsuit. But if there is a Wisconsin lawsuit, the trust claims must be disclosed to the defendants early in the case, and they can affect what the defendants pay, so we plan the two together.

Can I file a Wisconsin claim if I no longer live in Wisconsin?

Often, yes. We handle Wisconsin claims for clients who have retired out of state. Where the claim is filed, and which state's deadline applies, can depend on where the exposure happened, where the illness developed, and where the defendants are, so call us before assuming either way.

Can I sue my employer?

Usually not. Wisconsin worker's compensation is the exclusive remedy against the employer, so a worker's claim against their own employer runs through comp. The lawsuit is against the product manufacturers and, for an outside contractor's employee, possibly the owner of the plant. The employer's fault can still be weighed by the jury, and the comp insurer is repaid from a lawsuit recovery.

What if the exposure happened through a spouse's work clothes?

Household exposure claims depend heavily on the facts and on whether a court finds the company owed a duty to family members, so they are harder than a worker's own claim. We evaluate them case by case, and we offer free asbestos health screening to the family members of every client who may have been exposed at home.

Are punitive damages available in Wisconsin asbestos cases?

Yes, against a company proved to have acted maliciously or in intentional disregard of the worker's rights. They are capped at twice the compensatory damages recovered from that company, or $200,000, whichever is greater, in every case filed since 2011, however old the exposure.

Are punitive damages available after a death?

Not in the family's wrongful-death claim. They can be awarded to the estate as part of the worker's own claim for the pain and suffering he endured before death.

Where will my Wisconsin case be filed?

Generally in the circuit court for the county where the claim arose or where a defendant lives or does substantial business, often Milwaukee County. Some cases are filed in, or moved to, federal court in Milwaukee (Eastern District) or Madison (Western District).

What if I worked at a Wisconsin paper mill?

The paper mills along the Fox and Wisconsin rivers — Consolidated Papers, Fort Howard, Kimberly-Clark's Neenah mills, Thilmany, and the Nekoosa-Edwards mills — all appear on the trusts' lists. Maintenance workers, millwrights, boilermakers, pipefitters, and powerhouse operators often qualify for several trusts. If you worked for the mill itself, your claim against the mill runs through worker's compensation; product claims are separate.

What if I worked at a Milwaukee brewery or machinery works?

Schlitz, Pabst, and Miller, and the Allis-Chalmers, A.O. Smith, Nordberg, and Bucyrus-Erie works, all appear on the trusts' lists. Outside contractors' employees at these plants may also have safe-place claims against the owners; the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 2026 Lorbiecki decision involved a steamfitter at the Pabst brewery.

What if I worked at Manitowoc or another Great Lakes shipyard?

Shipyard workers may be covered by the federal Longshore Act, and in many cases also by Wisconsin worker's compensation, against their employer; which program to use is decided case by case. They can bring product claims against the manufacturers. Navy veterans who served aboard ships may also qualify for VA benefits.

What if I worked at Fort McCoy, Volk Field, or General Mitchell Air National Guard Base?

Federal civilian employees there are covered by FECA, which must be repaid from any recovery against a manufacturer. Veterans with in-service exposure may qualify for VA disability. Product claims against the manufacturers are separate.

Talk with a Wisconsin mesothelioma lawyer

Whether your family is dealing with a new diagnosis, a very sick loved one, or a death from mesothelioma, we can help you understand what is available — and what the deadlines really are.

You do not need to know the product names. You do not need to have all the records. You do not need to travel to our office. A spouse or adult child can call for the family.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS Request a free case review

Sources and references

Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 101.01(10), (11), (13) — definitions of "owner," "place of employment," and "safe."
Wis. Stat. § 101.11 — safe-place statute.
Wis. Stat. §§ 102.03(2), 102.12, 102.17(4), 102.29 — worker's compensation exclusivity, notice and application, occupational-disease limitations, and third-party claims and reimbursement.
Wis. Stat. § 801.50 — venue.
Wis. Stat. § 802.025 — asbestos trust claim disclosure (2013 Wis. Act 154).
Wis. Stat. § 807.01 — offers of settlement.
Wis. Stat. §§ 814.01, 814.03, 814.04 — costs.
Wis. Stat. § 893.07 — borrowing statute.
Wis. Stat. § 893.54 — three-year limitation for personal injury and wrongful death.
Wis. Stat. § 893.80 — claims against local governments: notice and cap.
Wis. Stat. § 893.89 — improvements to real property; seven-year exposure period (2017 Wis. Act 235).
Wis. Stat. § 895.01 — survival of actions.
Wis. Stat. §§ 895.03, 895.04 — wrongful death; § 895.04(4) caps loss of society and companionship at $350,000 (deceased adult) or $500,000 (deceased minor) per occurrence.
Wis. Stat. § 895.043 — punitive damages: standard, no joint and several liability, and cap (2011 Wis. Act 2).
Wis. Stat. § 895.045 — comparative negligence, concerted action, and product-liability apportionment.
Wis. Stat. § 895.047 — strict product liability (2011 Wis. Act 2), including the latent-disease exception to the 15-year time limit.
Wis. Stat. § 895.61 — asbestos successor-corporation liability limit (2009 Wis. Act 28).
5 U.S.C. §§ 8116, 8132 — FECA exclusivity, VA election, and third-party repayment.
33 U.S.C. §§ 905(a), 933 — Longshore Act exclusivity and third-party claims.
38 U.S.C. § 101 — VA definitions of active service.
42 U.S.C. §§ 423, 424a — Social Security disability and the worker's compensation offset.

