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Your Sundance Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you or someone you love was hurt by a doctor, nurse or hospital in Sundance, you may be dealing with new medical bills, lost work and worry about what comes next.
The sections below set out the Wyoming 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 Wyoming Law
Wyoming’s limitation statute covers a cause of action arising from an act, error or omission in the rendering of licensed or certified professional or health care services (W.S. § 1-3-107), which is the kind of claim a medical malpractice case brings.
To recover, a patient connects the provider’s conduct to the harm. Wyoming treats an act or omission as fault when it is negligent in any measure and a proximate cause of the injury (W.S. § 1-1-109).
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
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
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
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.
Prescription and dosing mistakes
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.
Injuries during pregnancy or delivery
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.
Time Limits for a Wyoming Malpractice Claim
A cause of action arising from an act, error or omission in the rendering of licensed or certified professional or health care services must be brought within two years of the date of the act, error or omission (W.S. § 1-3-107).
If the problem could not reasonably have been found within the first two years, or was missed despite due diligence, W.S. § 1-3-107 allows a claim up to two years after discovery, but the claimant has to establish that.
A discovery in the second year adds time: W.S. § 1-3-107 extends the period for commencing a lawsuit by six months in that case.
Under W.S. § 1-3-107, an injured minor has until the eighth birthday or two years from the act, error or omission, whichever is greater, and a plaintiff under another legal disability has one year after the disability ends.
Wrongful Death Claims in Wyoming
A wrongful death action may be brought when a death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default that would have entitled the patient to sue had the patient lived (W.S. § 1-38-101).
Under W.S. § 1-38-102, a wrongful death representative sues for the exclusive benefit of the beneficiaries; the family does not file in their own names.
The period for a wrongful death claim is measured from the death, not from the care, and is two years (W.S. § 1-38-102), tolled while a properly filed appointment action is pending (W.S. § 1-38-103).
A jury or court may award what it considers fair and just, pecuniary and exemplary, including loss of companionship, society and comfort for each beneficiary who proves it (W.S. § 1-38-102).
Compensation Limits Under Wyoming Law
A malpractice plaintiff in Wyoming is not held to a statutory damages cap: Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4 provides that no law shall limit the amount of damages for causing injury or death.
One more point in Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4: the legislature may by general law mandate alternative dispute resolution or medical review panel review before a health care claim is filed, so it is worth confirming early whether anything of that kind applies.
The lack of a statutory limit says nothing about what a particular claim is worth, which depends on the harm, the evidence and how fault is divided.
Shared Fault in Wyoming
Wyoming follows a fifty percent rule: contributory fault does not bar recovery when it is not more than fifty percent of the total, and the damages are diminished by the claimant’s share (W.S. § 1-1-109).
W.S. § 1-1-109 makes each defendant responsible only for its own share of fault, and the shares are determined for every actor, including one who is not a party.
Because fault can be assigned to providers who are not defendants, identifying every provider involved in the care early matters.
Government Employed Providers in Wyoming
When care came from a public employee, W.S. § 1-39-110 allows a claim against the governmental entity for medical malpractice by its employed health care providers.
Before suing a governmental entity, the claim has to be presented as an itemized statement in writing within two years of the act, error or omission, stating the time, place and circumstances, the claimant, and the amount demanded (W.S. § 1-39-113).
One year from the filing of the claim is the deadline to sue (W.S. § 1-39-114), and for the providers listed in W.S. § 1-39-110 the limit is $1,000,000, a figure that differs from the general limits in W.S. § 1-39-118.
Where a Crook County Malpractice Case Is Filed
Where to file depends on the facts. W.S. § 1-5-109 allows the county where the claim arose or where the defendant resides or may be summoned, and for a Sundance claim Crook County is often one of them.
Local Courts and Hospitals in Sundance
The Census Bureau places Sundance in Crook County. The Wyoming Judicial Branch court locator lists the district court for Crook County in Sundance, at 309 Cleveland, Sundance, WY 82729; it belongs to the Sixth Judicial District. Crook County Medical Services District in Sundance appears on the Wyoming Department of Health list of designated trauma facilities as a Trauma Receiving Facility. If your care took place at a hospital like this, ask for the complete chart and an itemized bill, and write down every provider who treated you.
Next Steps for a Sundance Medical Malpractice Claim
Before you contact anyone, it helps to put the events in order: the dates of treatment, the providers you saw, what you were told and what happened afterward.
The form on this page sends your details to an attorney in our network who handles medical malpractice claims in Wyoming, so you can talk through what happened and what your options are.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is fault divided among several providers?
Under W.S. § 1-1-109, each defendant is responsible only to the extent of its proportion of the total fault.
How much time do I have to sue for medical malpractice in Wyoming?
The general period is two years from the alleged act, error or omission (W.S. § 1-3-107); a claim may be started up to two years after discovery if the problem was not reasonably discoverable.
How long does a family have after a death caused by malpractice?
The wrongful death representative brings the action for the beneficiaries (W.S. § 1-38-102), within two years after the death.
Can I still file if the error was found after two years?
A claim may be instituted not more than two years after discovery if the claimant can establish the error was not reasonably discoverable within two years, or was missed despite due diligence (W.S. § 1-3-107).
What if the patient was a minor when the injury happened?
A minor has until the eighth birthday or two years from the care if that is later (W.S. § 1-3-107).
Can the legislature cap malpractice damages in Wyoming?
No. The Wyoming Constitution provides that no law shall be enacted limiting the amount of damages for causing injury or death (Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4).
How does shared fault affect a Wyoming claim?
Yes, up to a point: recovery is not barred while your fault is fifty percent or less of the total fault, and the award is reduced in proportion (W.S. § 1-1-109).
Where to Look Next
These pages cover other communities in Wyoming, in case the care you received was somewhere else.
