What To Know If You Were Injured In A Crash On Highway 35 In Western Wisconsin

By Attorney Howard Eglash

A crash on Highway 35 in Western Wisconsin may happen during a short drive through La Crosse, a commute between river communities, or a longer trip along the Mississippi River. Afterward, an injured driver or passenger may need to deal with medical treatment, vehicle damage, insurance companies, missed work, and questions about who caused the collision.

The location adds practical considerations. Wisconsin Highway 35, also known as WIS 35, follows the Mississippi River through La Crosse, Vernon, Trempealeau, and other Western Wisconsin counties as part of the Wisconsin Great River Road. The route includes urban streets, rural stretches, intersections, commercial traffic, and areas undergoing transportation improvements.

For someone injured on Highway 35 near La Crosse, Onalaska, Holmen, Stoddard, or another Western Wisconsin community, understanding what happens after the crash helps separate immediate concerns from the insurance and legal questions that may follow.

What Should You Do After A Highway 35 Crash?

Your health and safety come first.

After any crash, seek medical evaluation even if you do not feel injured right away. Some injuries or symptoms become noticeable hours or days later. If emergency care is needed, follow the direction of first responders or go to the nearest appropriate emergency department. For crashes near La Crosse, nearby 24-hour emergency options include Emplify Health by Gundersen and Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse.

Once immediate health and safety needs are addressed, other useful steps may include:

• Calling 911 and moving away from active traffic when it is safe to do so
• Cooperating with the investigating law enforcement agency
• Exchanging driver, vehicle, and insurance information
• Photographing the vehicles, roadway, signs, debris, and surrounding conditions when safe
• Collecting contact information from witnesses
• Keeping medical, towing, repair, rental vehicle, and work-loss records
• Reporting the collision to your insurance company

Do not put yourself or anyone else in danger to gather photographs or other evidence beside the roadway.

Wisconsin requires crashes to be reported when they involve an injury, at least $1,000 in damage to any one person’s vehicle or property, or at least $200 in damage to government-owned property other than a vehicle. Law enforcement may complete the required report. If law enforcement does not file a report for a reportable crash, the driver generally needs to submit a Wisconsin Driver Report of Crash.

Why Does The Highway 35 Location Matter?

The legal principles governing a Highway 35 accident are generally the same Wisconsin rules that apply to another motor vehicle crash. The location still matters when identifying evidence, law enforcement records, witnesses, road conditions, insurance issues, and other parties.

Highway 35 travels through several Western Wisconsin communities and counties. The Wisconsin Great River Road follows WIS 35 for its entire 250-mile route through eight counties, including La Crosse, Vernon, Trempealeau, Buffalo, and Crawford counties.

That means two crashes on Highway 35 may look entirely different.

One collision might happen within the City of La Crosse in traffic controlled by signals and intersections. Another might occur on a rural stretch south of La Crosse. Another may involve a commercial truck farther north toward Holmen or Trempealeau.

Where the collision occurred may affect which agency investigated the crash, where relevant witnesses or businesses are located, and what roadway evidence is available.

What Should You Know About Highway 35 Construction In 2026?

Road construction deserves special attention for Highway 35 crashes occurring during 2026.

WisDOT is reconstructing WIS 35 between the La Crosse and Vernon County line and Sunnyside Drive. The project resumed in March 2026 and is scheduled for completion in November 2026, subject to weather and construction conditions. WisDOT reports that the highway remains open during the project, with traffic impacts that include flagging, single-lane closures, and temporary traffic signals in some areas.

WisDOT is also studying the WIS 35 corridor within La Crosse from US 14/61 to US 53 to address traffic operations, safety, and infrastructure needs.

A crash occurring in or near a construction zone does not automatically mean WisDOT, a contractor, or another government entity is responsible.

The investigation still needs to determine what actually caused the collision. Relevant questions may involve driver behavior, temporary traffic controls, lane configuration, construction vehicles, visibility, signage, road conditions, or other facts.

Claims involving a government entity, public employee, or government-related road issue may also involve special legal rules and notice requirements. The specific circumstances should be evaluated before assuming an ordinary car accident deadline or procedure applies.

