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★ South Dakota · workplace

Workplace settlements
in South Dakota.

By 9 min read

South Dakota pays temporary total disability at 66 2/3% of your earnings, between $576 and $1,152 a week from July 1, 2026. The work injury must remain a major contributing cause of your need for treatment. A sign worker with a back injury won because his employer had already admitted causation; a Smithfield worker with neck and shoulder strain lost that fight in 2025.

Facts that decide a workplace claim in South Dakota

Weekly benefitTemporary total disability is 66 2/3% of earnings, capped at the state average weekly wage. From July 1, 2026, the minimum is $576 and the maximum is $1,152.S.D. Codified Laws § 62-4-3; SD Department of Labor and Regulation
Firing after a claimA worker fired after a comp claim may sue for retaliatory discharge under § 62-1-16; the court revived Matta’s claim.Matta v. Dakota Provisions (S.D. 2024)
Admissions bind the employerAn employer that admitted the injury was a major contributing cause could not later take the opposite position.Hayes v. Rosenbaum Signs (S.D. 2014)
★ band · US federal frame
Scheduled statutory benefits, no pain-and-suffering award
Workplace injury (workers compensation)
State workers-compensation schedules; value tracks the impairment rating, the wage rate and future medical, and most claims close by compromise-and-release rather than verdict.

The US band is the starting point. South Dakota's fault rule and any applicable cap then adjust the figure.

united states · sister site
Your workplace claim in South Dakota. See the number for your own case.

The range above is a starting point. FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own workplace case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case
★ SD · reported workplace outcomes

What South Dakota courts have awarded.

Real South Dakota decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Hayes v. Rosenbaum Signs & Outdoor Advertising
    South Dakota Supreme Court · 2014
    Denial of benefits reversed

    Kevin Hayes hurt his lower back at Rosenbaum Signs on March 27, 2007. After one doctor said his condition was half from the injury and half from a 1991 fusion, the employer admitted in 2010 that his work was a major contributing cause. In 2011 it relied on a new exam to deny treatment. The court held the employer was estopped and reversed.

  • Pham v. Smithfield Foods
    South Dakota Supreme Court · 2025
    Denial of further benefits reinstated

    Jody Pham, who worked in the bacon department at Smithfield in Sioux Falls, reported neck and right shoulder problems in August 2015 and was diagnosed with a cervical sprain and a strained shoulder. Smithfield paid benefits for over two years, then stopped in 2018. The judge found she had not proved causation; the circuit court reversed, and the Supreme Court reinstated the denial.

★ SD · workplace · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a workplace settlement in South Dakota.

  1. 1

    Keep any written admission from the employer or insurer that your work caused the injury.

  2. 2

    Accepted benefits can still stop; be ready to prove work remains a major contributing cause.

  3. 3

    If you are fired after filing, ask about a retaliatory discharge claim.

★ SD · statute of limitations
3 years from date of injury

S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-14

★ SD · fault rule
Slight versus gross negligence

Recovery is allowed only when the claimant's negligence was slight in comparison with the defendant's, and the award is then reduced; more than slight bars the claim (S.D. Codified Laws § 20-9-2).

★ SD · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a workplace settlement in South Dakota.

★ workplace · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How South Dakota's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for workplace claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationWorkplace page
South Dakota · you are hereSlight versus gross negligence3 years from date of injury—
WisconsinModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryWI · workplace →
IllinoisModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIL · workplace →
IndianaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIN · workplace →
IowaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIA · workplace →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · workplace →
MichiganModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMI · workplace →
TennesseeModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the USTN · workplace →
TexasModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryTX · workplace →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · workplace →
VermontModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryVT · workplace →
VirginiaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryVA · workplace →
WashingtonPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryWA · workplace →
★ SD · workplace · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

Sources

Checked 2026-09-30. Every figure on this page comes from one of these documents.

★ all of SD
South Dakota overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for South Dakota as a whole.

★ federal frame
Workplace in United States

Workplace band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Workplace · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of workplace bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are starting points: the US band adjusted for South Dakota's statutory framework. They are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in South Dakota. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.