South Dakota Personal Injury Law Overview

Personal injury law is an extremely broad area of law that includes cases in which people are injured due to someone else's negligence or wrongdoing. In the most severe cases, people die, and then wrongful death may be the case. Some of the most common personal injury cases in South Dakota are medical malpractice, defective products, motor vehicle accidents and premises liability cases.

Modified Comparative Negligence

All states have certain laws about who can be held responsible for an accident and who has to pay damages to the victim. South Dakota follows the doctrine of "modified comparative negligence," which means that even if you were partly responsible for your injuries, you can still collect money from the other responsible parties. South Dakota law says that if you are only "slightly" to blame, then you can collect the full amount that is awarded by the court. In many states, if you are found to be less than 49% responsible, then you are paid compensation minus whatever percentage you are responsible for. South Dakota law states that if you are only "slightly" responsible for your injuries you can collect money. Since the language of the law is so confusing, you will need an experienced personal injury attorney to help sort this all out.

Damages and Caps

Personal injury compensatory damages include compensation for both economic and non-economic losses. In South Dakota the cap on medical malpractice damages is $500,000. Non-economic damages are pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and other losses that are not directly financial.

South Dakota personal injury law allows you to be compensated for:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Property damage
• Permanent disability
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life

All states have time limits called statute of limitations regarding how long you have to file a personal injury claim; South Dakota's time limit for most types of personal injury cases is three years. Some cases, such as medical malpractice, have a shorter statute of limitation.

If you live in South Dakota and feel you may have a valid personal injury claim, please contact a South Dakota personal injury attorney near you today.