What is a car accident claim worth in South Dakota?
Every rule below is quoted from South Dakota law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.
The short answer
Nobody can price your claim from a web page, and any site that gives you one number is guessing. What we can show you is real: the amount insurers actually paid per claim in South Dakota, and the South Dakota rules that raise or lower what you collect. $30,030 was the average injury claim paid in South Dakota in 2022.
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Averages come from NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report. State rules are quoted from South Dakota law on this site, each with a link.
What claims paid in South Dakota
Injury claims in South Dakota averaged $30,030 each in 2022.
Car and property damage claims averaged $6,045.
| Injury claim paid by the at fault driver's insurance | $30,030 |
|---|---|
| Car and property damage | $6,045 |
| Medical payments coverage, paid by your own policy | $3,931 |
| Collision coverage, paid by your own policy | $5,886 |
These are averages of every claim insurers closed, from the largest to the smallest. A claim with a hospital stay sits far above the average, and a fender bender sits far below it.
What changes the number in South Dakota
If you were partly at fault
South Dakota uses a slight and gross comparative negligence rule. You can only recover money if your own fault was slight compared to the other driver's fault, which was gross by comparison. If you recover, your payout is reduced by your share of fault. South Dakota courts have said fault of 30 percent or more is not slight, which blocks recovery.
“the fact that the plaintiff may have been guilty of contributory negligence does not bar a recovery when the contributory negligence of the plaintiff was slight in comparison with the negligence of the defendant, but in such case, the damages shall be reduced in proportion to the amount of plaintiff's contributory negligence”
The other driver's policy limit is the ceiling
South Dakota drivers must carry at least $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage coverage.
“twenty-five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for one person, fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and twenty-five thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident”
If the other driver has no insurance
South Dakota auto policies must automatically include both uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, up to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, unless the driver asks for more. Government owned vehicles do not have to carry this coverage.
“the coverage required by this section may not exceed the limits of one hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for one person, three hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, unless additional coverage is requested by the insured”
The deadline that ends the claim
You have 3 years from the crash to sue over your injuries.
“An action for personal injury.”
What a lawyer takes if you hire one
South Dakota does not cap contingency fee percentages for ordinary injury cases by law. A contingency fee agreement must be in writing, signed by the client, and the fee must be reasonable.
“A contingent fee agreement shall be in writing signed by the client and shall state the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial or appeal”
Sources on this page
Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.
Know My Claim is not a law firm or a government agency, and this page is not legal advice. Laws change, so check the linked source before you rely on a deadline.