South Dakota Personal Injury Laws: Deadlines to Sue, Fault Rules and Damage Caps

Three years for an action for personal injury. Libel, slander, assault, battery and false imprisonment have a two-year deadline.

Six years for taking, detaining or injuring goods or personal property (such as a car), and six years for trespass on real property.

Two years after the alleged malpractice, error, mistake or failure to cure occurred. The statute counts from the date of the malpractice and does not contain a discovery rule.

Three years after the death.

The action is brought in the name of the personal representative of the person who died, for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and children, or if there are none, the parents and next of kin. The jury awards damages proportionate to the pecuniary (financial) injury to those beneficiaries. A claim for the death of an unborn child is for the exclusive benefit of the mother or the married parents.

South Dakota uses a "slight negligence" comparison rather than a percentage bar. An injured person's contributory negligence does not bar recovery if it was slight in comparison with the defendant's negligence; damages are then reduced in proportion to the injured person's negligence. If the injured person's negligence was more than slight in comparison, recovery is barred. The jury decides this without being told any percentage of fault found by special question.

No general statutory cap on damages in ordinary personal injury cases was found. A cap applies to general damages in medical malpractice cases.

In a malpractice action for personal injury or death against a physician, chiropractor, optometrist, podiatrist, dentist, hospital, nurse, physician assistant or certain other listed practitioners (or their employer), total general damages (such as pain and suffering) may not exceed $500,000. Special damages (such as medical bills and lost wages) are not capped.

Allowed in actions not arising from contract when the defendant is guilty of oppression, fraud or malice, actual or presumed. Before any discovery on punitive damages and before the claim can go to the jury, the court must find, after a hearing and by clear and convincing evidence, a reasonable basis to believe there was willful, wanton or malicious conduct. No statutory dollar cap was found.

No lawsuit for personal injury, property damage or death caused by a public entity or its employees may proceed unless written notice of the time, place and cause of the injury is given within 180 days after the injury. Notice goes to the attorney general and the commissioner of human resources and administration for the state, the county auditor for a county, the mayor or city finance officer for a city, the superintendent for a school district, or the chief executive officer or secretary of the governing board for other entities. The notice does not extend the deadline for filing suit. Punitive damages may not be recovered through the state's public entity liability pool.

An owner's liability policy must provide at least $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage.

The driver of a motor vehicle in a crash causing injury or death, or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more to any one person's property or $2,000 or more for the whole crash, must immediately notify the nearest available law enforcement officer with jurisdiction, by the quickest means available. Failing to do so is a Class 2 misdemeanor. If the driver is physically unable, a capable passenger must give the notice.

After receiving notice of a reportable crash, the investigating officer sends an investigator's report to the Department of Public Safety within three days after finishing the investigation. The Secretary of Public Safety may require drivers to file supplemental reports on department forms if the original report is insufficient.

A driver in a crash causing injury, death or property damage must stop immediately and give their name and address, the owner's name and address, and the plate number to the person struck or the other driver or occupants, and give reasonable help to anyone injured, including taking them for medical treatment if needed. Failing to stop and comply after a crash causing injury or death is a Class 6 felony, and the Department of Revenue revokes the person's registration receipt. In a property-damage crash, the driver must stop and give their information; if the owner of a damaged vehicle is absent, leave the information on the vehicle, and for other property, leave it with the owner or a law enforcement agency as soon as possible. Violating this is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Trespassers: by statute, a person with a possessory interest in land (owner, lessee or occupant) owes no duty of care to a trespasser and is not liable for a trespasser's injuries, except: intentional injury (including entrapment) that is not legally justified; injury to a child 13 or younger from a dangerous artificial condition when the listed conditions are met; harm where trespassers consistently intrude on a limited area and the possessor fails to use reasonable care in dangerous activities or to warn of a hidden deadly artificial condition; and similar harm to a known trespasser. The duties owed to invited guests and other lawful visitors come from court decisions, which were not reviewed here.

