If you were hurt in Hawaii by someone else's conduct, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal-injury lawsuit. The deadline comes from HRS 657-7, and the clock starts on the date the harm occurred. Miss the window and the courthouse door closes, even if the underlying case is strong.
The two-year number is the rule most Hawaii injury searches return. The biggest trap for auto-related injuries is the PIP tort threshold under HRS 431:10C-306 -- Hawaii is a no-fault state, and you cannot bring a tort claim against the at-fault driver unless your injury crosses a statutory threshold. This post walks through what the two-year SOL really means in 2026, where the exceptions are, and the fact patterns we see trip people up most.
The default Hawaii PI window: two years under HRS 657-7
HRS 657-7 sets a two-year statute of limitations for actions for the recovery of compensation for damage or injury to persons. It is the catch-all for the vast majority of Hawaii PI cases: car crashes (subject to no-fault), slip-and-falls, dog bites, premises liability, and most negligence claims.
The clock starts on the date the injury occurred or, under the discovery rule, from when a reasonably diligent person would have discovered the injury and its cause.
Exception one: the no-fault PIP tort threshold
Hawaii is one of a handful of true no-fault auto-insurance states under HRS chapter 431:10C. After a crash, your own insurer pays personal injury protection (PIP) benefits regardless of fault, up to your policy limits. You cannot bring a tort claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering unless your injury crosses the statutory tort threshold under HRS 431:10C-306, which generally requires:
- Medical expenses exceeding the statutory threshold (the threshold has been periodically adjusted -- verify the current amount), or
- A permanent loss of a significant bodily function, permanent and serious disfigurement, significant permanent scarring, or death.
This is the distinctive Hawaii PI hook. The two-year SOL only matters if you can actually bring the tort claim in the first place. A claimant who never crosses the threshold is limited to the PIP benefits and has no general-damages claim, regardless of how clearly the other driver was at fault.
PIP claim deadlines under the policy and HRS 431:10C are short -- generally 30 days to report the accident to the insurer and prompt submission of bills. Read your policy.
Exception two: claims against the State and counties
The State of Hawaii Tort Liability Act (HRS chapter 662) governs claims against the State. The general two-year SOL under HRS 657-7 applies, and HRS 662-4 sets a two-year SOL for State tort claims that runs from when the claim accrues.
County claims (Honolulu, Hawaii County, Maui, Kauai) are governed by HRS chapter 46 and the county charters. Notice requirements vary by county -- many require notice within six months of the incident. Verify with the specific county and with your state bar's current code.
The single most common Hawaii public-claim trap: a claimant injured by a county vehicle or on county property assumes the two-year SOL is the only deadline and misses a six-month county-charter notice requirement.
Exception three: medical malpractice
Medical-malpractice cases run under HRS 657-7.3: a two-year SOL from the date the injury was discovered or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have been discovered, and a six-year statute of repose from the date of the negligent act, with exceptions for foreign objects.
Hawaii also requires a Medical Inquiry and Conciliation Panel process under HRS 671-12 before filing suit -- a procedural step that tolls the SOL but adds case-readiness time.
Exception four: minors
HRS 657-13 tolls the SOL during minority for general PI claims. A child injured at age 10 has until age 20 to file. The toll does not necessarily extend short county-notice deadlines -- verify the specific county charter.
What Hawaii's modified 51% comparative-fault rule means
Hawaii follows a modified comparative-fault rule with a 51% bar under HRS 663-31. A plaintiff 50% or less at fault recovers, reduced by the percentage of plaintiff fault. A plaintiff more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.
That 50/51 threshold is where Hawaii defense lawyers focus. Pushing fault from 50% to 51% ends the case.
A common Hawaii fact pattern that ends cases early
A driver is rear-ended on H-1. The driver treats and runs up $3,000 in medical bills, well below the tort threshold. The driver's PIP carrier pays the bills. Eighteen months later, the driver retains an attorney to pursue pain-and-suffering damages against the at-fault driver. The attorney finds no tort-threshold crossing in the medical records. Even with twenty months left on the two-year SOL, the tort claim cannot be brought.
The takeaway in Hawaii motor-vehicle cases: document medical treatment thoroughly, identify the tort threshold early, and time pain-and-suffering litigation only if the threshold is clearly crossed.
Other Hawaii-specific PI rules worth knowing
Dog bites. Hawaii applies a modified one-bite rule under HRS 663-9 -- the owner is liable if the owner knew or should have known of the dog's dangerous propensities, with two-year SOL.
Wrongful death. Two-year SOL under HRS 663-3. Standing under HRS 663-3.
Premises liability and slip-and-fall. Two-year SOL. The modified 51% comparative-fault bar applies.
UM/UIM contract claims. Hawaii treats uninsured-motorist and underinsured-motorist claims as contract claims with a six-year SOL under HRS 657-1, though policies often impose shorter contractual deadlines.
How the LawSensai Personal Injury Recovery Center helps with Hawaii matters
We built the Recovery Center to handle the day-one organizational work in a Hawaii PI case so that nothing falls through the cracks during the two-year window. We document the incident through a calm, save-and-resume intake, build a medical-and-evidence timeline, and surface every applicable deadline, including PIP filing deadlines, the tort-threshold tracking, any applicable county-notice deadline, the medmal six-year repose, and the underlying HRS 657-7 two-year window. When the matter is well-documented and ready, we route it to a verified personal-injury attorney licensed in Hawaii. Start your Hawaii intake here.
We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. We are the file-organization and deadline-surfacing layer that sits in front of a real attorney.
Personal injury statute of limitations in other states
The full LawSensai PI Recovery Center routes 50-state coverage at /personal-injury.
- Florida (HB 837 2-year SOL, no-fault PIP)
- Michigan (No-fault threshold, 1-year PIP)
- California (CCP 335.1, MICRA, pure comparative)
Informational only
LawSensai is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. The information in this post is general and does not account for your specific facts. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this post or by using the Personal Injury Recovery Center. Deadlines, exceptions, and procedural rules vary by case type and by the parties involved; verify your specific situation with a licensed attorney in Hawaii before relying on any window described here.
Last verified: 2026-06-03.