Personal injury lawyer help in Kaunakakai, HI

Kaunakakai is a community of roughly 3,425 people in Maui County, Hawaii. Like every town its size, it sees its share of car and truck crashes on local roads and nearby highways, falls in stores and apartment complexes, injuries on job sites and, too often, medical errors and fatal accidents. When those injuries are caused by someone else's carelessness, Hawaii law gives victims the right to seek compensation, and the process starts with knowing the rules that apply in Maui County.

Ask Legal Matters is a free claim-review request service, not a law firm. Requests from Kaunakakai may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle car, truck, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents, slip and fall injuries, workplace injuries and workers' compensation, medical malpractice and wrongful death matters in Hawaii. There is no charge to submit a request and no obligation to hire anyone; partner availability and case acceptance depend on the facts.

Federal crash records (NHTSA's FARS) list no fatal crash coded to Kaunakakai itself from 2020 through 2024. That can mean none happened inside the community, or that nearby crashes were recorded under Maui County rather than the town.

Across Maui County, the records show 72 fatal crashes and 75 people killed in those five years; the roads with the most were State Route 30 with 14, State Route 37 with 9 and South Kihei Rd with 4.

The Maui County guide ranks the county's roads and communities.

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020-2023 Final File and 2024 Annual Report File (ARF), national data files downloaded from NHTSA on November 3, 2026. A crash counts for a road under the trafficway the reporting agency recorded; the same street with and without a route number is one row, and a route recorded without a street name keeps its own row; roads with fewer than two fatal crashes are not listed. The 2024 figures are NHTSA's first release for that year and may change in its Final File.

How to cite these figures: Ask Legal Matters, "Fatal crashes in Maui County, HI, 2020-2024," compiled from NHTSA FARS (2020-2023 Final File and 2024 Annual Report File (ARF)), https://asklegalmatters.com/injury-guides/hawaii/kaunakakai/, checked November 3, 2026. Downloads and method: https://asklegalmatters.com/injury-guides/data/.

In Hawaii, the driver in a crash that kills or injures anyone, or causes property damage that appears to be $3,000 or more, must notify the nearest police officer immediately (HRS § 291C-16). The driver must also report the crash in writing or in person to the county chief of police within 24 hours when anyone is killed or injured or any one person's property damage appears to exceed $3,000 (HRS § 287-4).

Who must report

The driver in a crash in which anyone is killed or injured, or property damage appears to be $3,000 or more

Report to

The nearest police officer; and the county chief of police (the county police department), in writing or in person

Deadline

Police notice: immediately, by the quickest means. Report to the chief of police: at the earliest practical time, and within 24 hours

Copy of the crash report

Honolulu Police Department Records Division (Oahu crashes; on other islands, ask that county's police department)

Sources: Hawaii Revised Statutes § 287-4; Hawaii Revised Statutes § 291C-16; Honolulu Police Department: police reports. Checked November 3, 2026. General information, not legal advice; local rules and police practice can add steps.

Different attorneys handle different claims, so identify the type of accident early. Kaunakakai shares its court and its Hawaii rules with the rest of Maui County; the detailed guides below, apply equally to accidents in Kaunakakai.

• Car Accident claimsCar Accidents
• Truck Accident claimsTruck Accidents
• Motorcycle Accident claimsMotorcycle Accidents
• Pedestrian Accident claimsPedestrian Accidents
• Slip and Fall claimsSlip & Fall
• Workplace Injury claimsWork Injuries & Workers' Comp
• Medical Malpractice claimsMedical Malpractice
• Wrongful Death claimsWrongful Death

Hawaii generally gives an injured person two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (HRS § 657-7); medical malpractice is different (two years). Wrongful death claims follow their own deadline, which can differ from the one above. Claims against a city, county, school district or state agency follow separate and often much shorter deadlines. Once the deadline passes, the Maui County Circuit Court will dismiss the case regardless of how clear the fault was, so the practical rule in Kaunakakai is to get legal advice early.

Hawaii follows modified comparative negligence (51% bar). In plain terms, you can recover as long as you were not more than 50% at fault, and your award is reduced by your share of fault. Insurance adjusters apply this rule from the first phone call, which is why the way an accident is described and documented in the days after it happens in Maui County has a direct effect on what a claim is worth.

After a car accident in Kaunakakai, your own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage pays initial medical bills and a portion of lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. A lawsuit against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering is available only when injuries meet Hawaii's serious-injury threshold or costs exceed PIP limits. Minimum required coverage in Hawaii is 20/40/10.

Lawsuits arising from accidents in Kaunakakai are typically filed in the Maui County Circuit Court, the trial court of general jurisdiction for Maui County, although cases can sometimes be filed where the defendant resides or does business, and claims against out-of-state trucking companies or manufacturers may end up in federal court. Most claims settle before trial, but the credible ability to try a case in Maui County is what moves insurers to pay fair value.

Employees injured on the job in Kaunakakai are generally covered by Hawaii workers' compensation, administered through the Hawaii Disability Compensation Division. Report the injury to your employer in writing, as soon as practicable (HRS § 386-81) — a late report can delay or put the claim at risk, and the exceptions vary by state — then file the formal claim within two years. Workers' compensation does not pay for pain and suffering, so when a third party such as a subcontractor, driver or equipment manufacturer caused the injury, a separate personal injury claim is often worth pursuing alongside it.

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