Hawaii Burn Injury Lawyer: Your Rights After a Burn

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By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a burn in Hawaii

Treatment comes first. Ask the doctor whether a burn unit should see the injury. A third-degree burn destroys the outer skin and the dermis below it, may reach deeper tissue, and can look white or charred (Cedars-Sinai).

Then start a file. Keep the cup and lid, the heater, the pot or the clothing you wore. Photograph the injury every few days as it heals. If it happened at a hotel or vacation rental, note the room number and when you told staff. Ask for the incident report and the names of witnesses, and keep your medical bills. The Hawaii State Bar Association also runs a Lawyer Referral & Information Service at (808) 537-9140 (HSBA).

The deadline to file in Hawaii

Injury suits in Hawaii must be brought “within two years after the cause of action accrued, and not after” (HRS § 657-7). That section was last amended in 1972.

Hawaii courts read “accrued” with a discovery rule. Under Yamaguchi v. Queen’s Medical Center, 65 Haw. 84 (1982), the two years begin when the injured person discovers, or should have discovered, the negligent act, the damage and the causal connection (case note to HRS § 657-7; opinion).

Claims against the State of Hawaii need no separate notice, but the suit must be filed within two years after the claim accrues (HRS § 662-4). For a county, written notice of the injuries goes within two years to the official named in the county charter, or, if none is named, to the council chair or the county clerk (HRS § 46-72). That two-year window also serves as the county limitations period.

How fault works in Hawaii

Hawaii uses modified comparative fault with a 51% bar (HRS § 663-31). Your own negligence does not defeat the claim if it was not greater than the negligence of the defendants combined. Above 50%, you recover nothing.

Say a Waikiki hotel guest is scalded in a shower because the water heater was set far too high, and the hotel argues the guest should have tested the water. If the jury assigns the guest 20% of the fault, the award drops by that share. At 60%, the claim fails.

Damages and caps in Hawaii

Pain-and-suffering damages are capped at $375,000, and the figure is not adjusted for inflation (HRS § 663-8.7). The cap covers tort cases generally, medical malpractice included, but not the torts listed in HRS § 663-10.9(2), such as strict and products liability, motor vehicle cases and intentional torts. A products claim over an exploding pressure cooker sits outside the cap.

Hawaii has no punitive damages statute and no statutory cap. Under Masaki v. General Motors Corp., 71 Haw. 1 (1989), you must prove wilful, wanton, oppressive or malicious conduct by clear and convincing evidence (case notes to HRS § 663-1; opinion).

Burns at work in Hawaii

Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against the employer, with an exception for civil suits over sexual harassment or sexual assault (HRS § 386-5). HRS § 386-8(k) separately allows a suit against a co-worker for wilful and wanton misconduct.

You can also take comp and sue a third party, meaning someone other than the employer or a co-worker acting on the job, such as a fryer maker or a boiler contractor (HRS § 386-8). The employer must be notified and may join. If no suit is filed within nine months, the employer is subrogated. It is repaid for comp from the recovery as a first lien, and no settlement is valid without both employer and employee consenting.

Burn centers in Hawaii

Hawaii has no ABA-verified burn center. The American Burn Association directory lists one center in the state, and it is not verified.

Source: American Burn Association, Find a Burn Center, directory checked November 2026.

The ABA-verified centers in California:

Source: American Burn Association, Find a Burn Center, directory checked November 2026.

The ABA-verified center in Washington:

Source: American Burn Association, Find a Burn Center, directory checked November 2026.

Who may be liable for a burn

Liability follows control of the danger. A hotel, condo association or landlord may answer for a scalding water heater or a heater left broken. A contractor your employer hired can be sued for a job-site burn. The maker of a battery, space heater or pressure cooker can answer for a defect. Utilities come in when a gas or power line fails, and a restaurant may be at fault for a drink served too hot or with a loose lid.

How Beverly Law helps in Hawaii

Beverly Law is a California firm, and its attorneys hold licenses in California and Washington. When someone is burned in Hawaii, the firm works with Hawaii-licensed attorneys through its referral network. A free case review puts you in touch with a burn injury attorney licensed in Hawaii, usually within one business day.

Related pages

• Burn injury lawyer · Burn injury law by state · Burn centers · California burn injury law · Washington burn injury law

This page is general information about Hawaii law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change; a lawyer licensed in Hawaii can tell you how they apply to your case.

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Important: Attorney Advertising. This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Beverly Law is a California firm whose attorneys are licensed in California and Washington; for injuries in other states it works with attorneys licensed there through its referral network. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.