Legislators in Wisconsin introduced a bill to cap the recovery of noneconomic damages from trucking companies and commercial drivers. The intent is to protect employers from unreasonable “nuclear verdicts” and stabilize insurance costs for the trucking industry. The bill cleared both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature on February 20 with broad support from the state's business community.

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Senate Bill 52 creates a voluntary training and registration program for commercial applicators of products for snow and ice removal. The program is intended to encourage applicators to use ice and snow removal procedures that also protect water quality, in part by reducing salt use. The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council successfully worked with legislators and stakeholders to draft strong, sensible liability protection language to incentivize applicators and business owners to take advantage of this program.

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An article published in the latest edition of the Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal asks whether plaintiffs are actually complying with Wisconsin's disclosure requirement for third-party litigation financing agreements. This reform was championed by the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council as part of a civil litigation reform package, 2017 Act 235. The article was authored by Nicole Marklein, past president of Wisconsin Defense Counsel, and Adam Jordahl, a lobbyist and the communications manager for WCJC.

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Late in the 2023-24 legislative session, several Democratic lawmakers introduced two bills to significantly increase potential damages from medical malpractice claims:

• AB 871 adds adult children to the list of relatives who are entitled to sue for injury or death resulting from medical malpractice, and provides that both minor and certain adult children have the right to recover for loss of society and companionship if the parent is injured or dies as the result of medical malpractice.
• AB 872 raises the limit on noneconomic damages for medical malpractice claims from $750,000 to $3 million for each occurrence of medical malpractice.

The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council is opposed to these bills, which would increase the cost of medical malpractice insurance in Wisconsin, thereby raising healthcare costs for employers and consumers. The bills have not received a public hearing or further action in either house of the Wisconsin Legislature and are not expected to advance this year.