If you’ve been injured in an accident in Hawaii and you need to pursue a claim for your injuries, the following are some of the forms that you may need during the claims process:

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Hawaii Civil Information Sheet

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This is the form that you need to submit to the court in Hawaii when you want to file a complaint.  If you don’t have this form completed when you show up at the filing clerk’s window, they will not accept your complaint.  So, be sure to complete it in advance.  It’s also best to have a couple of extra copies in case the filing clerk requests backup copies.

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The Plaintiffs and Defendants that you list should be the same as those that are indicated on the complaint.  Your attorney’s name should be indicated along with his/her attorney's number.  Be sure to check the box for the “Nature of Suit.”  If your complaint is about a car accident, then you will check the box: “Motor Vehicle Tort”.  Most likely, your case will be an Original Proceeding, so be sure to check that box.  For the box that asks for the “Demand Amount,” you can simply indicate TBD (To Be Determined).  

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For Jury Demand, we usually recommend that you indicate “No”.  In general, juries are biased against people who have been injured in accidents.  They think that their car insurance rates are high because of injury lawsuits.  They think that most people exaggerate their injuries.  They are simply “tired” of lawsuits.   For all of these reasons, we prefer to have a Judge decide the case and not a jury.  Even though you don’t want a Jury trial, the Defense attorney will most likely request one anyway because they know that Juries are often biased.  Also, the complaint costs $200 more if you request a jury trial, so you might as well let the defense lawyer request the jury because then he will have to pay for it.

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HMSA Third-Party Liability Injury/Illness Report Form

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If you have HMSA insurance then HMSA will request that you complete this form.  Under your contract with HMSA, when you’ve been injured in an auto accident in Hawaii, you’re required to inform HMSA of the accident.  Often, HMSA will send you this form without you asking.  You will need to complete this form and send it back to them.  If you refuse to complete this form, then they may stop paying for your medical treatment. HMSA may request that you reimburse them for the treatment that they pay for which is related to the accident.  By completing this form, they will know more about the accident and the attorneys and insurance companies involved.  HMSA will often hire an aggressive collection company to try to be reimbursed for the bills they paid.  This is why it is very important to have an attorney on your side if you’ve been injured in a car accident in Hawaii.  Your attorney will be able to advise you on how to deal with HMSA and its collection company and he/she can inform you of your rights under current law.

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Honolulu Claim Form

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If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of the City and County of Honolulu, then you will need to complete their claim form.  The most important thing to keep in mind is that you must file a claim with the City of Honolulu within six months of the injury.  This is a much shorter deadline than a claim against another person, which is two years, and against the State of Hawaii, which is two years.  If you have been injured on the Honolulu City property, be sure to file this claim form within six months in order to preserve your claim.  The City will then have six months to process your claim.  Once you’ve filed the claim form with the city and waited six months for them to process it, you can then file your complaint in Hawaii First Circuit Court if you were not satisfied with the settlement offer made by the City of Honolulu.