148 Wis. 2d 260 - Ehlinger v. Sipes’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The cause questions ask whether there was a causal connection between the negligence of any person and the injury. These questions do not ask about "the cause," but rather "a cause." The reason for this is that there may be more than one cause of an injury. The negligence of one person may cause an injury or the combined negligence of two or more persons may cause it. Before you find that a person's negligence was a cause of the injury, you must find that his negligence was a substantial factor in producing the injury. In determining the cause question, you may take into consideration whether one or more of the defendants conduct increased the risk of harm to the plaintiff. In other words, if one or more of the doctors negligent acts or omissions substantially increased the risk of harm to Mrs. Fischer, you must determine whether that increased risk of harm was a substantial factor in producing the injury actually sustained by Mrs. Fischer. You have heard evidence that when Cynthia Fischer was first seen by the defendants, she was suffering from an inflammatory bowel disorder. While her physical condition at that time cannot be regarded by you as having been caused or contributed to by any negligence on the part of the defendants, you have also heard evidence that individuals with such a condition as Mrs. Fischer suffered upon her admission to the hospital, with proper medical care and management do not sustain the outcome that Mrs. Fischer sustained. If you believe from the ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 168 Wis. 2d 834 - Fischer Ex Rel. Fischer v. Ganju

2. “Negligent Performance of Undertaking to Render Services. One who undertakes, gratuitously or for consideration, to render services to another which he should recognize as necessary for the protection of the other's person or things, is subject to liability to the other for physical harm resulting from his failure to exercise reasonable care to perform his undertaking, if (a) his failure to exercise such care increases the risk of such harm . . ..”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 155 Wis. 2d 1 - Ehlinger v. Sipes