Cases

Anderson v. Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co., 924 F. Supp. 2d 996 (E.D. Wis. 2013) — asbestos; safe-place duty of a paper-mill owner to a contract electrician.
Barry v. Employers Mut. Cas. Co., 2001 WI 101, 245 Wis. 2d 560, 630 N.W.2d 517 — structural defects and unsafe conditions under the safe-place statute.
Borello v. U.S. Oil Co., 130 Wis. 2d 397, 388 N.W.2d 140 (1986) — accrual requires knowledge of the injury and its probable cause.
Bowen v. American Family Ins. Co., 2012 WI App 29, 340 Wis. 2d 232, 811 N.W.2d 887 — society damages limited to the statutory order of claimants.
Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988) — government-contractor defense.
Christ v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 2015 WI 58, 362 Wis. 2d 668, 866 N.W.2d 602 — discovery rule for survival and wrongful-death claims.
Connar v. West Shore Equipment of Milwaukee, Inc., 68 Wis. 2d 42, 227 N.W.2d 660 (1975) — employer's negligence on the special verdict.
Estate of Lorbiecki v. Pabst Brewing Co., 2026 WI 12 — safe-place liability to a contractor's steamfitter exposed to airborne asbestos; punitive damages; the punitive cap's measure.
Hansen v. A.H. Robins, Inc., 113 Wis. 2d 550, 335 N.W.2d 578 (1983) — discovery rule.
Leitinger v. DBart, Inc., 2007 WI 84, 302 Wis. 2d 110, 736 N.W.2d 1 — collateral source rule and reasonable value of medical care.
Miller v. Luther, 170 Wis. 2d 429, 489 N.W.2d 651 (Ct. App. 1992) — death claim barred where the decedent's own claim was time-barred.
Mohn v. CBS Corp., 2018 WI App 62, 384 Wis. 2d 271, 921 N.W.2d 16 — construction time limit and a supplier of insulation materials.
Nooyen v. Wisconsin Electric Power Co., 2020 WI App 9, 390 Wis. 2d 687, 939 N.W.2d 621 — construction time limit and safe-place claims for construction-era asbestos.
Orlowski v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2012 WI 21, 339 Wis. 2d 1, 810 N.W.2d 775 — written-off medical expenses.
Paynter v. ProAssurance Wis. Ins. Co., 2019 WI 65, 387 Wis. 2d 278, 929 N.W.2d 113 — when a claim is "foreign" under the borrowing statute.
Pierce v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 2007 WI App 152, 303 Wis. 2d 726, 736 N.W.2d 247 — "children" in § 895.04(4).
Pierringer v. Hoger, 21 Wis. 2d 182, 124 N.W.2d 106 (1963) — settlement releases.
Potter v. City of Kenosha, 268 Wis. 361, 68 N.W.2d 4 (1955) — owner's turnover of control and custody of a safe place.
Sampson v. Laskin, 66 Wis. 2d 318, 224 N.W.2d 594 (1975) — substantial-factor causation.
Schnabl v. Ford Motor Co., 54 Wis. 2d 345, 195 N.W.2d 602 (1972) — death caused by a wrongful act in Wisconsin.
Sopha v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., 230 Wis. 2d 212, 601 N.W.2d 627 (1999) — separate limitations period and no claim preclusion for a later asbestos malignancy.
Springer v. Nohl Electric Products Corp., 2018 WI 48, 381 Wis. 2d 438, 912 N.W.2d 1 — successor liability in a mesothelioma case.
Strenke v. Hogner, 2005 WI 25, 279 Wis. 2d 52, 694 N.W.2d 296 — punitive damages standard.
Sun Ship, Inc. v. Pennsylvania, 447 U.S. 715 (1980) — state compensation alongside the Longshore Act.
Tatera v. FMC Corp., 2010 WI 90, 328 Wis. 2d 320, 786 N.W.2d 810 — mesothelioma; principal employer's liability to a contractor's employee.
Viola v. Wisconsin Electric Power Co., 2014 WI App 5, 352 Wis. 2d 541, 842 N.W.2d 515 — airborne asbestos during repairs as an unsafe condition.
Wangen v. Ford Motor Co., 97 Wis. 2d 260, 294 N.W.2d 437 (1980) — no punitive damages in wrongful death; available to the estate incident to the decedent's pain and suffering.
Wenke v. Gehl Co., 2004 WI 103, 274 Wis. 2d 220, 682 N.W.2d 405 — borrowing statute and repose periods.

Last reviewed: November 2026. The Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. — PLLC | Round Rock, TX · Mesa, AZ · Redmond, WA. We partner with firms in every relevant jurisdiction so claims can be handled in the appropriate court or claims system.

This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.