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Your Custer Personal Injury Attorney
Recovering from an injury is hard enough without legal confusion on top of it. If someone else’s carelessness hurt you in Custer, you are allowed to take your time understanding your options before you sign or say anything.
A quick note on what this page is: general information about South Dakota injury law, written from the statutes, from a matching service that does not practice law. It is meant to help you ask good questions, not to decide your case.
Before You Hire: Questions For A Custer Attorney
Whoever you speak to, a few answers tell you a lot:
- Your share of fault. Ask how your own share of fault would affect your claim. In South Dakota your negligence does not bar a recovery when it was slight in comparison with the defendant’s, and damages are reduced in proportion (SDCL § 20-9-2).
- The deadline. Ask for the specific last day to file. A civil action for personal injury must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued (SDCL § 15-2-14).
- Punitive damages. Ask whether the facts could support them. A court must first find, after a hearing and on clear and convincing evidence, a reasonable basis to believe the conduct was willful, wanton or malicious (SDCL § 21-1-4.1).
- Fees and costs. Ask what the fee is, when it is paid, and which expenses are deducted from a settlement.
- The people. Ask who will be in touch with you and how quickly they return calls.
Injury Claims People Ask About
Vehicle crashes
Vehicle injuries start with the same few steps: medical care first, then photographs of the scene, names and numbers of anyone who saw it, the other driver’s insurance information and any estimates for repairs.
Pedestrian and bicycle injuries
Walkers and cyclists hurt by a vehicle should write down the location, the time of day, the lighting and the signals as soon as they can. Witnesses who stopped are valuable, so ask for their contact details before they leave.
Falls and unsafe property
Wet floors, icy steps and broken railings cause injuries that turn on how long the hazard existed and who was responsible for it. Photograph the hazard as soon as you can and report the fall to whoever runs the property.
Wrongful death
If a loved one died because of another person’s wrongful act or omission, a different set of rules applies. South Dakota law has a wrongful death action brought in the name of the personal representative for the exclusive benefit of the spouse and children, or if there are none, the parents and next of kin (SDCL § 21-5-5), and the jury may award damages proportionate to the pecuniary injury resulting from the death (SDCL § 21-5-7). You do not have to sort this out alone or quickly; an attorney can explain who is allowed to act and what the dates are.
Injured in Custer? Get matched with an attorney now.
When Fault Is Shared
South Dakota’s comparison rule turns on one word, slight. Your own negligence is weighed against the defendant’s, and a recovery is not barred when yours was slight in comparison (SDCL § 20-9-2). When recovery is allowed, the award is reduced in proportion to your share.
Fault also affects how defendants share a judgment. Under SDCL § 15-8-15, the relative degrees of fault of joint tortfeasors are considered in setting their shares when an equal split would be inequitable, and under SDCL § 15-8-15.1 a party with less than fifty percent of the total fault is not jointly liable for more than twice its percentage when judgment is entered on joint and several liability.
Limits And Rules To Know
Punitive damages are possible in South Dakota only in narrow circumstances. Under SDCL § 21-3-2, where the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud or malice, actual or presumed, the jury may give damages for the sake of example and by way of punishing the defendant, in addition to the actual damage. Before any discovery on punitive damages begins and before the claim can go to the fact finder, the court must find, after a hearing and on clear and convincing evidence, a reasonable basis to believe there was willful, wanton or malicious conduct (SDCL § 21-1-4.1).
Your actual losses, such as medical bills, lost income and pain, are a separate matter and do not depend on those steps.
Filing Deadlines For Injury Claims
South Dakota allows three years to commence a civil action for personal injury, counted from when the cause of action accrued (SDCL § 15-2-14). A wrongful death action must be commenced within three years after the death (SDCL § 21-5-3). The type of claim sets the date, so ask any attorney to name the last day in your case.
If a public entity may be responsible, the 180 day written notice comes first, and it does not extend the time to sue (SDCL § 3-21-2).
What Auto Policies Must Cover
The other driver’s policy may be smaller than your bills. In South Dakota an owner’s policy carries limits of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injury or death, and $25,000 for property damage (SDCL § 32-35-70).
When your losses are larger, look at your own coverage. Under SDCL § 58-11-9, a liability policy delivered in the state for a vehicle registered or principally garaged there must include uninsured motorist coverage equal to its bodily injury limits, within the $100,000 and $300,000 ceiling unless more is requested. Ask your attorney to look at every policy that could apply.
Courts and Hospitals in Custer
Monument Health Custer Hospital in Custer appears on the South Dakota Department of Health list of designated trauma hospitals as a designated trauma receiving hospital. Look up Custer County in South Dakota Codified Law 16-5-1.2 and you find it in the Seventh Circuit. Custer lies within Custer County.
Ask every provider for your full records and an itemized bill, and keep a running list of appointments. A transfer between hospitals leaves two sets of records, so request both.
How The Intake Process Works In Custer
The form at the top of this page is the starting point. NeedAnAttorney.net reviews your details and works to match you with an attorney in our network who may handle cases in South Dakota. It costs nothing to use and does not commit you to anything.
Before the first call, collect the basics: the date, the place, names of witnesses, your medical visits and your missed work. A single folder for bills, letters and photographs saves time later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I speak with the other driver’s insurance company?
You are free to talk to them, but you are not required to give a recorded statement immediately. Saying that you want advice first is a reasonable answer.
Are there special notice rules for claims against the government?
There are. No action against a public entity or its employees for personal injury or death may be maintained without written notice within 180 days after the injury (SDCL § 3-21-2), and the notice does not extend the filing deadline.
Does it matter if my attorney knows the Custer area?
Local knowledge can help with scheduling, courts and medical providers. The form on this page connects you with an attorney who takes cases near Custer.
What is the South Dakota statute of limitations for an injury claim?
Generally three years (SDCL § 15-2-14). For a wrongful death, the limit is three years from the date of death (SDCL § 21-5-3).
Does South Dakota bar me from recovering if I share the blame?
Yes, as long as your negligence was slight in comparison with the defendant’s. The statute does not define slight, so ask an attorney how courts apply it (SDCL § 20-9-2).
Can I recover punitive damages in an injury case?
Sometimes. They are possible where the defendant was guilty of oppression, fraud or malice (SDCL § 21-3-2), and the court must first find, after a hearing and on clear and convincing evidence, a reasonable basis to believe the conduct was willful, wanton or malicious (SDCL § 21-1-4.1).
How much insurance does the other driver have to have?
An owner’s policy carries limits of $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage (SDCL § 32-35-70).
What documents should I keep after an injury?
Medical records and bills, photographs, the police or incident report number, pay stubs showing missed work, repair estimates and every letter or email from an insurer.
Help Elsewhere in South Dakota
If your injury happened outside Custer, one of these pages may fit better.
