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Medical Malpractice Attorneys for Redfield, SD
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
Under SDCL § 15-2-14.1, the claims covered are those against a physician, surgeon, dentist, hospital, nurse, chiropractor or other practitioner of the healing arts for malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure, in contract or in tort.
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.
Not every complication is malpractice. A claim needs both a failure in the care and proof that the failure caused the injury.
Situations That Can Lead to a Malpractice Claim
These are among the kinds of care that lead to claims. Each depends on showing that the care departed from accepted medical practice and that the departure caused the harm.
Diagnostic errors
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.
Mistakes during surgery
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.
Wrong drug or wrong dose
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
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.
How Long You Have to File in South Dakota
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 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).
There is a ceiling on the extra time under SDCL § 15-2-22: five years for any disability except infancy, and never longer than one year after the disability ceases.
Wrongful Death After a Medical Error
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).
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.
The personal representative sues in a wrongful death case, for the exclusive benefit of the spouse and children or, failing them, the parents and next of kin (SDCL § 21-5-5).
What South Dakota Law Says About Damage Limits
Under SDCL § 21-3-11, general damages in an action alleging malpractice against the listed providers may not exceed $500,000, and the limit applies to arbitration as well as court.
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.
Shared Fault in South Dakota
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.
Listing each provider who touched the care, and the dates, is useful before the first consultation.
Claims Against Government Health Care Providers
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).
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.
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).
Courts for a Redfield Claim
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 Redfield, that can be Spink County. Otherwise the county where a defendant resides applies (SDCL § 15-5-6).
The Court and Hospitals Behind a Redfield Claim
The Census Bureau places Redfield in Spink County. South Dakota Codified Law 16-5-1.2 places Spink County in the Fifth Circuit. In Redfield, the Department of Health trauma hospital list names Community Memorial Hospital 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.
Next Steps for a Redfield 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.
Use the form on this page to be matched with an attorney in our network who handles South Dakota medical malpractice claims. Asking early leaves more time for records and expert review.
Frequently Asked Questions
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?
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).
Does South Dakota limit what I can recover for medical malpractice?
The limit is on general damages ($500,000); special damages are not limited (SDCL § 21-3-11).
Where is a malpractice lawsuit from Redfield filed?
Venue follows SDCL § 15-5-8 or SDCL § 15-5-6: where the damages were inflicted or the cause arose, or where a defendant resides. For care in Redfield, Spink County is often one option.
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.
Can I recover if I share some blame in South Dakota?
South Dakota allows recovery when the patient’s negligence was slight in comparison, with damages reduced by that share (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).
Nearby Communities We Serve
If the care happened elsewhere in South Dakota, these pages may be a better starting point.
