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Statute of Limitations

action for injury or death must be brought within two years of the time the claimant discovers or reasonably should have discovered the injury; however, it cannot be filed more than six years after the date of the act or omission causing the injury or death

Comparative or contributory negligence

modified comparative negligence, 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

Nature of accused's liability

modified doctrine of joint and several liability.Liability for economic loss, personal injury and death is joint and several. Liability for non-economic damages is joint and several if the defendant is above 25% negligent. Liability is several for minor defendants for non-economic damages

Law of contribution

The right of contribution exists among joint tortfeasors who are jointly and severally liable

Expert testimony standards

Hawaii does not require expert opinion supporting the claims of negligence. However, an expert opinion is necessary to establish a prima facie case of medical malpractice at trial, unless the negligence is obvious to a layman

Limits on compensation

Hawaii has a statute that imposes a $375,000 damage limit for the recovery of damages for pain and suffering

Limits on attorney fees

None

Collateral Source rule enforced

Hawaii applies the collateral source rule, under which payments to the claimant from collateral sources are not considered in calculating the claimant's damages

State and local health care providers immune from liabaility

The State of Hawaii has waived its immunity from liability for the acts of its employees

Select Your State

Select Your State

Select Your State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington State West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Medical malpractice law varies from state to state, the key areas of difference are as follows

• Statute of limitations
• The law of comparative or contributory negligence
• The nature of the accused's liability
• Law of contribution
• Standards for expert testimony
• Limitations on compensation
• Limitiations on attorney fees
• Whether collateral source law is in effect
• Are state health care providers immune from liability