http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/index.html LawInfo - Legal Resource Center offers free Hawaii Personal Injury legal forms and free Hawaii Personal Injury legal documents that is designed to help consumers and businesses resolve their legal issues http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/how-can-i-determine-how-much-my-claim-is-wort.html <p>Attorneys are prohibited from promising that they will obtain a certain amount of money for you. For purposes of settlement, a claim is valued upon an estimate of what a jury would likely believe the case to be worth, taking into account the severity of the injury, the effects of the injury on your life and the negligence of the other party. If you were partially at fault for the accident, the amount of damages will be reduced proportionately. Any settlement will be reduced if there appears to be a good chance that the claim will not be successful. Other factors that may reduce the damages include past medical history, pre&shy;existing injuries, and prior claims history.<p>Considerable compensation may be commanded if your injuries are severe requiring extensive medical treatment, absences from work and permanent injuries. This is especially true if you were a healthy, productive, young worker prior to the accident. That is because an important factor in the value of your claim is the difference between your quality of life before the accident as compared to after the accident. Hawaii Personal Injury FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/how-do-i-decide-if-i-need-to-hire-an-attorney.html <p>There are situations where an attorney is unnecessary, such as very small cases. Small claims court in Hawaii will handle claims up to $3500. If your injury is a minor one that will not result in any incapacity, or substantial medical care, then you may want to settle it yourself in small claims court.<p>An attorney should be consulted if you have been seriously injured or are unsure as to the outcome of your injury. These cases can get quite complicated. In such cases, an attorney will have the legal expertise, time and resources to effectively handle your claim. An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to accurately analyze the value of your case and will be able to meet all of the rules, requirements and deadlines that have to be met. Also of note is the fact that statistics show insurance companies pay more than twice as much compensation when an attorney is involved in your claim. Hawaii Personal Injury FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/how-long-do-i-have-to-hire-an-attorney.html <p>The law requires that you file a lawsuit within a specified period of time depending on the nature of the claim and the entity that caused your injury. This is referred to as the statute of limitations. Failure to file suit within this time frame prevents you from filing suit at all. In some instances, there are various exceptions to the statutes of limitation that may extend or limit the limitation periods. There may be special claims presentation requirements for claims against state and local government. For these reasons, it is important to consult an attorney as early as possible to be sure you don't miss a crucial deadline.</p> <p>In Hawaii, generally an action for personal injury or death caused by negligence or intentional acts must be brought within two years from the date when the cause of action accrues. In most cases, the cause of action accrues on the date of the incident, but there may be exceptions when the injury could not have reasonably been discovered until a later date. The deadline for filing a lawsuit for injuries arising out of a motor vehicle accident is generally two years from the date of the accident or two years from the date of the last no fault, worker's compensation or public assistance benefit payment related to the accident, if such payments are made. The limitation periods are tolled for minority, insanity, imprisonment, and absence from the state.</p> <p>Medical malpractice claims for injury or death must be brought within two years of the time the claimant discovers or reasonably should have discovered the injury. No claim may be filed more than six years after the date of the alleged negligent act. Lawsuits on behalf of minors must be commenced within six years from the date of the wrongful act, unless the child is under the age of ten, in which case the action need only be commenced within six years from the date of injury or by the child's tenth birthday, whichever is later. The statute also allows the time limitation to be tolled during any period when the child's injury could not have been discovered through the use of reasonable diligence. With respect to claimants who are insane or imprisoned, the statutory time does not begin to run until the disability is removed.</p> Hawaii Personal Injury FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/how-much-will-an-attorney-cost.html <p>Most attorneys who believe a case has merit will take the case without payment up front. They will take the case on a contingency basis, which means they will receive a percentage of your award if and when you recover for your injuries. Contingency fees average between 25 and 40 percent. Most attorneys charge a smaller percentage if the case is settled before the attorney does all the work necessary to go to trial. If you and your attorney agree to a contingency fee, the attorney must put the agreement in writing and provide you with a signed copy. Some attorneys may charge an hourly fee or a flat fee for their services. The attorney's out of pocket costs are in many cases not included in the attorney's fees. You should be sure to pay attention to how an attorney will bill you for costs because they can amount to quite a significant sum. Hawaii Personal Injury FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/how-will-my-claim-be-processed.html <p>Although most of us would prefer to avoid filing a lawsuit or going to court, it is sometimes necessary to pursue litigation to get full value for your claim. Lawsuits usually become necessary when there are disagreements with the other party's insurance company over who caused an accident or how serious the injuries are. You should be sure not to sign any documents without prior review by an attorney. You need to attend all scheduled doctor appointments in order to document your injuries. Accurate records should be kept of time you missed from work, medical bills, and property damage repairs. You can document your damages with photographs of your injuries or photos of property damage.