Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 891.44 (2026)

Presumption of lack of contributory negligence for infant minor

✓ current as of July 2026

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891.44891.44 Presumption of lack of contributory negligence for infant minor. It shall be conclusively presumed that an infant minor who has not reached the age of 7 shall be incapable of being guilty of contributory negligence or of any negligence whatsoever.

891.44 AnnotationA refusal to instruct under this section was not error when no issue of the plaintiff’s negligence was presented by the pleadings or by evidence. Wagner v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co., 65 Wis. 2d 243, 222 N.W.2d 652 (1974).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1974–2024 · leading case: State v. Shaun M. Sanders, 912 N.W.2d 16 (Wis. 2018).

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State v. Shaun M. Sanders, 912 N.W.2d 16 (Wis. 2018). · cites it 14× “1 How can the majority square its asserted legislative intent here where the legislature has not spoken with the explicit legislative intent expressed in Wis. Stat. § 891.44 ? It cannot. ¶61 I determine that it is absurd to conclude the legislature intended that criminal…”

Rockweit v. Senecal, 541 N.W.2d 742 (Wis. 1995). · cites it 4× “Anthony further argues that the defense is not available to Tynan because Wis. Stat. § 891.44 (1987-88) conclusively establishes that a minor under the age of seven cannot be found to be negligent as a matter of law.”

Gaertner v. Holcka, 580 N.W.2d 271 (Wis. 1998). · cites it 4× “Thus, an effect of the majority's reasoning is that if the minor passenger is less than 7 but more than 4 years old, and the neighbor transporting him or her had failed to ensure that the minor was restrained by a safety belt, the minor will never recover more than 85 percent of…”

Vandenberg v. Cont'l Ins., 2001 WI 85 (Wis. 2001). · cites it 2× “Dumke Insurance Services further contends that if there is a factual issue as to whether the Riehls requested day care coverage, the circuit court erred in granting Continental Insurance's motion for summary judgment on the issue of reformation.”

Rockweit Ex Rel. Donohue v. Senecal, 522 N.W.2d 575 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 6× “According to § 891.44, Stats., a minor under the age of seven is "incapable of being guilty of contributory negligence or of any negligence whatsoever.”

Giese v. Montgomery Ward, Inc., 331 N.W.2d 585 (Wis. 1983). “1 Sec. 891.44, Stats. 1977-78, provides: “891.”

Wagner v. Am. Fam. Mut. Ins. Co., 222 N.W.2d 652 (Wis. 1974). · cites it 3× “Sec. 891.44, Stats. On the other hand, defendants point out that there was no issue of plaintiff’s negligence presented by the pleadings or by the evidence, nor was the issue submitted to the jury.”

Burch v. Am. Fam. Mut. Ins., 492 N.W.2d 338 (Wis. Ct. App. 1992). “age of seven are incapable of negligent conduct in Wisconsin, sec. 891.44, Stats., Amy is fifteen years old, well beyond the age where negli *613 gence may not be attributed to her.”

Molitor v. Voutiristas (E.D. Wis. 2024). · cites it 2× “” Wis. Stat. § 891.44 . E.J. was five-years old at the time of the incident.”

Buckett ex rel. Cannon v. Repub. Ins., 305 N.W.2d 156 (Wis. Ct. App. 1981). “Sec. 891.44, Stats. We believe the law of this state corresponds to Restatement (Second) of Torts §494A (1965): “The negligence of one parent does not bar recovery by the other parent for loss of the services of their child, or for medical expenses incurred in caring for him.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.