Economic damages: the documented, countable losses
South Dakota law refers to economic damages as "special damages" — medical expenses already incurred, lost wages from time away from work, and other provable financial losses tied directly to the injury.
Non-economic damages: the subjective losses
Non-economic damages cover the losses that don't come with a receipt: pain, suffering, and similar nonpecuniary harm. These are inherently harder to quantify, which is exactly why the multiplier method exists — to translate a documented economic figure into a reasoned estimate of the non-economic side.
A cap that hasn't moved in 50 years
South Dakota's $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases was set in 1976, under SDCL § 21-3-11, and has never been adjusted since. Had the figure kept pace with inflation, it would be worth more than $2 million today — meaning its real purchasing power has shrunk by roughly three-quarters since it was enacted.
A real effect on who takes malpractice cases
That erosion hasn't stayed abstract. Some South Dakota attorneys have reported stepping back from medical malpractice work, in part because the capped noneconomic recovery — measured against the often substantial cost of expert witnesses required to prove a malpractice claim — can make some cases economically difficult to pursue on a contingency basis.
Economic damages are never touched
Whatever happens with the noneconomic cap, SDCL § 21-3-11 is explicit that there is no limitation on the amount of special damages that may be awarded. Medical bills, lost wages, and other documented economic losses are recoverable in full, regardless of how the noneconomic side plays out.