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Your Sisseton Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you or someone you love was hurt by a doctor, nurse or hospital in Sisseton, you may be dealing with new medical bills, lost work and worry about what comes next.
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.
When a Provider's Care Becomes a Malpractice Claim
The statute that sets the deadline, SDCL § 15-2-14.1, reaches physicians, surgeons, dentists, hospitals, sanitariums, nurses, chiropractors and other practitioners of the healing arts, and it covers claims for malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure.
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.
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.
Common Medical Malpractice Claims
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.
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
Problems before, during or after an operation can all lead to claims: planning, the procedure itself, anesthesia and follow up care. The question is whether the care departed from accepted practice and caused the injury.
Wrong drug or wrong dose
Giving the wrong medication, the wrong amount or a drug that conflicts with something the patient already takes can cause serious harm. A claim looks at where in the process the care fell short.
Harm to a mother or baby at birth
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.
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 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.
Deadlines for Minors in South Dakota
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
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).
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 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.
There is no limitation on the amount of special damages that may be awarded (SDCL § 21-3-11).
The absence of a limit does not mean any amount is guaranteed; the outcome of a claim depends on its facts and the evidence.
Shared Fault in South Dakota
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).
Whether the patient’s negligence was slight in comparison is decided without disclosing a percentage of fault by special interrogatory (SDCL § 20-9-2).
Listing each provider who touched the care, and the dates, is useful before the first consultation.
If the Provider Is a Public Entity
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.
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).
Where a Roberts County Malpractice Case Is Filed
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 Sisseton points to Roberts County as one choice. The county where a defendant resides is the general rule (SDCL § 15-5-6).
Courts and Hospitals Near Sisseton
Sisseton lies in Roberts County, according to Census Bureau place and county names. South Dakota Codified Law 16-5-1.2 places Roberts County in the Fifth Circuit. Coteau Des Prairies Hospital in Sisseton 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.
How to Begin With a Sisseton Malpractice Attorney
People often start with a simple timeline of the care they received in Sisseton, along with discharge papers, test results and any letters from the provider or the insurer.
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
Is a hospital covered by the South Dakota malpractice time limit?
Yes. SDCL § 15-2-14.1 names hospitals and nurses along with physicians, surgeons, dentists, chiropractors and other practitioners of the healing arts.
Is there a cap on malpractice damages in South Dakota?
Yes, for general damages: $500,000 in total, in court or arbitration, and no limit on special damages (SDCL § 21-3-11).
Where is a malpractice lawsuit from Sisseton filed?
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 Sisseton that can be Roberts County. The county where a defendant resides is the general rule (SDCL § 15-5-6).
Is the deadline different if the patient was mentally ill?
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?
South Dakota allows recovery when the patient’s negligence was slight in comparison, with damages reduced by that share (SDCL § 20-9-2).
How much time do I have to sue for medical malpractice 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).
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).
Nearby Communities We Serve
If the care happened elsewhere in South Dakota, these pages may be a better starting point.
