Auto Accidents / Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVA)

Under Hawaii Law, the driver of a motor vehicle - a car or automobile, motorcycle, moped, etc., has a duty / responsibility to exercise reasonable care while operating his/her/their vehicle.

This means that a driver in the City and County of Honolulu and within the State of Hawaii must:

• Pay attention to traffic conditions and reasonably adjust to those conditions
• Obey traffic lights and signs
• Drive within the speed limit
• Yield the right of way

When a driver fails to use reasonable care and causes an accident, the driver is subject to liability for the injury, harm, damages, or loss that results from his/her/their negligence.

Hawaii Is a No-Fault Auto Insurance State

Hawaii operates a no-fault motor vehicle insurance system under Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 431, article 10C. After a collision, your own insurer pays your accident-related medical and rehabilitative expenses through personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, regardless of which driver was at fault.

Hawaii law defines PIP benefits to cover appropriate and reasonable treatment and expenses necessarily incurred as a result of the accidental harm — including medical, hospital, surgical, nursing, ambulance, prosthetic, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation services — and sets an aggregate limit of $10,000 per person (HRS §431:10C-103.5). Drivers may purchase optional coverage above that statutory limit.

No-fault coverage is the reason many injured people in Honolulu are told, incorrectly, that they simply cannot bring a claim after a car accident. No-fault changes where the first dollars of treatment come from. It does not, by itself, extinguish a claim against the driver who caused the collision.

When You Can Step Outside No-Fault

Hawaii abolishes tort liability for many motor vehicle injuries, but HRS §431:10C-306(b) sets out circumstances in which tort liability is not abolished. Those include situations where:

• Death occurs to the person in the motor vehicle accident;
• The injury consists, in whole or in part, of a significant permanent loss of use of a part or function of the body;
• The injury consists of a permanent and serious disfigurement that results in subjection of the injured person to mental or emotional suffering; or
• The personal injury protection benefits incurred by the injured person equal or exceed $5,000.

Meeting one of these conditions is what opens the door to a claim for general damages — pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life — against the at-fault driver, in addition to the special damages that can be calculated, such as medical bills and lost income. That distinction between special and general damages runs through every Hawaii injury claim. Whether a particular injury satisfies one of these categories is a fact-specific question that depends on the medical evidence, and it is one of the first things worth evaluating after a crash.

The first item on that list carries its own body of law. Where a crash results in a death, tort liability is not abolished, and the claim that follows is governed by Hawaii’s separate wrongful death statute, HRS §663-3, which names who may bring it and sets a two-year period running from the date of death.

Hawaii’s Two-Year Filing Deadline

Hawaii sets a two-year limitations period for injury claims. HRS §657-7 provides that actions for the recovery of compensation for damage or injury to persons or property “shall be instituted within two years after the cause of action accrued, and not after,” subject to the exception in HRS §657-13.

A deadline that passes is generally not recoverable, however strong the underlying facts are. Because deadlines can vary with the parties involved and the circumstances of the collision, the safer course is to have the timing reviewed early rather than close to the two-year mark, when investigation and evidence preservation become harder.

Shared Fault Does Not Automatically End a Claim

Insurers frequently argue that an injured driver contributed to the crash. Hawaii follows a modified comparative negligence rule. Under HRS §663-31, contributory negligence does not bar recovery as long as the injured person’s negligence “was not greater than” the negligence of the person, or the aggregate negligence of the persons, against whom recovery is sought. Any damages allowed are then diminished in proportion to the injured person’s share of fault. If that share is greater than the other side’s, the statute directs the court to enter judgment for the defendant.

In practice this makes the allocation of fault one of the most consequential issues in a Hawaii motor vehicle case, and one where the police report is a starting point rather than the final word.

Practical Steps After a Crash in Hawaii

• Get medically evaluated, even if symptoms seem minor at first. Gaps in treatment are routinely used to dispute causation.
• Open a PIP claim promptly with your own motor vehicle insurer.
• Photograph the vehicles, the scene, the roadway, and any visible injuries.
• Keep every bill, referral, and out-of-pocket receipt in one place.
• Write down the names and contact information of any witnesses before they disperse.
• Get advice before agreeing to a recorded statement or signing a release from another driver’s insurer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Injured in a Motor Vehicle Accident?

If you have been injured or you have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a motor vehicle driver in Honolulu or within the State of Hawaii, please don’t hesitate to contact my Honolulu law office so I may help you take the necessary steps to protect your rights.