Top Individual South Dakota Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

$41.6 Million Federal Verdict After Tribal Police Chief's 100 mph Chase Leaves Teen Brain-Damaged

A federal judge awarded $41.6 million to two young victims after a Flandreau Sioux Tribe police chief initiated a reckless, policy-violating pursuit at speeds exceeding 100 mph on gravel roads in Moody County, South Dakota, leaving one teenager with a permanent traumatic brain injury.

Davison County Jury Awards $2.3 Million to Estate of Man Paralyzed When Menards Plywood Cart Tipped

Ronald Jensen, 71, was left quadriplegic when an unbraked single-rail cart of plywood tipped in the wind while a Menards employee loaded his truck in Mitchell on August 1, 2012. He died of unrelated bladder cancer on January 31, 2013. A Davison County jury awarded his estate and his wife $2,295,971.97 in November 2016, and the South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed in 2018.

After trial: Menards appealed only the refusal to instruct the jury on assumption of the risk, and the South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed on February 7, 2018 (2018 SD 11). The jury was instructed on contributory negligence, and neither the opinion nor press coverage reports any fault share or reduction. See more

Federal Jury Awards $1.1 Million to Woman Raped Three Times by Pennington County Jail Guard

A federal jury awarded $1.1 million to a pretrial detainee who was sexually assaulted three times by a corrections officer at Pennington County Jail.

Jury Awards $1.06 Million to Mother Hit by Railcar at Unlit Crossing

On January 26, 1998, Julie and Erica Boomsma drove into a railroad flatcar blocking an elevator-service crossing in Wolsey, South Dakota, where the flashing lights were not working and the crossbuck understated the number of tracks. Julie broke her neck, right leg and right ankle and was left disabled; Erica had a cracked sinus, a concussion and a contusion. A jury awarded Julie and her husband $1,059,873.40 and Erica $21,781.88, and the South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed.

After trial: The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed in full on August 21, 2002, rejecting the railroad's preemption, instruction and evidence arguments. Ranks at the $1,059,873.40 awarded to Julie and Steve Boomsma; their daughter Erica, also injured, was awarded $21,781.88 separately (decisions rule 16). See more

$1 Million Federal Verdict Ends Streak of About 20 Straight Defense Wins in South Dakota Med-Mal Cases

A federal jury in Sioux Falls awarded $1 million to a patient whose doctor failed to diagnose a post-surgical site infection, ending a streak of roughly 20 consecutive defense verdicts in South Dakota medical malpractice cases.

$900,000 Verdict Affirmed After Gravel Truck Crosses Center Line in South Dakota

On January 9, 2014, a semi-tractor driven by Gerald Rains drifted over the centerline on Highway 25 near Emery, South Dakota, after Rains had a coughing fit, and its rear axle struck oncoming driver Gene Weber's pickup. Weber suffered permanent cervical facet and myofascial pain that his treating medical providers said would never fully resolve. A Hanson County jury returned a $900,000 verdict, $880,000 of it to Weber and $20,000 to his wife, Clarissa, on her loss of consortium claim, after the defendants, who had already admitted liability, put on no medical evidence of their own. K & L Construction and Rains appealed, arguing the verdict was excessive, and the South Dakota Supreme Court unanimously affirmed it in full on September 4, 2019.

After trial: Affirmed. The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the verdict in full and unanimously on September 4, 2019, so no reduction applied. See more

Federal Court Enters $500,000 Judgment Against U.S. for Missed Cauda Equina Syndrome at IHS Hospital

William Owen sought care at the Indian Health Service hospital in Sisseton, South Dakota, in July 2001 for back and leg symptoms that proved to be cauda equina syndrome. After a two-day bench trial, Chief Judge Karen Schreier found the emergency physician negligent for failing to order imaging or a neurology referral on July 22, and entered judgment against the United States on July 31, 2009. The award was $300,000 for disability and disfigurement and $200,000 for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.