A property owner who fails to keep the sidewalk abutting or adjoining the property in repair creates or maintains a public nuisance, is liable to the city (municipality) for any damage or injury caused by that neglect, and is responsible for the costs of abating the nuisance. Cities may also build or repair sidewalks when an adjoining owner fails to. Any claim against the city itself requires written notice within 180 days (see local government notice).

No lawsuit for personal injury, property damage or death caused by a public entity (the State, a county, city, school district or other 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. For a city, notice goes to the mayor or city finance officer; for a county, to the county auditor; for a school district, to the superintendent; for other public entities, to the chief executive officer or secretary of the governing board. A court may allow late notice for a minor or incapacitated person if applied for within two years. The notice requirement does not extend the time to sue.

A landowner (including a tenant, lessee or occupant) owes no duty to keep land safe for people using it for outdoor recreation, such as hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, snowmobiling or agritourism, or to warn them of dangers, and an owner who permits free recreational use does not make them invitees or licensees or become liable for injuries from the owner's omissions in maintaining the land. The protection does not apply to gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, to injuries where the owner charges participants (with limited exceptions such as state lease payments and access incentive payments), or where the owner's violation of a law or ordinance caused the injury. Nonmonetary gifts under $100 are not a 'charge'.

Riders under 18 may not operate or ride on a motorcycle on public streets or highways without a helmet meeting federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218, and no one may carry a passenger under 18 who is not wearing a helmet. Riders 18 and older are not required to wear a helmet. Violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor. The helmet section does not address whether not wearing a helmet affects damages.

Banned. No person may operate a motorcycle between adjacent lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles; violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Related sections give motorcycles full use of a lane, bar passing in the same lane, and limit riding to two abreast, with an exemption for police.

In business or residence districts, drivers must yield to a pedestrian crossing in a clearly marked crosswalk or the regular crossing at the end of a block, except where traffic officers or signals control the intersection; but a pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb into the path of a vehicle that is an immediate hazard. At signal-controlled intersections, drivers (including turning drivers) must yield to pedestrians crossing on a green or go signal, and pedestrians must otherwise yield to vehicles proceeding on green. A pedestrian crossing in a business or residence district anywhere other than a crossing, crosswalk or intersection must yield to vehicles. Where there is no sidewalk, pedestrians must walk on the left side facing traffic when practicable.

A driver passing a bicycle going the same direction must leave at least three feet between the vehicle (including mirrors) and the bicycle where the posted limit is 35 mph or less, and at least six feet where it is higher, and may partly cross the centerline or lane line to do so when safe. Bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks unless a city restricts it; a cyclist on a sidewalk or crosswalk has a pedestrian's rights and duties, must yield to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing them, and must stop before entering a crosswalk or street from a sidewalk.

While a TNC driver is logged on and available but not on a prearranged ride: primary liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death and bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as state law requires. While engaged in a prearranged ride: primary liability coverage of at least $1 million for death, bodily injury and property damage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as required. Coverage may come from the driver, the company or both, and if the driver's insurance lapses or falls short, the company's insurance must cover from the first dollar and defend the claim.

South Dakota adopts the federal motor carrier safety regulations (49 CFR part 387 and parts 390 to 397, including hours of service and inspection, repair and maintenance) as amended through January 1, 2026, and applies them to intrastate operations, except that intrastate vehicles under 26,001 pounds that do not haul placarded hazardous materials or carry more than 15 passengers are not subject to parts 390 to 397. Intrastate drivers generally must be at least 18 (21 for interstate, placarded hazmat or large passenger vehicles). Federal minimum insurance for interstate carriers is in 49 CFR 387.9.

Injured construction workers' claims against their own employer go through workers' compensation, which excludes all other rights and remedies against the employer and its employees, partners, officers and directors, except claims arising from an intentional tort. If someone other than the employer is legally liable (such as another contractor or an equipment maker), the worker may claim compensation, sue that person, or proceed against both; damages recovered from the third party offset the workers' comp benefits.