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Flandreau Medical Malpractice Legal Help
A medical mistake leaves questions that are hard to put down: what went wrong, who was responsible, and whether South Dakota law gives you a way to hold them accountable.
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.
Medical Malpractice Under South Dakota Law
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.
A bad result alone is not enough. The question is whether the care departed from accepted practice and whether that departure, rather than the underlying illness or a known risk, caused the harm.
Situations That Can Lead to a Malpractice Claim
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?
Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis
When a provider fails to order the right test, misreads a result or dismisses symptoms, the harm may come from lost time. A claim asks whether an earlier diagnosis was reasonably available and what difference it would have made to treatment.
Surgical mistakes
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.
Wrong drug or wrong dose
A prescription or dosing mistake may involve a physician, a pharmacy or a hospital staff member. A claim looks at who made the error and what it caused.
Harm to a mother or baby at birth
When a mother or baby is harmed before, during or soon after delivery, a claim asks whether the care departed from accepted practice and whether that caused the injury. These cases usually depend heavily on the medical records.
The South Dakota Filing Deadline
Under SDCL § 15-2-14.1, the period is two years after the alleged malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure shall have occurred.
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.
When the Patient Is a Minor
South Dakota does not count the time a person is a minor or mentally ill when the claim accrues against the time limit (SDCL § 15-2-22).
SDCL § 15-2-22 caps the extra time. A disability other than infancy can add no more than five years, and no extension runs longer than one year after the disability ends.
A Death Caused by Medical Care
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.
Every action for wrongful death must be commenced within three years after the death (SDCL § 21-5-3).
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).
Compensation Limits for a Malpractice Claim
South Dakota limits general damages in a malpractice case to $500,000 in total, in court or in 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.
The Slight Comparison Rule
SDCL § 20-9-2 bars recovery only when the patient’s own negligence was more than slight in comparison with the defendant’s; otherwise damages are reduced in proportion.
Under SDCL § 20-9-2, no percentage of the patient’s fault is disclosed by special interrogatory when the slight comparison question is decided.
Records that show every provider involved in the care help an attorney see how fault may be shared.
Notice to a Public Entity in South Dakota
Before suing a public hospital or a government employee, written notice of the time, place and cause of the injury has to be given within one hundred eighty days after the injury (SDCL § 3-21-2).
SDCL § 3-21-3 lists the officers to be notified, including the attorney general and the commissioner for the state and the county auditor for a county.
The notice does not stop the clock: SDCL § 3-21-2 says nothing in the chapter tolls or extends a limitation period. For a minor or an incapacitated person, SDCL § 3-21-4 lets a court allow a reasonable time after the disability, on application within two years of the event.
Choosing the County to File In
Where to file depends on the facts. A plaintiff may bring a damages action in the county where the cause of action arose (SDCL § 15-5-8), which for a Flandreau claim is often Moody County, or where a defendant resides (SDCL § 15-5-6).
Courts and Hospitals Near Flandreau
Flandreau lies in Moody County, according to Census Bureau place and county names. Moody County is in the Third Circuit, according to South Dakota Codified Law 16-5-1.2. Avera Flandreau Medical Center in Flandreau is on the South Dakota Department of Health trauma hospital list 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 Flandreau 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.
The form on this page sends your details to an attorney in our network who handles medical malpractice claims in South Dakota, so you can talk through what happened and what your options are.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a family have after a death caused by malpractice?
The personal representative brings the action (SDCL § 21-5-5), within three years after the death (SDCL § 21-5-3).
How fast must I act against a public provider in South Dakota?
Very fast: written notice within one hundred eighty days after the injury (SDCL § 3-21-2), and the notice does not toll the limitation period.
Is a hospital covered by the South Dakota malpractice time limit?
Physicians, surgeons, dentists, hospitals, sanitariums, registered and licensed practical nurses, chiropractors and other practitioners of the healing arts, in contract or tort (SDCL § 15-2-14.1).
Is there a cap on malpractice damages in South Dakota?
General damages are limited to $500,000 in total; there is no limitation on special damages (SDCL § 21-3-11).
Which county would a Flandreau malpractice case be filed in?
SDCL § 15-5-8 lets the plaintiff choose the county where the cause of action arose, which for a Flandreau claim may be Moody County.
What if the patient was a minor when the injury happened?
Yes. SDCL § 15-2-22 leaves out the period of minority or mental illness, with limits on how far the period can be extended.
Can I recover if I share some blame in South Dakota?
You can recover if your negligence was slight in comparison with the defendant’s, and the damages are reduced in proportion (SDCL § 20-9-2).
More Medical Malpractice Pages
If the care happened elsewhere in South Dakota, these pages may be a better starting point.
