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Medical Malpractice Attorneys for Lennox, SD
Finding out that care in Lennox 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.
What Counts as Medical Malpractice in South Dakota
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).
The limit on damages in SDCL § 21-3-11 applies to actions for personal injury or death alleging malpractice against physicians, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists, dentists, hospitals and nurses, among others listed there, or against the practitioner’s corporate employer.
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.
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
The examples that follow are not a complete list, but they show how a claim connects what the provider did or failed to do to the harm.
Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis
A late or missed diagnosis can allow an illness to progress. These claims look at what the provider did, what was reasonably available to do, and what an earlier diagnosis would have changed.
Mistakes during surgery
A surgical complication is not always a mistake, but a wrong site procedure, a retained object or an avoidable injury during an operation may be. The claim looks at what was done and at what caused the harm.
Wrong drug or wrong dose
A wrong drug, a wrong dose, a missed allergy or a harmful interaction can injure a patient. These claims ask who in the chain, the prescriber, pharmacist or nurse, made the error and whether it caused the harm.
Childbirth injuries
A delivery that goes wrong can leave lasting harm. A claim looks at what the providers knew, what they did and whether that caused the injury.
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.
The clock in SDCL § 15-2-14.1 runs from when the alleged malpractice occurred. It does not use discovery wording, which makes the dates of treatment important from the start.
Minors and Mental Illness Under South Dakota Law
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.
When a Patient Dies
South Dakota allows an action for damages when a death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default of the kind that would have let the patient bring a claim (SDCL § 21-5-1).
SDCL § 21-5-3 gives three years from the death to commence a wrongful death action, measured from the death rather than from the care.
Under SDCL § 21-5-5, a wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative and benefits the spouse and children, or the parents and next of kin if there is no spouse or child.
What South Dakota Law Says About Damage Limits
A malpractice plaintiff in South Dakota faces a $500,000 limit on total general damages, whether the claim is decided by a court 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.
That does not set the value of any claim. What can be recovered still depends on the injury, the proof and the share of fault found against each defendant.
The Slight Comparison Rule
A patient’s own negligence does not bar recovery when it was slight in comparison with the negligence of the defendant, but the damages are reduced in proportion to the patient’s negligence (SDCL § 20-9-2).
Under SDCL § 20-9-2, no percentage of the patient’s fault is disclosed by special interrogatory when the slight comparison question is decided.
Knowing who treated the patient, and when, helps an attorney decide whom to name and how fault may be divided.
Notice to a Public Entity in South Dakota
South Dakota sets a much shorter notice period for claims against public entities and their employees: written notice 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.
Two points to remember: the notice does not toll the limitation period (SDCL § 3-21-2), and for a minor or incapacitated patient a court can allow late notice on an application within two years of the event (SDCL § 3-21-4).
Venue for a Claim From Lennox
Under SDCL § 15-5-8, the plaintiff may choose the county where the damages were inflicted or the cause of action arose; for treatment in Lennox, that can be Lincoln County. Otherwise the county where a defendant resides applies (SDCL § 15-5-6).
Courts and Hospitals Near Lennox
Lincoln County is the county the Census Bureau assigns to Lennox. Lincoln County is in the Second Circuit, according to South Dakota Codified Law 16-5-1.2. The South Dakota Department of Health trauma hospital list names Sanford Canton-Inwood Medical Center in Canton, also in Lincoln County, as a designated trauma receiving hospital. Whichever hospital treated you, request your full records and an itemized bill early, and keep a list of the providers you saw.
Start Your Lennox Medical Malpractice Claim
If you believe medical care in Lennox caused you or a family member harm, a good first step is to write down what happened, when it happened and who was involved, and to gather the records and bills you already have.
Fill out the form above and we will work to put you in touch with an attorney in our network who handles malpractice claims in South Dakota. Starting sooner gives you more room to gather records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can bring a wrongful death claim in South Dakota?
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?
Written notice of the time, place and cause of the injury must be given to the public entity within one hundred eighty days after the injury (SDCL § 3-21-2); the notice does not extend the time to sue.
Does the two year deadline apply to hospitals and nurses?
SDCL § 15-2-14.1 reaches hospitals, nurses and the other practitioners it lists, whether the claim is based on contract or tort.
Are special damages limited in a South Dakota malpractice claim?
The limit is on general damages ($500,000); special damages are not limited (SDCL § 21-3-11).
Which county would a Lennox malpractice case be filed in?
At the plaintiff’s option, the county where the damages were inflicted or the cause of action arose (SDCL § 15-5-8); for care in Lennox that can be Lincoln County. The county where a defendant resides is the general rule (SDCL § 15-5-6).
Does the deadline change for a child injured by medical care?
The time of a disability, minority or mental illness at accrual, is not counted (SDCL § 15-2-22), but an extension is limited to one year after the disability ceases, and to five years for a disability other than infancy.
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).
More Medical Malpractice Pages
These pages cover other communities in South Dakota, in case the care you received was somewhere else.