<p>After a lawsuit has been filed, both parties will conduct discovery. Pretrial discovery usually takes about a full year during which time both parties investigate all aspects of the claim. This may include taking oral depositions, obtaining pertinent records, propounding interrogatories, and hiring expert witnesses to obtain more evidence about the claim. During this period of discovery and as the trial date approaches, the parties will exchange settlement offers/demands. A large majority of personal injury claims settle before trial. If you agree to accept a settlement, you will be required to sign an agreement stating you absolve the other party of all further liability in this case. Hawaii Personal Injury FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/i-was-injured-can-i-file-a-lawsuit-against-th.html <p>In general, when a person is injured as a result of another person's negligence, the injured party may pursue a claim against the party or parties that caused the injuries. You are entitled to compensation for your injuries if it is found that a defendant was negligent and that such negligence was a cause of your injury. Any personal injury case depends on liability, damages, and whether or not you can collect from the negligent party or parties. Hawaii has adopted the doctrine of modified comparative negligence. Under this doctrine, a claimant's action is barred if his negligence exceeds the combined negligence of all defendants. Otherwise, the claimant's recovery is diminished in proportion to his degree of negligence.<p>Personal injury law attempts to cover all areas and types of injuries suffered by individuals. Some of the most common areas are automobile accidents, premise liability, medical malpractice, and product liability, among others. Whether or not you are entitled to compensation may depend on the type of accident that caused the injury.<p><b>AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS</b></p><p>In Hawaii, the law provides for what is commonly referred to as no&shy;fault law regarding automobile liability. This means that your motor vehicle insurance company will pay the bills for your injuries and your passenger's injuries up to the policy limits regardless of who was at fault for the accident. You are required to have a minimum of $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP) coverage for paying medical and rehabilitative costs. (This does not apply to motorcycles, however). Beginning in January of 1998, Hawaii does not require motor vehicle owners to purchase wage loss coverage, although it is optional under an income disability plan. No&shy;fault coverage does not include property damage, so the driver at fault in the accident is responsible for your property damage under their liability insurance policy.<p>Hawaii's no fault law also means that people who are injured in motor vehicle accidents generally cannot sue the driver at fault for their damages such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, wage loss in excess of that paid by no&shy;fault and various other losses caused by the accident. There are, however, a few important exceptions to the no fault rule. For accidents occurring after January 1, 1998, people injured in motor vehicle accidents may be able to sue the driver who caused the accident, if: (1) the injured person accumulates $5,000 in medical or rehabilitative bills; (2) the accident results in scarring, disfigurement or other permanent loss of use of a body part or function; (3) the driver who caused the accident was involved in reckless or punitive conduct like driving under the influence; (4) the accident resulted in death; or (5) the no&shy;fault benefits are exhausted.<p>Liability insurance coverage is also mandatory in Hawaii. The other driver's insurance company is the liability carrier and will pay you, as a victim of the other driver's negligence, for your out of pocket damages for bodily injury and property damage. The mandatory minimum liability coverage in Hawaii is $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident bodily injury liability, and $10,000 property damage liability. If you are in an automobile accident with an uninsured driver who is at fault or a driver who does not have enough insurance to cover your damages, the uninsured or underinsured motorist provisions of your own policy will apply if you have purchased such coverage.<p>Liability claims are usually the subject of negotiation between your lawyer and the liability insurer for the negligent party. Lawsuits are generally filed when negotiations fail. If you file a lawsuit against a negligent driver, your attorney will need to prove that the other party was negligent and that the other party's negligence caused injuries that resulted in compensable damages.<p><b>PREMISE LIABILITY</b></p><p>If you were injured at someone else's home or at a commercial establishment, the person responsible for the premises may be found liable. This can cover a variety of situations including slip and falls, dog bites, assaults, among others. Unlike many states, in Hawaii the duty of a landowner to the injured person does not vary depending on the status of the person at the time of the injury. In other words, the same standard of care applies with respect to a business invitee, a licensee (social guest), or a trespasser.<p>It is the duty of an owner to exercise reasonable care in the maintenance of the premises and to warn a visitor of any dangerous conditions that are known, or should be known to him, if the conditions are not likely to be perceived by the visitor. The owner or operator of the property must have notice of the defect or circumstances that caused your injury prior to the injury having occurred. The notice can either be actual notice or implied notice, meaning the owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition given all of the surrounding facts and circumstances. The person liable for your damages is the party in control of the property. That party is responsible for the care, maintenance and inspection of the property. For example, an owner may not be the responsible party if he or she has leased the property to another party who actually has control over the premises.<p>Before the law will permit liability to be imposed on a possessor of land, the plaintiff must prove the following, 1) the premises must have an unreasonable risk of harm; 2) the possessor of the land must have failed to take reasonable steps to eliminate that harm; 3) warnings of the condition must be absent and the condition must not be open and obvious; and 4) the possessor of land must have actual or constructive notice of the condition.<p><b>PRODUCT LIABILITY</b></p><p>Product Liability deals with recoveries for personal injury or property damage resulting from the use of a product. An action can be based on negligence, breach of implied or express warranty, or strict liability. A lawsuit can be brought against anyone participating in the chain of manufacture for that product, from the manufacturer, to the designer to the retail store. When a company designs and manufactures a product, they have a responsibility to ensure that anyone exercising reasonable care within the expected parameters of usage expected for the product will not be injured. Under the newest theory of strict liability, you do not have to prove the manufacturer or designer was negligent. You only have to prove that the product was defective due to faulty design, error in manufacturing, or that the manufacturer did not provide sufficient warning of potential risks or failed to provide adequate instructions. Be aware that there are limits to product liability law such as when the product is too old or the consumer was careless in using the product.