Hawaii Personal Injury Laws 2026

The Hawaii Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury

Hawaii Revised Statutes §657-7 gives an injured person two years to file a civil lawsuit for personal injury or property damage caused by another party's negligence. That two-year period ordinarily begins on the date the injury occurs — the day of a Honolulu slip and fall, a Maui car crash, or a workplace accident on the Big Island. Miss the deadline by even one day and the court will dismiss the case as time-barred, no matter how clear the liability.

The discovery rule provides a narrow exception. Hawaii courts have recognized that some injuries — certain toxic exposures, latent medical conditions, or situations where a victim could not have reasonably discovered the connection between an act and their harm — may allow the clock to start when the plaintiff knew or should have known of the injury and its cause. This exception is litigated case-by-case and should not be assumed to apply automatically.

Minors get additional protection. When the injured person is under 18, the two-year period is typically tolled until the minor turns 18, giving them until age 20 to file.

Claims against the State of Hawaii or a county government carry an additional procedural hurdle. Under the Hawaii Tort Liability Act (HRS Chapter 662 for state claims), a claimant must file a written notice of claim with the appropriate agency before the lawsuit can proceed. Failure to serve that notice — or serving it too late — can forfeit an otherwise valid claim. Anyone injured on government-owned property, by a state vehicle, or through a public agency's negligence should consult a Hawaii attorney promptly, because these notice deadlines can be shorter than the two-year filing window.

Hawaii's Negligence Rule: Pure Comparative Fault

Hawaii adopted comparative negligence in 1969, and the current version — found at HRS §663-31 — is a pure comparative fault system. That distinction matters. Under a pure system, a plaintiff can recover damages even if they bear the majority of fault for their own injuries; their award is simply reduced in proportion to their assigned percentage of blame.

In practice: suppose a jury in a Honolulu slip-and-fall case determines total damages are $200,000, but finds the plaintiff 60% at fault for not watching where they were walking while on a wet surface. Under pure comparative fault, the plaintiff still collects $80,000 — the $200,000 reduced by their 60% share. A state using contributory negligence would bar recovery entirely.

The jury returns a special verdict listing (1) total damages as if there were no contributory negligence, and (2) each party's percentage of fault. The court then does the math. If the plaintiff's negligence exceeds the defendant's — meaning the plaintiff is more than 50% at fault — some confusion arises from how §663-31 is written. The statute technically bars recovery when the plaintiff's negligence is "greater than" the combined defendant negligence; however, Hawaii courts have applied the pure model consistently, and in practice plaintiffs recover even above 50% fault with a proportional reduction.

Joint and several liability in Hawaii has been partially reformed by HRS §663-10.9. For non-economic (pain and suffering) damages among multiple defendants, joint and several liability is abolished unless a defendant's individual fault reaches 25% or more. For economic damages — medical bills, lost wages, future care costs — joint and several liability remains intact, meaning any liable defendant can be held responsible for the full economic award regardless of their percentage share. Key exceptions where both economic and non-economic joint liability survives include intentional torts, products liability, motor vehicle accidents, environmental torts, and aircraft cases.

Non-Economic Damage Caps in Hawaii

Hawaii imposes a statutory cap on pain and suffering damages under HRS §663-8.7. The cap limits recovery for non-economic harm — pain, suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and similar intangible losses — to a maximum of $375,000. This ceiling applies in most standard personal injury cases.

The cap does not touch economic damages. Medical bills, lost income, future medical expenses, and other out-of-pocket losses are uncapped and may be recovered in full regardless of how large they grow.

The exceptions to the $375,000 cap are significant. Per HRS §663-8.7, the cap does not apply to tort actions listed in §663-10.9(2), which include:

• Intentional torts
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Products liability and strict liability claims
• Environmental pollution and toxic tort cases
• Aircraft accident cases

The practical result: the $375,000 ceiling applies most forcefully to general negligence cases like slip and falls on private property, dog bites, and premises liability claims not involving a vehicle. A plaintiff injured in a Maui car crash, for instance, is not subject to the cap because motor vehicle torts fall within the §663-10.9(2) exception. A plaintiff injured slipping on a wet floor in a Honolulu shopping center may face it.

Hawaii does not have a separate published cap specifically for medical malpractice non-economic damages in Chapter 671 at the same dollar level — the general §663-8.7 cap has historically governed both. Because cap-related law can be subject to legislative amendment and judicial interpretation, any plaintiff in a case approaching the $375,000 non-economic range should verify the current state of the statute with a Hawaii-licensed attorney.

Hawaii's No-Fault PIP Auto Insurance System

Hawaii is a no-fault state for automobile accidents. Under HRS §431:10C-301, every registered motor vehicle in Hawaii must carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. PIP pays for an injured person's medical expenses — and in some cases lost wages and other costs — arising from a car accident, regardless of who caused the crash. You file with your own insurer first.

The minimum PIP benefit in Hawaii is $10,000 per person per accident. Drivers can and often should purchase higher limits, particularly given Hawaii's elevated medical costs. PIP covers the policyholder, household family members, and passengers riding in the insured vehicle.

Hawaii's minimum liability insurance requirements are $20,000 per person / $40,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $10,000 for property damage (commonly written as 20/40/10). Drivers who carry only minimum limits provide limited protection to injured victims — and to themselves through underinsured motorist coverage.

The no-fault system restricts when you can step outside the PIP framework and sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering. To bring a tort claim for non-economic damages, a Hawaii accident victim must meet one of two thresholds:

If your injuries clear either threshold, you can pursue a third-party tort claim against the at-fault driver and seek compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other non-economic losses beyond what PIP covers. If your injuries do not meet the threshold — a minor soft tissue strain with under $5,000 in bills, for example — you are limited to your PIP benefits and cannot sue for pain and suffering.

One practical point for Honolulu and Maui accident victims: PIP does not cover pain and suffering at all. It covers medical bills and a portion of lost wages. Even after clearing the tort threshold, the PIP benefits already received may need to be reimbursed to your insurer out of any tort settlement — known as PIP subrogation. A Hawaii personal injury attorney can structure a settlement to minimize subrogation exposure.

Frequently Asked Questions