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Medical Malpractice Help in Miller
When medical care in Miller goes wrong, the harm is physical, financial and personal at once, and it is hard to know whether what happened is a legal claim.
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).
Which providers fall under the damages statute is spelled out in SDCL § 21-3-11: physicians, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists, dentists, hospitals, nurses and others, and the practitioner’s employer.
An unexpected outcome does not prove a mistake. What matters is whether care in Miller departed from accepted practice and whether that departure 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
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.
Surgical errors
Surgery claims may involve an operation on the wrong site or patient, an instrument or object left in the body, damage to nearby structures, or a failure in anesthesia or aftercare. Each is looked at for whether it departed from accepted practice and caused the harm.
Prescription and dosing mistakes
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.
Childbirth injuries
Claims about harm at birth look at the care given and ask whether a departure from accepted practice caused the injury, which is why complete records matter.
How Long You Have to File in South Dakota
South Dakota allows two years from the time the alleged malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure occurred (SDCL § 15-2-14.1), and the action cannot be started later.
The statute measures the two years from when the alleged malpractice occurred; its text does not say two years from discovery. An attorney can tell you whether any exception applies to the facts of a particular case.
When the Patient Is a Minor
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 Claims in South Dakota
A wrongful death action lies when a death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default that would have entitled the patient to sue had the patient lived (SDCL § 21-5-1).
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.
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.
Compensation Limits for a Malpractice Claim
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).
There is no limitation on the amount of special damages that may be awarded (SDCL § 21-3-11).
What a claim is worth depends on the injury, the proof and the allocation of fault, not on a statutory ceiling.
How South Dakota Treats a Patient’s Own Negligence
South Dakota lets a patient recover if the patient’s negligence was slight in comparison with the defendant’s, with damages reduced by the patient’s share (SDCL § 20-9-2).
SDCL § 20-9-2 says the slight comparison question is determined without disclosing any percentage of the patient’s fault by special interrogatory.
Listing each provider who touched the care, and the dates, is useful before the first consultation.
Claims Against Public Hospitals and Government Providers
If the provider is a public entity or its employee, SDCL § 3-21-2 requires written notice of the time, place and cause of the injury within one hundred eighty days after the injury before an action can be maintained.
The notice goes to the officer named in SDCL § 3-21-3: the attorney general and the commissioner for the state, the county auditor, the mayor or city finance officer, the superintendent of schools, or the chief executive officer or secretary of the board.
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 Miller claim is often Hand County, or where a defendant resides (SDCL § 15-5-6).
Courts and Hospitals Near Miller
Hand County is the county the Census Bureau assigns to Miller. Hand County is in the Third Circuit, according to South Dakota Codified Law 16-5-1.2. The South Dakota Department of Health list of designated trauma hospitals shows Avera Miller in Miller 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.
How to Begin With a Miller Malpractice Attorney
If you believe medical care in Miller 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
Is the deadline different if the patient was mentally ill?
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.
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).
What is the filing deadline for a malpractice claim in South Dakota?
Two years from the care, counted from when the alleged malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure 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).
Is there a different notice rule for public hospitals 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?
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).
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).
Other Pages That May Help
These pages cover other communities in South Dakota, in case the care you received was somewhere else.
