South Dakota Injuries

FAQ Glossary Resources Team

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Search results for “comparative fault”

20 results

The clinic says your elbow's fine, your doctor says it's wrecked, and Rapid City's insurer is using the gap against you

A delayed ER visit after a sidewalk fall in Rapid City does not automatically kill the claim, but it gives the insurer an opening to argue the shattered elbow came from something else.

ARTICLE by Janet Stensland

Sioux Falls has kept you waiting for months while "comparative negligence" guts your fume injury claim

An office worker in Sioux Falls got lung damage from workplace fumes, and now the defense is trying to dump a huge share of the blame on him while he also worries about his VA benefits.

ARTICLE by Karen Olson

That broken fence behind a Rapid City rental can leave you chasing coverage

A Rapid City student bitten by a dog at a rental property may have a claim, but a policy exclusion can turn a straightforward case into a fight over which insurer, if any, has to pay.

ARTICLE by Derek Janis

A Watertown rollover can wreck your neck and still turn into a blame ambush

A daycare worker with a cervical spine injury after a rollover can watch the payout get gutted fast if the insurer pins too much blame on her, and kids in the vehicle trigger a different set of rules.

ARTICLE by Karen Olson

You went back to work. The infection was already spreading.

A Brookings janitor can still have a workers' comp claim for the original injury and the bad surgical aftermath, and the hospital mistake may be a separate case entirely.

ARTICLE by Janet Stensland

My lawyer says I'm 40% at fault for a Sioux Falls head-on crash and that feels completely off

A Sioux Falls postal worker with a shattered femur after a head-on crash is being told he shares enough blame to gut the value of the case.

ARTICLE by Wayne Hustead

breach of contract

Insurance companies and defense lawyers may throw around this phrase to make a dispute sound technical, limited, or too late to fix. They may argue that a broken promise is...

Preexisting Back Conditions in South Dakota Workers' Comp

A sore back on an old chart is not the same thing as a free pass for workers' comp to deny a new job injury that made it worse.

ARTICLE by Mary Crow Dog

material breach vs minor breach

Did the other side miss the contract in a way that blows up the whole deal, or just make a smaller mistake that can be fixed? That is the difference between a material breach...

Hospital filed a lien after your Watertown trauma claim? Yeah, it can swallow the payout

A Watertown commuter with severe anxiety after witnessing a fatal workplace accident may have a real injury claim, but a hospital lien can rip through the money fast.

ARTICLE by Karen Olson

arbitration clause

Like agreeing ahead of time that if a dispute blows up, you will take it to a private referee instead of a public courthouse, an arbitration clause is a contract provision that...

I kept working around concrete dust on the night shift - did I just wreck my claim in Watertown?

A Watertown night-shift security guard with silicosis may still have a claim even if they stayed on the job, there were no witnesses, and the contractor is denying the dust exposure.

ARTICLE by Brenda Schoenfeld

My coworker said my bad knee means no claim after a recalled tire blowout?

If the ER doctor said the crash aggravated your knee, the insurance company will use that same record to argue it was all old damage. From the insurer's side, this is the play:...

force majeure clause

People often mix up a force majeure clause with an act of God. An act of God is the event itself - a blizzard, flood, wildfire, or other natural event outside human control. A...

liquidated damages clause

People often confuse a liquidated damages clause with a penalty clause. The difference is basic but decisive: liquidated damages are a reasonable pre-set estimate of likely...

duty of care in business

Miss this idea, and a routine mistake can turn into a lawsuit, a denied insurance position, or a serious injury claim that costs far more than anyone expected. In plain terms,...

Mitchell parking lot fall, clean MRI, fake "independent" doctor - and you're about ready to quit

When a Mitchell slip-and-fall claim gets kneecapped by an IME doctor even though the MRI shows real injury, Medicare and medical liens can turn the whole thing into a financial trap.

ARTICLE by Karen Olson

anticipatory breach

Miss this warning sign, and you can keep spending money, lining up work, or waiting on delivery while the other side has already made clear they will not perform. An...

covenant not to compete

Think of it like handing over the keys to a pickup but being told you can't drive another one in the same town for a while. A covenant not to compete is a contract clause that...

My coworker said Uber won't cover me if a grain truck caused the Watertown crash?

No. If you were an Uber passenger when the crash happened, Uber coverage can still apply even if the grain truck or another vehicle caused it. South Dakota is an at-fault...