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Statute of Limitations

Actions must commence within two years of the act or omission giving rise to the injury

Comparative or contributory negligence

modified comparative negligence, where the plaintiff is allowed "slight" negligence.

Nature of accused's liability

South Dakota has modified that rule such that a defendant who is allocated less than 50% of the total fault allocated to all parties may not be jointly liable for more than twice the fault allocated to that party.

Law of contribution

A right of contribution exists among joint defendants

Expert testimony standards

South Dakota does not impose special restrictions on expert witness testimony

Limits on compensation

Non-economic damages limited to $500,000

Limits on attorney fees

none

Collateral Source rule enforced

South Dakota has a mandatory offset for collateral source payments, except those with subrogation rights, or the benefits were paid for by the plaintiff.

State and local health care providers immune from liabaility

South Dakota retains its sovereign immunity

Select Your State

Select Your State

Select Your State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington State West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Medical malpractice law varies from state to state, the key areas of difference are as follows

• Statute of limitations
• The law of comparative or contributory negligence
• The nature of the accused's liability
• Law of contribution
• Standards for expert testimony
• Limitations on compensation
• Limitiations on attorney fees
• Whether collateral source law is in effect
• Are state health care providers immune from liability