Shouldering the Burden: Wisconsin’s New Workers’ Comp Exposure

Shoulders are the most commonly injured body parts in Wisconsin worker’s compensation claims—even more common than lower-back and hearing-loss claims. Wisconsin Act 145, which became effective on April 1, 2026, eliminated the statute of limitations for traumatic shoulder injuries that require shoulder replacement or reverse shoulder replacement surgery. This change will have long-lasting effects on Wisconsin’s worker’s compensation landscape.

Wisconsin’s New 2025 Wis. Act 145

Wisconsin Act 145, which became effective on April 1, 2026, added work-related shoulder injuries requiring either a shoulder replacement or reverse shoulder replacement to the list of injuries for which there is no statute of limitations. Before Act 145, that list included traumatic injuries resulting in:

1. the loss or total impairment of a hand, arm, leg, or foot;
2. any loss of vision;
3. any permanent brain injury;
4. the need for an artificial spinal disc; or
5. a total or partial knee or hip replacement.

Importantly, the injuries in this category are “traumatic,” meaning they occur at a specific time and place. They are different from “occupational diseases,” which develop over time, such as overuse injuries.

The practical effect of Act 145 is significant. If an employee sustains a traumatic, work-related shoulder injury and the treating physician recommends either a shoulder replacement or reverse shoulder replacement, the employee may claim benefits related to that shoulder injury for the rest of his or her life without being barred by the statute of limitations.

Act 145’s impact becomes even more significant when considered alongside Wisconsin’s medical-causation standards for traumatic injuries and its permanency rules. In Wisconsin, a traumatic injury is compensable if a work-related accident directly causes the injury—meaning the accident causes a structural “letting go”—or if the accident precipitates, aggravates, and accelerates a pre-existing condition beyond its normal progression. In other words, even if an employee had a pre-existing degenerative shoulder condition or a history of prior shoulder injuries, the injury may still be compensable if the treating physician opines that the work-related accident precipitated, aggravated, and accelerated that condition beyond its normal progression. A common example is a treating physician’s opinion that a work-related accident made shoulder replacement surgery necessary sooner than it otherwise would have been. Under Act 145, employees with pre-existing shoulder conditions may be one work-related accident away from a lifetime of worker’s compensation benefits. Even if the work-related accident is the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, the employer and its insurance carrier may remain responsible for worker’s compensation benefits for years to come.

In addition to ever-increasing treatment costs, permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits are a serious consideration in shoulder replacement claims. Wisconsin’s Administrative Code provides a regulatory minimum 50% PPD rating for shoulder surgeries involving a prosthesis. For shoulder injuries with dates of injury on or after April 1, 2026, employers and their insurance carriers face a minimum exposure of $113,500.00 in PPD benefits alone. This calculation assumes an average weekly wage that corresponds to the maximum weekly PPD rate for injuries occurring on or after April 1, 2026, which is a common scenario.

Act 145 also introduced an important limitation on PPD claims by prohibiting the “stacking” of minimum disability ratings for repeat surgical procedures to the same body part, including shoulders. Under the revised framework, an injured worker’s PPD rating for a repeat surgery must be based on actual functional disability rather than the automatic application of multiple minimum PPD ratings. Using the shoulder-injury example above, if the injured worker undergoes a repeat shoulder replacement or reverse shoulder replacement surgery, the PPD rating for the repeat surgery will be based on the treating physician’s opinion rather than additional regulatory minimums.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that exposure for work-related shoulder injuries has increased significantly for Wisconsin employers and their insurance carriers. An employee who sustains a traumatic, work-related shoulder injury requiring either a shoulder replacement or reverse shoulder replacement may claim benefits related to that injury without being limited by the statute of limitations. And with increased exposure comes an increased incentive for employees to assert that their shoulder injuries are work-related. Given Wisconsin’s relatively low medical-causation standard, we should expect to see an increase in shoulder claims and compensable shoulder injuries. Fortunately for Wisconsin employers and their insurance carriers, Act 145 also includes a favorable provision eliminating PPD stacking for repeat surgeries.

This article, slightly modified to note recent updates, was featured online in the Wisconsin Employment Law Letter and published by BLR®—Business & Legal Resources. Reproduced here with the permission of BLR®—Business & Legal Resources.