Honolulu Personal Injury Lawyer - Motor Vehicle Accidents

Motorcyle and Car Collide in Waipahu

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 07 May 2007 09:46:57 GMT

A motorcyle carrying a driver and passenger collided with a Toyota Corolla on Farrington Highway in Waipahu, Honolulu. The accident happened Friday April 27th. All three of the people involved in the motorcyle-car accident are from Waipahu.

According to police, the crash happened at 11:27 p.m., 216 feet west of Awamoku Street, when an eastbound yellow 2002 Suzuki motorcycle driven by a 36-year-old man carrying a 36-year-old woman passenger collided with a white, four-door 1999 Toyota Corolla driven by a 51-year-old man as the car was pulling on to the highway.
Police said the Toyota was northbound, and turning west out of a driveway of a fish market at 94-903 Farrington Highway when it was struck by the motorcycle, throwing both the man and woman from the bike.

All three people were taken to the hospital. The driver of the motorcycle was injured the worse with major head injuries. The driver and passenger on the motorcycle were wearing helmuts. The police are investigating the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Honolulu Man Dies in Car Accident

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:10:20 GMT

A 34-year-old man driving a Jeep on Mauna Kea Access Road in Hilo went off the road, down an embankment and flipped over. The driver was killed. The driver's 31-year-old wife was taken to the Queen's Medical Center to be treated for her injuries.

A 33-year-old woman from Japan also died.
Police are withholding her name pending positive identification and notification of her next of kin.
Police say she wasn't wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle.

The accident happened Tuesday March 27th. The police are investigating the accident. High speed was probably a factor in the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

17-Year-Old Arrested in Fatal Car Crash

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:33:27 GMT

Two women died in the car crash along Kalaniana'ole Highway Saturday night. Michelle Benevedes, age 39, and Racquel Akau, age 38, were turning from Inoa'ole Street in a 1990 Honda Accord when they were hit by a 1997 Ford Explorer SUV.

Both women, who were cousins, died at the scene. The SUV had two 17-year-olds in it. Both tried to flee from police following the accident. One was apprehended and the other was arrested later. Witnesses say police cars were chasing the SUV before the accident, but police deny that. The Honolulu Police Department believes that alcohol and speed were both factors in the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Death in the Family - What Can We Do About It?

Wayne Parsons — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 10:28:28 GMT

Your family is shocked by the sudden death of a loved one. The cause of death involves an automobile, truck, bus or other motor vehicle. As you attempt to recover emotionally from the tragedy, precious time is passing that may allow the the party responsible to escape from responsibility for what they did to your family. The evidence is slipping away and sometimes the guilty party is actively trying to cover up their sins by destroying the evidence that your lawyer needs to prove the case. Evidence at the scene of a automobile accident and witnesses quickly fade away and may be lost forever.

The law provides you with rights when someone negligently or intentionally causes a death. Drivers and sometimes their employers are held responsible for what they do or fail to do when their acts or omissions cause a death. Let's look at the history of this law: the law of "wrongful death".

In England as our modern law developed in what we refer to as the "common law", the death of a person was not considered an injury to his or her relatives, and so the family could not bring a negligence lawsuit against the person or corporation responsible for the death. So if a person was injured through someone's negligence, the wrongdoer (called the "tortfeasor" by lawyers, would be held responsible ("liable") for causing injury. But if the person was killed, there would be no liability and nothing could be done by the family to correct for the wrong. Consequently, it would be better financially for a driver or motor vehicle operator to kill (rather than maiming) a victim whenever possible. That was not only an unfair result, but an absurd possiblity, nor was it good law to create such an incentive for death. Changes had to be made and they were.

The Fatal Accidents Act 1846 (England) is usually referred to as Lord Campbell's Act after its creator. This statute provided that compensation may be obtained by the dependants of a victim of homicide and also provided that the family of a negligently or wrongfully killed person could bring a lawsuit against the responsible party. Similar legislation has since been brought into force throughout the English-speaking world and Hawaii has a wrongful death statute that covers civil actions in this situation.