How Is Fault Determined After A Highway 35 Accident?

Fault depends on the conduct that contributed to the collision.

A Highway 35 crash might involve a driver who failed to yield, followed another vehicle too closely, made an unsafe lane change, crossed the centerline, failed to adjust to traffic conditions, or engaged in another form of negligent driving.

Other cases may involve multiple vehicles or competing explanations about what happened.

Wisconsin follows a comparative negligence system. Under Wisconsin Statute § 895.045, an injured person’s own negligence does not automatically prevent recovery when the person’s negligence is not greater than the negligence of the party from whom recovery is sought. Any recovery is reduced according to the percentage of negligence attributed to the injured person.

Consider a hypothetical example. One driver begins turning while another vehicle approaches. The drivers disagree about speed, signaling, and who had the right of way. An insurer might argue that both drivers contributed to the collision.

Determining responsibility may require more than accepting either driver’s initial account.

What Evidence May Matter After A Highway 35 Crash?

The type of evidence that matters depends on how the collision happened.

Police reports are useful, but they are rarely the only source of information. Photographs, witness accounts, vehicle damage, medical documentation, and electronic records may help provide a more complete picture.

For a Highway 35 accident, relevant evidence might include:

• The law enforcement crash report
• Photographs and video from the scene
• Dash camera footage
• Nearby business or traffic camera recordings when available
• Witness statements
• Vehicle damage
• Electronic vehicle information when available
• Road and weather information
• Construction or traffic-control information when relevant
• Medical records and biEmployment and wage-loss documentation
• Insurance correspondence
• Commercial vehicle records when a truck or business vehicle is involved

Evidence may change or disappear. Vehicles get repaired. Video recordings may be overwritten. Construction configurations change as projects progress. Witnesses may become more difficult to locate.

For a crash connected to temporary lane closures or construction, photographs showing how traffic was configured at the time may become especially useful.

How Does Insurance Work After A Highway 35 Accident?

Several insurance coverages may become relevant after a serious crash.

Wisconsin automobile policies must include minimum liability coverage of $25,000 for injury or death to one person, $50,000 for injury or death to two or more people, and $10,000 for property damage. Wisconsin also requires uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage with minimum limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.

Depending on the circumstances, a claim may involve:

The responsible driver’s liability insurance, your own uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage if purchased, medical payments coverage if purchased, health insurance, commercial insurance, or workers’ compensation if you were working when the crash occurred.

Underinsured motorist coverage is optional in Wisconsin. Insurers are required to notify policyholders about its availability, but a policyholder may reject it.

This becomes important when injuries are serious and the responsible driver has relatively low liability limits.

An accident involving a commercial truck, company vehicle, employee driving for work, or several vehicles may involve additional policies and parties.

What Should You Say To An Insurance Company After The Crash?

Soon after a Highway 35 collision, you may not know exactly how the accident happened, whether another vehicle contributed, how long medical treatment will continue, or how much work you will miss.

You do not need to fill gaps in your memory with estimates.

Statements about speed, distance, fault, injuries, or recovery may become part of an insurer’s evaluation of the claim. A person who has not yet received a complete medical evaluation also may not know the full extent of an injury.

Your own insurance policy may contain cooperation requirements. An insurer representing another driver has a different relationship with you.

Before providing a detailed recorded statement or signing a broad medical authorization, understand who is requesting the information and what the document allows.

What If The Highway 35 Crash Involved A Commercial Truck?

Highway 35 serves local residents, commuters, tourists, and commercial traffic. A collision involving a semitruck or other business vehicle may raise questions beyond the conduct of the person behind the wheel.

Depending on the circumstances, the investigation may involve the driver, motor carrier, employer, vehicle owner, commercial insurer, maintenance records, electronic information, or other business records.

Bosshard Parke has previously explained how a Wisconsin commercial truck accident claim may differ from an ordinary car accident claim.

The presence of a truck does not automatically mean several businesses are responsible. The relationships between the driver, vehicle, employer, carrier, and other parties need to be evaluated based on the evidence.

