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Your Sturgis Personal Injury Attorney
If you are reading this after an accident in Sturgis, you are probably tired, sore and unsure whom to trust. That is normal. A few rules learned early can keep you from making choices that are hard to undo.
NeedAnAttorney.net is a matching service. It does not give legal advice about your case. What follows is general information about South Dakota injury law, taken from the text of the statutes, so you know which questions to ask. The form at the top of the page connects you with an attorney when you are ready.
Questions To Ask A Sturgis Injury Attorney
Ask these in any first conversation:
- The deadline. Ask for the specific last day to file. A civil action for personal injury must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued (SDCL § 15-2-14).
- Special rules. Ask which special rules could apply. Punitive damages need a court finding first (SDCL § 21-1-4.1), and a claim against a public entity needs a written notice within 180 days (SDCL § 3-21-2).
- If you were partly to blame. Ask how a court would treat your share. The statute uses the word slight and does not give a percentage (SDCL § 20-9-2).
- The people. Ask who will be in touch with you and how quickly they return calls.
- Fees and costs. Ask what the fee is, when it is paid, and which expenses are deducted from a settlement.
Common Kinds of Injury Claims
Vehicle crashes
After a crash, see a doctor even if you feel fine, since some injuries show up later. Take photographs of the cars, the road and any injuries, get the other driver’s insurance details, and save every repair estimate.
Pedestrian and bicycle injuries
If a driver hit you while you were on foot or on a bike, note exactly where it happened, what the signals and lighting were like, and who saw it. Ask the people who stopped to leave their names and numbers.
Falls and unsafe property
Falls on someone else’s property usually depend on what the owner knew or should have known about the hazard. Photograph the spot before it changes, report the fall in writing, and keep the shoes you were wearing.
Wrongful death
If a loved one died because of another person’s wrongful act or omission, a different set of rules applies. South Dakota law has a wrongful death action brought in the name of the personal representative for the exclusive benefit of the spouse and children, or if there are none, the parents and next of kin (SDCL § 21-5-5), and the jury may award damages proportionate to the pecuniary injury resulting from the death (SDCL § 21-5-7). You do not have to sort this out alone or quickly; an attorney can explain who is allowed to act and what the dates are.
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When Fault Is Shared
Many people assume that a mistake of their own ends a claim. South Dakota law has a specific rule for it. Under SDCL § 20-9-2, contributory negligence does not bar a recovery when the plaintiff’s contributory negligence was slight in comparison with the negligence of the defendant, and in that case the damages are reduced in proportion to the plaintiff’s contributory negligence.
The statute does not define slight and gives no percentage, and it provides that the question is decided without telling the jury a percentage of the plaintiff’s fault by special interrogatory (SDCL § 20-9-2). Because one word carries so much weight, ask an attorney how courts have treated a share like yours.
Special Rules That Can Apply
Ask early whether a special rule applies to your claim. Punitive damages require the court finding described in SDCL § 21-1-4.1 and a showing of oppression, fraud or malice (SDCL § 21-3-2).
If a public entity or one of its employees caused the injury, a written notice is a condition of suing. No action for damages for personal injury, property damage, error, omission or death caused by a public entity or its employees may be maintained unless written notice of the time, place and cause of the injury is given within 180 days after the injury (SDCL § 3-21-2).
Time Limits To Know
South Dakota allows three years to commence a civil action for personal injury, counted from when the cause of action accrued (SDCL § 15-2-14). A wrongful death action must be commenced within three years after the death (SDCL § 21-5-3). The type of claim sets the date, so ask any attorney to name the last day in your case.
If a public entity may be responsible, the 180 day written notice comes first, and it does not extend the time to sue (SDCL § 3-21-2).
What Auto Policies Must Cover
Minimum coverage is a floor, not a measure of your claim. South Dakota’s limits for an owner’s liability policy are $25,000 for one person, $50,000 for two or more people in one accident and $25,000 for property (SDCL § 32-35-70).
If a crash leaves you with more bills than the other driver’s policy pays, your own underinsured motorist coverage may pay uncompensated damages up to its limits, reduced by what the other insurer paid (SDCL § 58-11-9.5). Before accepting a payment, ask an attorney to check every policy that could apply.
Local Courts and Care Near Sturgis
Meade County belongs to the Fourth Circuit under South Dakota Codified Law 16-5-1.2, which lists the counties of each circuit. Monument Health Sturgis in Sturgis appears on the South Dakota Department of Health list of designated trauma hospitals as a designated trauma receiving hospital. The Census Bureau counts Sturgis in Meade County.
Records matter later. Get the complete chart and an itemized bill from each place that treated you, and write down the date of every visit, including any transfer to another facility.
How The Intake Process Works In Sturgis
Use the form at the top of the page to tell us what happened. NeedAnAttorney.net reviews your details and works to match you with an attorney in our network who may handle cases in South Dakota. There is no charge to submit it, and submitting it does not hire anyone.
Before the first call, collect the basics: the date, the place, names of witnesses, your medical visits and your missed work. A single folder for bills, letters and photographs saves time later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which records matter most after an accident?
Keep your medical records and itemized bills, photographs of the scene and injuries, any police or incident report number, proof of missed pay, repair estimates, and all messages from insurers.
Should I speak with the other driver’s insurance company?
You are free to talk to them, but you are not required to give a recorded statement immediately. Saying that you want advice first is a reasonable answer.
What if a city, county or the State caused my injury?
Yes. Written notice of the time, place and cause of the injury must be given within 180 days after the injury, and it does not extend the time to sue (SDCL § 3-21-2). It goes to the county auditor for a county, the mayor or city finance officer for a municipality, and the attorney general and the commissioner of human resources and administration for the State (SDCL § 3-21-3).
What should I do right after being hurt?
Get medical care, report the incident to the police or the property owner as appropriate, photograph the scene and your injuries, and write down what happened while you remember it.
What is the South Dakota statute of limitations for an injury claim?
Generally three years (SDCL § 15-2-14). For a wrongful death, the limit is three years from the date of death (SDCL § 21-5-3).
Can I still recover if the accident was partly my fault?
It depends on how your share compares. A recovery is not barred when your negligence was slight in comparison with the defendant’s, and the award is reduced in proportion (SDCL § 20-9-2). The statute gives no percentage.
Can I recover punitive damages in an injury case?
Sometimes. They are possible where the defendant was guilty of oppression, fraud or malice (SDCL § 21-3-2), and the court must first find, after a hearing and on clear and convincing evidence, a reasonable basis to believe the conduct was willful, wanton or malicious (SDCL § 21-1-4.1).
How much liability coverage must a South Dakota driver carry?
The limits are $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage (SDCL § 32-35-70).
Injury Attorney Pages For Other South Dakota Communities
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