In Hawaii, the family of a person who has died due to the negligence of someone operating or driving an automoblie or bus or truck, can get jsutice and compensation for the wrong through a lawsuit in our circuit courts. Generally, the family has two years from the date of the death to file suit. If the case involves a federal driver or vehicle or happens on federal land in Hawaii, then the time to file is governed by the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and a shorter period is allowed. Also in that case the claim is first filed as an FTCA claim with the United States government and then later the lawsuit will be filede in federal - not State - court.

Be aware that there are complex laws that may shorten or lengthen that time and place for filing. For instance if the case involves the County or the State of Hawaii, the claim may be forever barred unless written notice of the claim is made to the governmental entity within as little as six (6) months of the death. Be very careful to have a legal analysis of these questions done as quickly as possible. Only by having a lawyer who handles wrongful death cases examine the facts of the case as soon as possible can you be sure that you will be protected. So not only may you lose key evidence by delaying seeing an attorney, but the claim may be lost completely.

The parties who can sue are the spouse, the children at home or in the case of the death of a child, the parents and perhaps the siblings. Hawaii law has specific criteria for determining who can sue.

In addition, what the family can sue for is important. Since there has been a death, the suit for the deceased is through the "Estate" of the deceased and a court case must be filed to open an estate and a person must be appointed to represent the Estate. that person is usually the spouse or parent depending upon who the deceased person is - child, spouse etc.

The Estate can collect at trial for lost income, medical expenses and general damages for pain and suffering, that the deceased experienced. In a case of instant death the amount of the "pain and suffering" for the deceased is low. In cases where the deceased lived through horrible pain the amount will be high.

The family members also have their own claims and those relate to the type of relationship they had with the deceased. For instance large amounts have been recovered by a mother who witnessed the violent death of her child in a car crash. On the other hand, and surprisingly, recoveries by the parents of a baby who dies at childbirth or shortly thereafter in a motor vehicle accident are frequently low. The reason for that is because the parents have not established a deep relationship with the child. In addition the child has a limited or no claim for future loss of income because it cannot be proven with sufficient certainty under the law..

In the end every case is different and an anlysis of the people involved by a competent lawyer is necessary to advise as to your family's right when a tragedy strikes.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Wayne Parsons

Auto Insurance

Wayne Parsons — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 09:54:50 GMT

Did you know that your auto insurance policy provides medical coverage for injuries that you suffer in an auto collison or auto accident? This very important part of your insurance policy is relatively unexpensive and the basic "minimum" is not adequate to cover your medical bills in the event of a serious injury.

Personal Injury coverage, often referred to as Personal Injury Protection (PIP), is an extension of an auto insurance policy available in certain states, including Hawaii, where it is a mandatory element of an individual's auto insurance policy.

PIP covers medical, dental, and funeral expenses, and also covers the cost of rehabilitation, psychiatric treatment, lost wages, and other costs incurred in an accident.

PIP is sometimes considered a more inclusive version of Medical Payments coverage, and may help pay for medical expenses not covered by your health insurance plan, such as dental treatment, professional nursing services, and prostheses. This will help protect your assets in the case you are not able to fully cover the total cost of your medical expenses.

The minimum coverage is $10,000 but for just a few pennies more per month you can buy higher limits and you should do so. A broken leg can cost $50,000 in medical expenses and a facial injury can leave you with over $100,000 in medical bills. Those bills may cause your family to have to help you with your medical expenses and that can mean selling assets and cashing in retirement plans.

You must also increase the "liability" coverage in your policy. Think about what it would cost if rear-ended a Porsche that cost $80,000 and totaled it? If you don't have enough property damage coverage, you will be stuck with a huge bill. If you are a parent and your child causes the damage, you as a parent may be liable. If someone is injured and you are sued, you will be responsible for their medical expenses, lost wages and all disability. Those amounts can easily exceed $100,000. Buy at least than much liability or Bodily Injury protection. Then but the same amount of PIP or medical coverage.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Wayne Parsons

What Is My Case Worth?

