Wis. Stat. » CHAPTER 895 — DAMAGES, LIABILITY, AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (2026)

What actions survive; actions not to abate

✓ current as of July 2026
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895.01895.01 What actions survive; actions not to abate.
895.01(1)(1) 
895.01(1)(am)(am) In addition to the causes of action that survive at common law, all of the following also survive:
895.01(1)(am)1.1. Causes of action to determine paternity.
895.01(1)(am)2.2. Causes of action for the recovery of personal property or the unlawful withholding or conversion of personal property.
895.01(1)(am)3.3. Causes of action for the recovery of the possession of real estate and for the unlawful withholding of the possession of real estate.
895.01(1)(am)4.4. Causes of action for assault and battery.
895.01(1)(am)5.5. Causes of action for false imprisonment.
895.01(1)(am)6.6. Causes of action for invasion of privacy.
895.01(1)(am)7.7. Causes of action for a violation of s. 968.31 (2m) or other damage to the person.
895.01(1)(am)8.8. Causes of action for all damage done to the property rights or interests of another.
895.01(1)(am)9.9. Causes of action for goods taken and carried away.
895.01(1)(am)10.10. Causes of action for damages done to real or personal estate.
895.01(1)(am)11.11. Equitable actions to set aside conveyances of real estate.
895.01(1)(am)12.12. Equitable actions to compel a reconveyance of real estate.
895.01(1)(am)13.13. Equitable actions to quiet the title to real estate.
895.01(1)(am)14.14. Equitable actions for specific performance of contracts relating to real estate.
895.01(1)(bm)(bm) Causes of action for wrongful death shall survive the death of the wrongdoer whether or not the death of the wrongdoer occurred before or after the death of the injured person.
895.01(2)(2) An action does not abate by the occurrence of any event if the cause of action survives or continues.
895.01 HistoryHistory: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 760 (1975), 771; 1977 c. 176; 1987 a. 399; 1993 a. 481; 1999 a. 85; 2007 a. 101.
895.01 AnnotationPunitive damages incident to damages for the pain and suffering of a decedent may be awarded to the estate. Wangen v. Ford Motor Co., 97 Wis. 2d 260, 294 N.W.2d 437 (1980).
895.01 AnnotationA paternity action may not be brought against a deceased putative father. N.L.B. v. G.B., 140 Wis. 2d 400, 411 N.W.2d 144 (Ct. App. 1987).
895.01 AnnotationA claim for loss of enjoyment of life caused by professional negligence of mental health professionals survived the death of the alleged victim. Sawyer v. Midelfort, 227 Wis. 2d 124, 595 N.W.2d 423 (1999), 97-1969.
895.01 AnnotationA survival claim accrues when, with reasonable diligence, the decedent should have discovered the claim, but no later than the date of death. Estate of Merrill v. Jerrick, 231 Wis. 2d 546, 605 N.W.2d 645 (Ct. App. 1999), 99-0787.
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895.01 AnnotationParents of minor children have separate claims for pre-death and post-death loss of society and companionship, and damages are not capped by the wrongful-death limit. Estate of Hegarty v. Beauchaine, 2006 WI App 248, 297 Wis. 2d 70, 727 N.W.2d 857, 04-3252.
895.01 AnnotationUnder sub. (1) (o) [now sub. (1) (bm)] and s. 895.04 (2), a wrongful death claim does not survive the death of the claimant. Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92, 302 Wis. 2d 519, 735 N.W.2d 55, 05-2315.
895.01 AnnotationSurvival claims accrue on the date the injury is discovered or with reasonable diligence should be discovered by either the decedent or an appropriate third party, often the decedent’s personal representative, whichever occurs first. Christ v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 2015 WI 58, 362 Wis. 2d 668, 866 N.W.2d 602, 12-1493.
895.01 AnnotationActions under ss. 551.41 and 551.59 survive the death of the wrongdoer. Continental Assurance Co. v. American Bankshares Corp., 483 F. Supp. 175 (1980).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 74 cases (15 in the last 5 years), 1967–2026 · leading case: Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007).
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Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007). · cites it 180× “His daughters, Lornson and Hoertsch, were appointed personal representatives for their father's estate, and, in that capacity, they pursued his wrongful death claim, citing Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(o). At the same time, in the alternative, they made their own individual claims…”
Sawyer v. Midelfort, 595 N.W.2d 423 (Wis. 1999). · cites it 22× “(2) Where a patient has not sustained physical injury, do claims of professional negligence on behalf of the patient's estate for "pain, suffering and disability, medical, psychiatric and psychological expense and loss of enjoyment of life," survive under Wis. Stat. § 895.01…”
Donald Christ v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 2015 WI 58 (Wis. 2015). · cites it 27× “Personal injury actions seeking damages for a decedent's injuries suffered before death fall under the category of "other damage to the person" in Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(am)7. (formerly Wis.”
Est. of Hegarty v. Beauchaine, 2006 WI App 248 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 16× “§ 895.01, and the wrongful death statute, WIS.”
Bartholomew v. Wisconsin Patients Comp. Fund & Compcare Health Servs. Ins., 2006 WI 91 (Wis. 2006). · cites it 5× “Wisconsin's present "survival statute," Wis. Stat. § 895.01 , provides in relevant part: (1) In addition to the causes of action that survive at common law, all of the following also survive:.”
Wangen v. Ford Motor Co., 294 N.W.2d 437 (Wis. 1980). · cites it 5× “Sec. 895.01, Stats., governs which actions survive: "895.”