<p><b>MEDICAL MALPRACTICE</b></p><p>When a health care provider causes injury due to his or her failure to meet the accepted standards of care for that particular field of expertise, you may have a claim for medical malpractice. A claim can be brought against physicians, dentists, nurses, therapists, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacists among others. Some examples of medical malpractice include incorrect diagnosis, failure to treat, improper treatment, delay in treatment, prescription errors, surgical errors, rendition of services without informed consent, etc. Medical malpractice claims are some of the most difficult to prevail in and are quite costly due to the need for qualified expert review and testimony. Hawaii Personal Injury FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/what-damages-can-i-recover.html <p>You can recover your actual economic losses such as the costs of reasonable and necessary medical care, property damage, car rental expenses, costs of domestic services, and loss of earnings. The law allows compensation for future medical and care expenses that the claimant can prove will be reasonably necessary to treat the injury. The claim may include income the claimant can prove will probably be lost in the future because of the injuries. Loss of earning capacity is also allowed when the patient proves he or she is less able to earn a living as a result of the injuries<p>You are also entitled to non&shy;economic damages for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, etc. There is no definite standard of calculating reasonable compensation for these types of damages other than being just and reasonable in light of the evidence.<p>In certain instances, damages may be awarded to families of injured claimants for loss of care, companionship, love and affection. Family members can be compensated for the wrongful death of a loved one. These damages may include medical and burial expenses, loss of income that would have supported the family members, emotional suffering, and loss of the pleasures of the family relationship.<p>Punitive damages are intended to punish a defendant for reckless or malicious behavior and are only awarded in rare cases. Hawaii Personal Injury FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury/Hawaii/who-is-responsible-when-a-person-is-injured.html <p>The law of personal injury is concerned with determining who may be responsible for your injuries and how much they should be required to pay for your damages. Personal injury is part of the law of torts, the legal term that includes many types of injuries to people and their property. Every tort claim must include four basic elements including duty, breach of duty, damages, and proximate cause. The defendant must have a legal duty toward the plaintiff. The defendant must have violated that legal duty. The plaintiff must have suffered some harm for which the law allows an award of monetary damages. The defendant's breach of a legal duty must be related to the plaintiff's injury closely enough to be considered a proximate cause of the injury.<p>There are a number of principles that apply to the law of torts and personal injury. These principles recognize degrees of fault on the part of the person who causes the injury. In general, the degrees of fault can be described as negligence, intentional fault, and strict liability.<p>The term negligence is essential to tort law. Everyone is expected to take normal ordinary care to ensure that their action or the actions of others under their control, do not cause anyone harm. If they fall below that standard, and someone is injured or their property damaged, then they become negligent. Negligence does not mean that the person deliberately intended to cause harm; it only means that they did not take reasonable care or they did not act when any reasonable person would have. The degree of care varies with the circumstances of each case. A plaintiff likewise has a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances on his own behalf.<p>Strict liability means that one does not have to prove negligence to recover damages. In the case of product liability, the law now holds that you do not have to prove the manufacturer was negligent if someone is injured while using a product. They only have to prove the product was defective when it left the hands of the particular seller and that was the proximate cause of the injuries. A lawsuit can be brought against anyone participating in the chain of manufacture for that product, from the manufacturer, to the designer to the retail store.<p>An "intentional tort" refers to a personal injury caused by a person who has the intent to cause harm. It may also refer to injury caused by willful or reckless conduct. Intentional torts include assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, libel and slander, etc. Hawaii Personal Injury FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Assautl-and-Battery/Hawaii/index.html Free Assault and Battery FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Benzene-Exposure/Hawaii/index.html Free Benzene Exposure FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Car-Accident/Hawaii/index.html Free Car Accident FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Defamation-of-Character/Hawaii/index.html Free Defamation of Character FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Dog-Bite/Hawaii/index.html Free Dog Bite FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Legal-Terms/Hawaii/index.html Free Legal Terms FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Medical-Negligence/Hawaii/index.html Free Medical Negligence FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Mold/Hawaii/index.html Free Mold FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Personal-Injury-Claims-and-Lawsuits/Hawaii/index.html Free Personal Injury Claims and Lawsuits FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Product-Liability/Hawaii/index.html Free Product Liability FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/SUV-Rollovers-FAQs/Hawaii/index.html Free SUV Rollovers FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Slip-and-Fall-Personal-Injury/Hawaii/index.html Free Slip and Fall FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Taser-Guns-FAQs/Hawaii/index.html Free Taser Guns FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Toxic-Torts/Hawaii/index.html Free Toxic Torts FAQs Personal Injury Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:39:15 GMT