Hawaii Injury Lawyer Blog

News reports that a wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the State of Hawaii along with the nation’s largest private prison company. The civil claim alleges that the company’s “negligence, recklessness, and flagrant failure to protect” an inmate led to an environment that allowed other prisoners to stab the man, ultimately killing him.

A wrongful death complaint is a civil action that arises as the result of another person or entity’s wrongful conduct. Compensation may be recovered by the family of a victim in situations where the negligence or reckless conduct leads to the death of a loved one. Wrongful death lawsuits may be brought by the surviving family members, typically a spouse, children or parents. If you have lost a loved one as the result of the negligent conduct of another, speaking to a Hawaii wrongful death attorney is crucial to determine your rights and protect your interests.

Here the family of a 26-year-old man, Bronson Nunuha, has sued the Corrections Corporation of American, the State of Hawaii, the Department of Public Safety and several state officials as the result of the conditions at the southeast Phoenix prison that led to this tragedy. On February 18, 2010 Nunuha was housed in a cellblock with known gang members and was stabbed more than 140 times. The inmates distracted the only counselor on duty that day while they carried out the attack.

The complaint alleges a variety of actions that created a dangerous environment including the failure to adequately staff the cell block where Nunuha was housed, the mixing of convicts of every level of dangerousness including gang members with rival gang members and unaffiliated prisoners. The family asserts that the private prison “failed to follow basic common-sense correctional practices that would have prevents his brutal murder at the hands of the violent criminals surrounding him.” Additionally, the State of Hawaii, which had placed Nunuha in the Arizona prison for budget reasons, should have allowed Nunuha to return to Hawaii as of 2009. Pursuant to Hawaii law, prisoners may return from out-of-state prisons at least 1 year prior to their release date.

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Following last year’s fatal zipline accident that injured one man and killed another, Hawaii officials are discussing stricter guidelines for zipline inspections. Ziplining, which is a popular tourist attraction, involves strapping riders into a harness that attaches to a cable and allows them to glide over forest canopies. Last year, a man died when he was testing a line. A tower holding the line collapsed, and the rider fell over 200 feet to the ground.

Several questions of liability were raised following the personal injury accident including whether the men were properly supervised, whether they were following safety precautions – if any safety precautions were in place, and if their employer breached a duty to them in creating a dangerous condition.

If you or a loved one has been injured in any type of personal injury accident, it is important to consult with a top Hawaii personal injury attorney to review all of the circumstances surrounding an incident, answer your personal injury questions and advise you of your rights.

As the result of the zipline accident, legislation has been introduced that would require the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to conduct $100 inspections of the lines. However, many are pushing for more extensive inspections that provide a more in depth and complete analysis of a particular zipline’s safety and structure.

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When you go to a medical provider, you expect quality care and treatment. In most cases the care you receive is just that. However, in some situations you may be harmed by the treatment you receive or fail to receive. If the care you receive doesn’t comply with accepted standards of care and the health care professional causes an injury, in many situations you may have a claim for medical malpractice. Consulting with a top Hawaii medical malpractice attorney is important to preserve your rights and determine your next steps.

However for military families, a little known doctrine continues to block lawsuits caused by military medical malpractice. Called the “Feres Doctrine,” this doctrine provides the U.S. legal immunity from exposure to medical malpractice claims. The Feres Doctrine, named after a 1950s Supreme Court case stands for the general proposition that the government cannot be sued for any injuries or the wrongful death of military personnel while on active duty. This case has been applied to bar military personnel from bringing medical malpractice actions, even where medical professional are negligent.

In 1987, the Feres doctrine was used to deny a malpractice claim in United States v. Johnson. Writing for the dissent, Justice Scalia noted, “Feres was wrongly decided and heartily deserves the widespread, nearly universal criticism it has received.” Justice Scalia argued that the doctrine has been misapplied, and that governmental immunity should only apply to claims “arising out of the combatant activities of the military or naval forces during the time of war.” The logical problems of the Feres doctrine have been well chronicled. For example, while a soldier who is a victim of medical malpractice or negligence at an army hospital may not be able to successfully sue the government, a civilian harmed under the same circumstances may be able to recover compensation.

A recent wrongful death medical malpractice case out of Florida has once again brought the issue to the forefront. In German v. United Sates, the wife of an active Navy serviceman came to the Naval Hospital complaining of a severe headache. This was not her first time complaining of the headaches. She was sent home with a diagnosis of a migraine. The next morning she came back with “stroke-like symptoms.” She was subsequently transferred to the Mayo Clinic where she was treated for a brain hemorrhage. She later died.

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Just what led up to the tragic Hawaii parasailing accident is now under investigation. According to Hawaii News Now, an investigation is underway to determine what caused the parasailing line to break sending two men to the hospital, one of them with critical injuries. Reports indicate that two men from Palm Springs, California were parasailing when the line broke. The men fell to the water and were then dragged roughly 1000 feet.

When any injury accident happens, it is important to speak to an experienced Hawaii personal injury attorney to begin an investigation into all of the different factors that may have caused or contributed to an incident's occurrence. Where another’s careless, negligent or reckless conduct leads to an injury, you may be able to recover compensation.

A spokesperson from the U.S Coast Guard notes that while they do inspect the boats companies use for parasailing, they don’t check on the safety of the lines or parachutes, stating “It’s left up to the companies to police themselves.” Whether the parasailing companies took the appropriate actions to ensure the safety of their clients will be likely be closely reviewed. Further, although some have noted that the aspect of “danger” is part of the attraction of parasailing, participants expect that all equipment will function properly and they will not be exposed to an unreasonable risk of harm.

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