Wayne Parsons — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 11:09:01 GMT

You are injured by the negligence of someone else and you wonder what is a fair settlement. How do you find out? If you have an attorney representing you, how can you know if he or she is correct in their assessment of the value of your case?

First let us look at what you can recover in an injury case. First, you can recover for your out of pocket losses: lost wages, medical expenses, property damage and other expenses that come from your injury. These are called "Special damages".You can also collect money to pay you for the pain, suffering, frustration, stress and inconvenience that you have experienced because of your injury. In the law, these amounts are called "General Damages. In exceptional cases you may also be able to recover punitive damages. We'll discuss each category.

1. Special Damages. They are called "Special" because they can be proven with specific evidence, usually cancelled checks or pay stubs. You can make a list of them and show that they are real losses that can be computed to the penny. If you are injured, keep an accurate list of all expenses that you have incurred.

2. General Damages. They are called "General" because these are losses that you can't prove with a cancelled check or a tax return. They are things like pain and no one can measure pain; it is subjective. You feel your own pain and no one else can feel it or measure pain. Being unable to work is frustrating and causes a great deal of stress. The law allows an injured person who proves that the injury was caused by the negligence of another person, to collect money to compensate for the pain and suffering and mental anguish. You may ask how do you measure the dollar value of pain? That is a subject that has befuddled attorneys forever. The answer: the value of your pain and suffering claim is whatever amount the jury in your case will specify for your pain and suffering. But since every jury is composed of different people, it is impossible to exactly figure out what they will do. Since over 90% of all cases filed, settle before trial, then how do the attorneys and clients figure out what is fair? First, attorneys can review verdicts in other cases and see what is the highest award and the lowest award for an injury. Usually that is aa very wide range. An experienced attorney who has tried cases like your before a jury where your case will be tried is very important. If you are injured and thinking about filing a claim it is important to keep track of all of things you experience so that you can describe it later. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 years to resolve an injury case and memories fade.

3. Punitive Damages. They are called "Punitive" because they are not meant to compensate an injured person for a loss, but to punish a wrongdoer for outrageous conduct. Punitive damages are almost never assessed because jurors are very reluctant to punish anyone unless the behavior was almost criminal in nature.

Some attorneys believe that general damages are a multiple of special damages. So if you have $10,000 in medical bills and $5,000 in wage loss, they would multiply that total by 4 and tell you that you have $60,000 in general damages. There is no scientific support for that proposition.

In cases where a person suffers a back injury that does not require surgery and that does not cause a wage loss, to have a value under $80,000 and most likely is worth between $15,000 and $40,000. Of course the injured party must prove that the defendant was negligent and caused the injury before any payment is warranted. When the defendant denies negligence and has a good defense, the value of the case goes down. Just because you are hurt does not mean someone else has to pay you for your injuries. If you bring a claim, you have to prove everything and the defendant doesn't have to prove anything. So realize that you must do your part to help your lawyer prove your case.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Wayne Parsons

I Can't Work! What do I do?

Wayne Parsons — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 00:21:18 GMT

Personal Injury Protection? PIP? What is it? What should I do?

In Hawaii we have an "insurance commission" and they tell us that "PIP" means "personal injury protection". When you buy auto inurance you have a choice about your PIP coverage. Your insurance agent will probably tell you to buy a minimum amount and save money. You want to keep your car insurance at a minimum of course. But what is "PIP"?

If someone collides with your car and you get hurt, who pays for the exam at the emergency room (ER)? That bill will be in your mailbox within 30 days. Who pays?

In Hawaii your insurance company pays for your medical bills if you get hurt in a car collision. They used to call it "no fault", now we call it "PIP". My adice: Buy as much "PIP" as possible.

Why?

A drunk driver crashes into your car and you have 2 broken legs. The drunk had no insurance. You are in intensive care for 3 days and your medical bills total $300,000. Who pays?

The answer? You can buy $300,000 of "PIP" for a cheap. Don't look at insurance as something to be avoided. Look at it as a protection for you and your family. You can buy the insurance to cover the uninsured driver who hits you.

