Wis. Stat. » CHAPTER 893 — LIMITATIONS OF COMMENCEMENT OF ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS; PROCEDURE FOR CLAIMS AGAINST GOVERNMENTAL UNITS
Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 893.83 (2026)

Damages caused by accumulation of snow or ice; liability of city, village, town, and county

✓ current as of July 2026
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893.83893.83 Damages caused by accumulation of snow or ice; liability of city, village, town, and county. No action may be maintained against a city, village, town, or county to recover damages for injuries sustained by reason of an accumulation of snow or ice upon any bridge or highway, unless the accumulation existed for 3 weeks. Any action to recover damages for injuries sustained by reason of an accumulation of snow or ice that has existed for 3 weeks or more upon any bridge or highway is subject to s. 893.80.
893.83 HistoryHistory: 2003 a. 214 ss. 136, 137, 189; 2011 a. 132.
893.83 NoteNOTE: 2003 Wis. Act 214, which affected this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.
893.83 AnnotationShoveling snow from a sidewalk to create a mound along the curb does not create an unnatural or artificial accumulation that renders a city liable. Kobelinski v. Milwaukee & Suburban Transport Corp., 56 Wis. 2d 504, 202 N.W.2d 415 (1972).
893.83 AnnotationCity liability arising from snow and ice on sidewalks is determined under the standard of whether, under all the circumstances, the city was unreasonable in allowing the condition to continue. Circumstances to be considered include location, climactic conditions, accumulation, practicality of removal, traffic on the sidewalk, and intended use of the sidewalk by pedestrians. Schattschneider v. Milwaukee & Suburban Transport Corp., 72 Wis. 2d 252, 240 N.W.2d 182 (1976).
893.83 AnnotationThis section does not apply to a stairway connecting sidewalks. Although case law has extended the meaning of “highways” to include sidewalks, “highways” do not include stairways connecting sidewalks. Henderson v. Milwaukee County, 198 Wis. 2d 747, 543 N.W.2d 544 (Ct. App. 1995), 95-2294.
893.83 AnnotationAs used in this section, “highway” includes the shoulder of the highway. Morris v. Juneau County, 219 Wis. 2d 543, 579 N.W.2d 690 (1998), 96-2507.
893.83 AnnotationA “highway” is an area that the entire community has free access to travel on. A public parking lot is available to the entire community for vehicular travel, and, as such, a city’s public parking lot is a “highway” for purposes of this section. Ellerman v. City of Manitowoc, 2003 WI App 216, 267 Wis. 2d 480, 671 N.W.2d 366, 03-0322.
893.83 AnnotationWhen an accumulation of ice is created by natural conditions, a municipality has three weeks to address the problem. Actions based on artificial accumulations are actionable without the three-week requirement. To be an artificial condition, grading must be part of a drainage design plan or be shown to divert water from other sources onto the sidewalks. If not, grading, by itself, does not create an artificial condition on land even if the municipality had notice that a hazardous condition existed. Gruber v. Village of North Fond du Lac, 2003 WI App 217, 267 Wis. 2d 368, 671 N.W.2d 692, 03-0357.
893.83 NoteNOTE: The above annotations cite to s. 81.15, the predecessor statute to this section.
893.83 AnnotationThe first sentence of this section grants municipalities a period of absolute immunity for claims based on snow and ice accumulations that have existed less than three weeks. The second sentence clarifies that immunity is not absolute if the snow or ice accumulation has existed for three weeks or more—under such circumstances, a claim is subject to s. 893.80, like any other tort claim against a municipality. Knoke v. City of Monroe, 2021 WI App 6, 395 Wis. 2d 551, 953 N.W.2d 889, 19-2003.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1975–2026 · leading case: Gregory E. Knoke v. City of Monroe, 2021 WI App 6 (Wis. Ct. App. 2020).
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Gregory E. Knoke v. City of Monroe, 2021 WI App 6 (Wis. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 39× “Knoke argues that the legislature did not “repeal Wis. Stat. § 893.83 completely” when it amended the statute in 2011, and therefore, Morris’s interpretation of § 893.”
Bostco LLC v. Milwaukee Metro. Sewerage Dist., 2013 WI 78 (Wis. 2013). · cites it 8× “See Comment, Wis. Stat. Ann. § 893.83 (West 2006). In 2011, the legislature enacted 2011 Wis.”
Bronfeld v. Pember Companies, Inc., 2010 WI App 150 (Wis. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 19× “The Bronfelds first argue this case falls under Wis. Stat. § 893.83 (1), which is an exception to governmental immunity.”
Ferdon Ex Rel. Petrucelli v. Wisconsin Patients Comp. Fund, 2005 WI 125 (Wis. 2005). · cites it 4× “15 has been renumbered Wis. Stat. § 893.83 and Wis. Stat. § 895.”
Boldt v. State, 305 N.W.2d 133 (Wis. 1981). “Thus, the one-year provision of sec. 893.83(3), Stats. 1977, is fulfilled.”
Feest v. Allis-Chalmers Corp., 229 N.W.2d 651 (Wis. 1975). “*764 The plaintiff appears to view the clause “shall have begun to run,” contained in sec. 893.83, Stats., as relating to the full period provided in sec.”
Langenhahn v. W. Bend Mut. Ins. Co., 926 N.W.2d 210 (Wis. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 2× “See Wis. Stat. § 893.83 (2009-10). Thus, we do not rely solely on the absence of a statutory conflict in resolving whether Post 469 "occupied" the crosswalk in which Paula was injured.”
Craig A. Weber v. Cnty. of Milwaukee (Wis. Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 5× “§ 893.83, which provides an immunity defense for injuries “sustained by reason of an accumulation of snow or ice upon any bridge or highway” that existed less than three weeks.”
Joan Scalcucci v. Cnty. of Dane (Wis. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 4× “§ 893.83, which, they assert, “incorporate[s]” a former statute, WIS.”
Janice A. Klika v. City of Green Bay (Wis. Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 4× “§ 893.83 (2009-10), previously provided that a municipality could be sued for “‘insufficiency or want of repairs of any highway’ [or sidewalk] regardless of whether the acts giving rise to the claim were discretionary.”
John Reget v. City of La Crosse (Wis. Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 3× “§ 893.83 (2019-20)1 because the sidewalk snow on which Reget claimed to have fallen was natural, even though it was pushed there from the street by the City’s snowplow.”
Heather Gudex v. Franklin Collection Serv., Inc., 2026 WI 6 (Wis. 2026). · cites it 2× “§ 893.83 (“No action may be maintained against a city, village, town, or county to recover damages for injuries sustained by reason of an accumulation of snow or ice upon any bridge or highway, unless the accumulation existed for 3 weeks.”
— Wis. Stat. § 893.83(1) — 2 cases
Bronfeld v. Pember Companies, Inc., 2010 WI App 150 (Wis. Ct. App. 2010). “The Bronfelds first argue this case falls under Wis. Stat. § 893.83 (1), which is an exception to governmental immunity.”
Joan Scalcucci v. Cnty. of Dane (Wis. Ct. App. 2021). “§ 893.83, which, they assert, “incorporate[s]” a former statute, WIS.”
— Wis. Stat. § 893.83(3) — 1 case
Boldt v. State, 305 N.W.2d 133 (Wis. 1981). “Thus, the one-year provision of sec. 893.83(3), Stats. 1977, is fulfilled.”
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