Lord v. Hubbell, Inc., 563 N.W.2d 913 (Wis. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 15× “Statute of Limitations We now decide whether the statute of limitations for the estate's survival claim under § 895.01, STATS., is tolled by § 893.18(2), STATS.”
Hailey Marie-Joe Force v. Am. Fam. Mut. Ins. Co., 2014 WI 82 (Wis. 2014). · cites it 4× “See Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(am)7. Survival actions are different from wrongful death actions.”
Shannon E. T. v. Alicia M. V.M., 2007 WI 29 (Wis. 2007). · cites it 6× “Furthermore, Wis. Stat. §§ 895.01 (1) and (l)(a), which describe what causes of action survive, state that "[i]n addition to the causes of action that survive at common law," several other causes of action survive, including "[clauses of action to determine paternity.”
Schimpf v. Gerald, Inc., 2 F. Supp. 2d 1150 (E.D. Wis. 1998). · cites it 10× “Survivability of plaintiffs’ WOCCA claim is governed first and foremost by Wisconsin’s omnibus survival statute, Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1), which provides that all “causes of action that survive at common law” survive in Wisconsin, as do certain other specified causes of action,…”
Muchow v. Goding, 544 N.W.2d 218 (Wis. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 6× “Their claim is separate and distinct from the claims of the estate to which Susan's claims have passed under the survival statute, § 895.01, Stats. Weiss v. Regent Properties, Ltd.”
Bell v. City of Milwaukee, 746 F.2d 1205 (7th Cir. 1984). · cites it 6× “(3) Wis.Stat. § 895.01, the Wisconsin survival statute, cannot be construed to allow Dolphus Bell’s claims to survive his death.”
Show all 74 citing cases →
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(1) — 16 cases
Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007). “His daughters, Lornson and Hoertsch, were appointed personal representatives for their father's estate, and, in that capacity, they pursued his wrongful death claim, citing Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(o). At the same time, in the alternative, they made their own individual claims…”
Lord v. Hubbell, Inc., 563 N.W.2d 913 (Wis. Ct. App. 1997). “Statute of Limitations We now decide whether the statute of limitations for the estate's survival claim under § 895.01, STATS., is tolled by § 893.18(2), STATS.”
Sawyer v. Midelfort, 595 N.W.2d 423 (Wis. 1999). “(2) Where a patient has not sustained physical injury, do claims of professional negligence on behalf of the patient's estate for "pain, suffering and disability, medical, psychiatric and psychological expense and loss of enjoyment of life," survive under Wis. Stat. § 895.01…”
Schimpf v. Gerald, Inc., 2 F. Supp. 2d 1150 (E.D. Wis. 1998). “Survivability of plaintiffs’ WOCCA claim is governed first and foremost by Wisconsin’s omnibus survival statute, Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1), which provides that all “causes of action that survive at common law” survive in Wisconsin, as do certain other specified causes of action,…”
Bartholomew v. Wisconsin Patients Comp. Fund & Compcare Health Servs. Ins., 2006 WI 91 (Wis. 2006). “Wisconsin's present "survival statute," Wis. Stat. § 895.01 , provides in relevant part: (1) In addition to the causes of action that survive at common law, all of the following also survive:.”
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(1)(am) — 4 cases
Est. of Anne Oros v. Divine Savior Healthcare Inc., 2021 WI App 8 (Wis. Ct. App. 2020).
L. H. v. Easter Seals (Wis. Ct. App. 2022).
The Est. of Dontae Shannon v. City of Racine (E.D. Wis. 2025).
The Bank of New York Mellon v. Carolyn M. Nelson (Wis. Ct. App. 2026).
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(1)(am)(7) — 1 case
Carnes, Jill v. C&W Trucking Co. (W.D. Wis. 2023).
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(1)(g) — 1 case
Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007). “His daughters, Lornson and Hoertsch, were appointed personal representatives for their father's estate, and, in that capacity, they pursued his wrongful death claim, citing Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(o). At the same time, in the alternative, they made their own individual claims…”
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(1)(h) — 1 case
Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007). “His daughters, Lornson and Hoertsch, were appointed personal representatives for their father's estate, and, in that capacity, they pursued his wrongful death claim, citing Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(o). At the same time, in the alternative, they made their own individual claims…”
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(1)(o) — 1 case
Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007). “His daughters, Lornson and Hoertsch, were appointed personal representatives for their father's estate, and, in that capacity, they pursued his wrongful death claim, citing Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(o). At the same time, in the alternative, they made their own individual claims…”
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(a) — 1 case
In Re Paternity of Cavm, 2006 WI App 104 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006).
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(l)(g) — 1 case
Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007). “His daughters, Lornson and Hoertsch, were appointed personal representatives for their father's estate, and, in that capacity, they pursued his wrongful death claim, citing Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(o). At the same time, in the alternative, they made their own individual claims…”
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(l)(h) — 1 case
Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007). “His daughters, Lornson and Hoertsch, were appointed personal representatives for their father's estate, and, in that capacity, they pursued his wrongful death claim, citing Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(o). At the same time, in the alternative, they made their own individual claims…”
— Wis. Stat. § 895.01(l)(o) — 1 case
Lornson v. Siddiqui, 2007 WI 92 (Wis. 2007). “His daughters, Lornson and Hoertsch, were appointed personal representatives for their father's estate, and, in that capacity, they pursued his wrongful death claim, citing Wis. Stat. § 895.01 (1)(o). At the same time, in the alternative, they made their own individual claims…”
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.