The good news? It's cheap!

But YOU must call YOUR insurance company and demand it.

Here is what you want to say: "I want to buy as much PIP as I can buy. Tell me how much I have and compare the prices."

You will be shocked when you see how little it costs!

Call or e-mail if you want a personal free private individual conversation witha lawyer in Hawaii who does this work.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Wayne Parsons

Automobile Death Cases

Wayne Parsons — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 09:50:05 GMT

Speed and alcohol combine annually to add to Hawaii's unfortunate statistics for motor vehicle wrongful death cases. The police always conduct very thorough investigations following a motor vehicle death in order to determine if any criminal charges should be filed. That can make it difficult to find out what happened becaues the police investigation is confidential and you can't get the detrails of the police report.

When a family comes to our offices after losing a loved one in an automobile accident, we always want to begin the investigation as soon as possible since the facts and witnesses may disappear over time. However the investigation must be done in a limited fashion so as not to interfere with the police investigation. If our office institutes a civil lawsuit for damages on behalf of the family, it may cause the police problems in prosecuting the other driver. These delays can be frustrating to the family and can make the grieving process last longer than it normally would. However it is important to allow the police to complete their work and that may mean up a year delay in beginning a civil lawsuit.

The investigation of a wrongful death claim presents some unusual problems for the lawyers for the family. The first is that the victim is not available to relate his or her version of what occured prior to the collision. This problem is exacerbated when the death occurs in the collision itself as opposed to occuring after a lengthy period due to the injuries. Often we employe the use of engineering specialists in event reconstruction to recreate how the collision happened. These specialists are often referred to as "accident reconstruction" experts and they use complex mathematical and computer systems to figure out from the physical eveidence what happened. important physical evidence includes all of the physical factors associated with the vehicles, braking skid marks, resting place of the vehicle, road and weather conditions and all other unique physical factors that may be involved. The cost of such an analysis can cost up to $50,000 depending on the complexity involved.

Witnesses also can be crucial to prove the case and sometimes the police miss eyewitnesses on the scene who left before the police arrive. That may require advertising in the newspaper for eyewitnesses. But this must be done shortly after the incident while the witnesses have the incident in mind. It is important that witness statements be obtained as early as possible since the memory fades over time. The best method of getting those statements is to have a private investigator take a statement from each witness, reduce the statement to writing and have the witness sign and date the statement, verifying the accuracy of the statement. Using a video camera or an audio recorder can also help preserve witness testimony and can be effective if the witness is interviewed at the scene of the incident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Wayne Parsons

Your Insurance

Wayne Parsons — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:04:42 GMT

Automobile insurance medical coverage (personal injury protection or PIP) is the beast way to protect yourself and you family from huge medical bills if an uninsured driver crashes into your car, and it is very inexpensive.

Do you have adequate medical protection in your auto insurance policy? What if an uninsured driver collides with your car and puts you or a family member in the hospital? Who will pay the medical bills. Hospitalizations can cost over $100,000 or more and your health insurance will only pay a portion of that bill.

It costs little to buy $100,000, $300,000 or more medical coverage for your family in your auto insurance policy. upwards of 40% of the drivers on the highways are uninsured. Think you can't afford it? Do yourself a favor and price it with your insurance agent. You'll be amazed. Some of saddest stories I have seen as a lawyer is the family that is destroyed by huge medical bills when a drunk driver crashed into the family car and left members of a family with big injuries and huge medical bills.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Wayne Parsons

Car Race Ends In Fatal Accident

Staff Writer — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 06:56:29 GMT

A car accident on the Pali highway closed Kailua-bound lanes for almost eight hours yesterday. Terrence Lee was driving his 2004 Nissan 250z at a high rate of speed when he lost control of the car, skidded into an embankment and tumbled into a 40-foot ravine. Traffic was stopped from around 2:00 AM to 9:30 AM, and police say there is evidence alcohol was involved. Witnesses claim Lee was racing a dark-colored car at the time of the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer