N.W.2d 510, 532 (S.D.2007)). “As a rule of damages, it prohibits a defendant from reducing personal liability for damages because of payments received by the plaintiff from independent sources.” Id. (citing Papke, 738 N.W.2d at 532). The government’s contention that Ms. Larmon’s lost-wage recovery must be reduced by partial salary payments she received as a result of leave donated to her by fellow government employees is inappo-site. Ms. Larmon’s coworkers were under no obligation to donate their accrued leave to her. The coworkers earned their leave independent of Ms. Larmon and gave it to her of their own accord. The donated leave is a gratuitous benefit Ms. Larmon received from her colleagues during a period of hardship. See Degen v. Bayman, 90 S.D. 400, 241 N.W.2d 703, 709 (1976) (<HOLDING>). Ms. 'Larmon’s recovery of her lost wages will
holding that where the victim of a tortfeasor receives gratuitous medical services from a source wholly independent of the tortfeasor the value of the gratuitous medical services may not be deducted from the verdict for overall medical care received holding that charging fees for medical services did not violate the eighth amendment where prisoner did not allege denial of medical care holding that employers knowledge of employees injury followed by the employers failure to provide the necessary medical services sufficient to impose liability upon the employer for medical services selected by the employee holding that state medical director of prison medical services corporation was not final policymaker holding that payments from a tortfeasors insurer are not from a collateral source because they stem directly from the tortfeasor