If you suffer from one or more injuries that you believe were caused by someone’s negligence, you might be eligible to receive just compensation by filing a personal injury claim in South Dakota. Getting personal injury help in South Dakota means you must file a claim before the state-imposed deadline.
Recovering from an injury requires making a physical commitment to getting back to 100 percent. It also often requires incredible financial sacrifices that include paying off costly medical bills and making up for the income lost because of the recuperation process away from work.
How Do I File a Claim in South Dakota?
Getting personal injury help in South Dakota involves keeping accurate records of a wide variety of information.
Meeting with an Attorney
Documenting what went on during a free case evaluation gives you the foundation from which to file your South Dakota personal injury claim.
Gather and Organize Evidence
Your lawyer can help you collect and organize evidence, with medical records representing the most influential evidence that you submit to a judge presiding over your civil lawsuit.
Keep Track of Expenses
Receiving personal injury help in South Dakota includes presenting copies of every receipt that is connected to your case. From prescription drug costs to transportation expenses to and from a healthcare provider, you get paid for what you prove you spent on your personal injury case.
Incident Report
Many incidents that cause one or more injuries are documented by a formal report that describes what happened. A police report of an auto accident is one example of a type of report that you can submit with your South Dakota personal injury claim.
What is the Statute of Limitations in South Dakota?
Like other states, South Dakota places a limit on the amount of time that you have to file a personal injury claim. According to South Dakota law, you have three years from the date when the personal injury incident occurred to file a claim. A medical record of your treatment on the day of a personal injury incident provides the state with an official document that starts the clock on the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim.
How Do I Prove Negligence in South Dakota?
Getting South Dakota personal injury help requires you to prove negligence on the part of the defendant listed in your civil lawsuit. South Dakota assigns fault for personal injuries under the comparative fault doctrine, which means victims can be assigned part of the blame for an incident that caused one or more personal injuries.
Even if you receive some of the responsibility for causing a personal injury incident, you still have to prove the other party contributed to the remaining portion of the liability. Smartphone footage represents an effective piece of evidence that documents what caused an incident that produced one or more injuries. Although not persuasive enough on their own, witness accounts can corroborate the physical evidence that your attorney presents during a civil trial.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Receive in South Dakota?
The primary objective of filing a personal injury claim is to receive just compensation that covers expenses such as medical bills and repairing property damage. A car accident is a prime example of the need to file a personal injury lawsuit that recovers the cost of repairing the vehicle.
You also want to seek monetary damages to reimburse you for past and future medical expenses. Recovering the costs associated with future medical expenses requires your doctor to submit a written statement that describes your health prognosis.
Pain and suffering is another type of compensation that is awarded in personal injury cases. However, placing a price tag on pain and suffering is subjective, as pain and suffering might not generate any tangible evidence of money spent. Your personal injury attorney can present a convincing argument for the court to award you monetary damages for pain and suffering, especially if you can submit documents that demonstrate you received treatment for emotional distress.
South Dakota personal injury law limits the amount of money awarded in medical malpractice cases to $1,000,000. Product liability monetary damages also cap at $1,000,000.
How Do I Get Personal Injury Help in South Dakota?
Getting personal injury help in South Dakota can start by filling out the Free Case Evaluation on this page to get connected with an independent and participating attorney who subscribes to the website. A lawyer can help you gather the evidence you need to submit a convincing personal injury claim, as well as can help meet the statute of limitations for the filing of a civil lawsuit.
