Hawaii medical malpractice law
In Hawaii, you generally have 2 years to file a medical malpractice claim from the day the injury was discovered. Caps and rules for 2026.
Sources checked
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Your deadline: 2 years from when you found out
Hawaii rules at a glance
Work out your deadline- Filing deadline
- 2 years from when the injury was discovered
- Damage caps
- $375,000 for pain and suffering
- Before you file
- Written notice, and an expert's sign-off
- Shared fault
- Modified comparative (51% bar)
Full Hawaii law guidedeadlines, caps, children, experts and sources
Example: treatment and discovery six months ago
- TreatmentMay 7, 2026
- Likely deadlineMay 7, 2028
- Outer limitMay 7, 2032
- The clock startsWhen you found out, or should have
- Time to start a claim2 yearsMiss it and the claim is usually lost.
- At the very most6 yearsafter the treatment, with a few exceptions
- Pain and sufferingCapped at $375,000
- All damages togetherNo overall cap
The rules in Hawaii
Filing deadline
2 years
Counted from when the injury was discovered. File within 2 years after you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury, and never more than 6 years after the act or omission.
Discovery rule
Applies
Yes, inside the 6-year outer limit. The 6 years are paused while a provider fails to disclose a known error.
Outer limit
6 years
6 years from the act or omission, tolled while the provider conceals a known error.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7.3
Damage caps
$375,000 for pain and suffering (physical pain and suffering caused by the injury). Other non-economic and all economic damages are not capped by this rule.
Hawaii's general tort cap limits pain and suffering to $375,000 in medical malpractice cases as in other tort cases.
Children
Different clock
A minor must sue within 6 years of the act, except that a child under 10 has until the later of 6 years or the tenth birthday. The time is also tolled during fraud, gross negligence or collusion by a parent, guardian, insurer or provider.
Affidavit of merit
Required
The panel inquiry must include a certificate of consultation stating the patient or lawyer consulted a physician in the same specialty and concluded there is a reasonable and meritorious cause, with exceptions when the deadline is near.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 671-12.5
Notice before suing
Required
Before suing, the claim must be submitted as an inquiry to the medical inquiry and conciliation panel, which notifies the providers and tries to resolve it; the case can go to court once the panel process ends.
Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 671-11, 671-12
Shared fault
Modified comparative (51% bar)
Modified comparative fault: barred above 50% of the fault
Experts
Expert evidence
Expert testimony is generally required to establish the standard of care; the consulting physician for the certificate must be knowledgeable in the defendant's specialty.
The Hawaii Legislature's statute site blocks automated access, so these facts were checked against secondary summaries citing the 2022 Hawaii Revised Statutes and the MPL Association compendium. A lawyer should confirm the current panel procedure.
Sources
- Hawaii Medical Malpractice Laws and Statutory Rules, AllLaw (Nolo)
- Hawaii Revised Statutes § 657-7.3, Hawaii State Legislature
- State Enactments of Selected Medical Liability Reforms (as of 8/27/2026), Medical Professional Liability Association
- Contributory Negligence/Comparative Fault Laws in All 50 States (updated 6/10/2026), Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.
- Medical Liability/Malpractice Merit Affidavits and Expert Witnesses, National Conference of State Legislatures
Other states
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Alabama (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Alaska (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Arizona (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Arkansas (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in California (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Colorado (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Connecticut (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Delaware (2026)
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