Reversed the South Dakota Supreme Court’s adoption of the “loss of chance” doctrine in a July 2000 decision. That doctrine allows a plaintiff to recover for damages upon a showing by a majority of evidence that a doctor’s negligence reduced a patient’s chance of recovering from an illness or injury. The amount of damages recoverable under the doctrine depends on the extent to which the doctor’s negligence contributed to the loss. The previous law permitted a plaintiff to recover for all damages for loss of chance of recovery upon a showing that a greater than 50 percent chance existed that the doctor’s negligence caused the plaintiff’s loss of chance of recovery. The previous law barred recovery upon a showing of a 50 percent or less chance of causation.
Abolishing the “Loss of Chance” Doctrine: HB 1164 (2002)
Reversed the South Dakota Supreme Court’s adoption of the “loss
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