What If You Were Working When The Crash Happened?

A Highway 35 collision sometimes occurs while someone is driving for work.

A salesperson traveling between appointments, a construction employee driving to a jobsite, a commercial driver, or another employee performing work duties may have questions about workers’ compensation in addition to a possible claim against the person who caused the crash.

Depending on the circumstances, an injured worker may have a Wisconsin workers’ compensation claim and a separate personal injury claim involving another driver or company.

Those claims follow different rules. Workers’ compensation generally addresses work-related injuries without requiring the employee to establish that the employer caused the accident. A third-party personal injury claim generally requires an evaluation of fault.

Bosshard Parke handles both personal injury and workers’ compensation matters, which may be relevant when a roadway accident occurs during employment.

What If The Other Driver Lives In Another State?

Highway 35 runs through communities close to Minnesota, and drivers from La Crescent, Winona, and other nearby areas regularly travel into Western Wisconsin.

An out-of-state driver does not prevent an injured person from pursuing an insurance claim.

A crash occurring in Wisconsin will often involve Wisconsin traffic and negligence rules. Other questions, including insurance policy interpretation, vehicle ownership, employment relationships, and where a lawsuit may properly proceed, may require additional analysis.

The driver’s home address alone does not determine every legal issue.

For Western Wisconsin residents who routinely cross the Mississippi River for work, medical care, shopping, or family activities, this is one reason the location of the actual collision matters.

What Deadlines Apply After A Highway 35 Crash In Wisconsin?

Wisconsin generally provides a three-year limitation period for a personal injury action arising from a motor vehicle accident. A wrongful death action arising from a motor vehicle accident generally has a two-year limitation period.

These general periods do not govern every situation.

Different notice requirements or deadlines may apply when a government entity is involved, when another state’s law applies, when the responsible party dies, or when another legal rule controls part of the claim.

Insurance policies may also impose requirements that are separate from the statute of limitations.

There is also a practical difference between the filing deadline and the time available to preserve useful evidence. A person should not assume that waiting until the end of a statutory period will leave the same evidence available.

When Should You Speak With A Personal Injury Attorney?

Not every Highway 35 accident requires legal representation.

Speaking with an attorney may be useful when injuries are serious or ongoing, fault is disputed, several vehicles are involved, insurance coverage is unclear, a commercial vehicle was involved, the crash occurred during work, an insurer pressures you to settle before treatment is complete, or a road or construction issue raises questions about additional parties.

An attorney may review the available evidence, determine which insurance policies appear relevant, communicate with insurers, identify potential deadlines, and explain how Wisconsin law applies to the particular circumstances.

Bosshard Parke’s Personal Injury practice includes representation for people injured in motor vehicle accidents in La Crosse, Sparta, and communities throughout Western Wisconsin.

Attorney Howard J. Eglash focuses part of his practice on personal injury and workers’ compensation matters. His Bosshard Parke biography confirms more than 35 years of legal experience and work involving car accidents and other serious injury claims.

A Highway 35 Crash May Raise Local And Legal Questions

A collision on Highway 35 may look like another Wisconsin car accident, but the location may affect the investigation.

The crash might happen along an urban section in La Crosse, a rural stretch near Stoddard, an active construction area, or a portion of the corridor used by commercial and out-of-state drivers. Those differences may affect which records, witnesses, insurance policies, and other evidence become relevant.

Medical care, accurate documentation, careful insurance communication, and an understanding of the applicable Wisconsin rules help injured people make informed decisions as the claim develops.

This article provides general educational information and does not constitute legal advice.

Contact Bosshard Parke About A Highway 35 Accident

If you or a family member was injured in a crash on Highway 35 in La Crosse, Vernon County, or another Western Wisconsin community, Bosshard Parke can help you understand the liability, insurance, evidence, and procedural issues that may apply.

Bosshard Parke’s leading personal injury attorney, Howard J. Eglash, brings more than 35 years of legal experience and a trial-tested approach to serious injury cases. He works closely with injured individuals and families to understand the full impact of an accident and pursue the legal options available under Wisconsin law.

Request a consultation with Bosshard Parke.