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Medical Malpractice Help in Dell Rapids
Finding out that care in Dell Rapids fell short can be painful, and sorting out whether it amounts to medical malpractice is a separate question from how you feel about it.
The sections below set out the South Dakota law that applies to malpractice claims and explain how to reach, through needanattorney.net, an attorney in our network who handles them.
How South Dakota Law Defines Medical Malpractice
A claim counts as medical malpractice in South Dakota when it is an action for malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure against a physician, hospital, nurse, dentist, chiropractor or another practitioner of the healing arts, whatever the legal theory (SDCL § 15-2-14.1).
SDCL § 21-3-11 reaches malpractice actions against a long list of providers, from physicians and hospitals to nurse midwives and physician assistants, and against their employers.
Medical care does not always succeed, and an unhappy outcome is not by itself malpractice; the claim has to connect a failure in care to the injury.
Kinds of Cases That Need a Malpractice Attorney
Whatever the kind of mistake, a claim comes back to two questions: did the care depart from accepted practice, and did that cause the injury?
Missed or late diagnosis
A claim can arise when a condition is missed or identified late. The question is whether the delay or error departed from accepted medical practice and caused harm that earlier treatment would have avoided.
Errors in the operating room
Operating room claims examine whether the surgeon and the team followed accepted practice for the procedure, and whether a departure from it, rather than a known risk, caused the harm.
Errors with medications
Medication claims often start with a mistake in ordering, dispensing or giving a drug. The question is where in the process the care departed from accepted practice and whether the error caused the harm.
Childbirth injuries
Birth injury claims examine monitoring, decisions about delivery and care after the baby is born, and ask whether any departure from accepted practice caused the harm.
Filing Deadlines Under South Dakota Law
A medical malpractice action can be commenced only within two years after the alleged malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure occurred (SDCL § 15-2-14.1).
SDCL § 15-2-14.1 counts from the occurrence of the alleged malpractice, not from the day it was discovered, so the date of the care is the first thing to pin down, and an attorney can say whether an exception fits.
Minors and Mental Illness Under South Dakota Law
If the person entitled to bring an action was a minor or mentally ill when the cause of action accrued, the time of the disability is not a part of the time limited for starting the action (SDCL § 15-2-22).
The extension is limited: the period cannot be extended more than five years by any disability except infancy, and in no case longer than one year after the disability ceases (SDCL § 15-2-22).
Wrongful Death After a Medical Error
SDCL § 21-5-1 makes a person or corporation liable in a wrongful death action when the death was caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default that would have entitled the injured person to sue.
The wrongful death period is three years from the death itself (SDCL § 21-5-3), which is longer than the two years for the patient’s own malpractice claim.
The action is for the exclusive benefit of the husband or wife and children, or if there are none, the parents and next of kin, and it is brought in the name of the personal representative (SDCL § 21-5-5).
Damages in South Dakota Malpractice Claims
In an action for personal injury or death alleging malpractice against the providers listed in the statute, the total general damages that may be awarded may not exceed $500,000, whether the case is taken through the court system or by binding arbitration (SDCL § 21-3-11).
The limit does not reach special damages: SDCL § 21-3-11 says there is no limitation on their amount.
The absence of a limit does not mean any amount is guaranteed; the outcome of a claim depends on its facts and the evidence.
How South Dakota Treats a Patient’s Own Negligence
Under SDCL § 20-9-2, contributory negligence is not a bar if it was slight in comparison with the defendant’s negligence, and the award is reduced in proportion.
SDCL § 20-9-2 says the slight comparison question is determined without disclosing any percentage of the patient’s fault by special interrogatory.
Knowing who treated the patient, and when, helps an attorney decide whom to name and how fault may be divided.
If the Provider Is a Public Entity
An action for damages for personal injury or death caused by a public entity or its employees cannot be maintained unless written notice of the time, place and cause of the injury is given to the public entity within one hundred eighty days after the injury (SDCL § 3-21-2).
Who gets the notice depends on the entity (SDCL § 3-21-3): the county auditor for a county, the mayor or city finance officer for a municipality, the superintendent for a school district, and others as listed.
Nothing in the notice chapter tolls or extends any limitation on the time for commencing an action (SDCL § 3-21-2). If the person injured is a minor or is incapacitated, a court may allow notice within a reasonable time after the disability, on an application made within two years of the event (SDCL § 3-21-4).
Courts for a Dell Rapids Claim
SDCL § 15-5-8 gives the plaintiff the option of the county where the damages were inflicted or the cause of action arose, and care in Dell Rapids points to Minnehaha County as one choice. The county where a defendant resides is the general rule (SDCL § 15-5-6).
The Court and Hospitals Behind a Dell Rapids Claim
Minnehaha County is the county the Census Bureau assigns to Dell Rapids. South Dakota Codified Law 16-5-1.2 places Minnehaha County in the Second Circuit. In Dell Rapids, the Department of Health trauma hospital list names Avera Dells Area Hospital as a designated trauma receiving hospital. Ask the hospital’s records office for your complete chart and itemized bill, and note which doctors and nurses were involved.
Start Your Dell Rapids Medical Malpractice Claim
A short written account of what happened, with the names of the providers and the dates, gives an attorney a useful starting point, even if you are missing some records.
Submit the form on this page and we will work to connect you with an attorney in our network who handles medical malpractice claims in South Dakota. Because filing deadlines are measured in years, not decades, it helps to ask early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the deadline change for a child injured by medical care?
SDCL § 15-2-22 excludes the time of a disability from the deadline, and caps the extension at one year after the disability ceases.
How does shared fault affect a South Dakota claim?
Yes, if your own negligence was slight in comparison with the defendant’s; otherwise recovery is barred (SDCL § 20-9-2).
How much time do I have to sue for medical malpractice in South Dakota?
The period is two years from when the alleged malpractice occurred (SDCL § 15-2-14.1).
Is there a wrongful death claim for malpractice in South Dakota?
Yes. SDCL § 21-5-1 provides the action, which must be commenced within three years after the death (SDCL § 21-5-3).
How fast must I act against a public provider in South Dakota?
One hundred eighty days for written notice (SDCL § 3-21-2), given to the officer named in SDCL § 3-21-3.
Which providers does the South Dakota malpractice deadline cover?
SDCL § 15-2-14.1 reaches hospitals, nurses and the other practitioners it lists, whether the claim is based on contract or tort.
Does South Dakota limit what I can recover for medical malpractice?
General damages are limited to $500,000 in total; there is no limitation on special damages (SDCL § 21-3-11).
Nearby Communities We Serve
Medical care often happens outside your own town; these pages cover other South Dakota communities.
