This may be one of the most frequent questions that Hawaii injury lawyers receive.   Although it would be great if the answer were simple, unfortunately, it’s not.  Many different factors go into determining the value of one’s Hawaii car accident injury case.  We always try to settle our clients’ injury cases, so they don’t have to go through the stressful and time-consuming process of taking a case to court.  During the settlement process, the person who determines how much the injury claim is worth is the Hawaii insurance adjuster and his or her manager.

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The first factor they will consider is whether their driver was liable.  Once they determine that their driver is liable, they will consider the injuries' value.  The Hawaii insurance adjustor will do this by reviewing all of the medical bills and records that we send to them.   If the injuries are severe, such as those involving fractured bones or other injuries that require surgery, then their valuation will likely be very high.  If the injuries are considered “soft tissue” injuries because they didn’t need surgery to repair, then the claim's value will be much lower.  “Soft tissue” injuries are those types of injuries, such as whiplash, neck strains, and back strains.  These injuries usually heal with time and with treatment from physical therapists, chiropractors, or massage therapists.

 

The value of the injuries also greatly depends on which insurance company is involved.  Farmers and Geico offer small amounts to settle Hawaii motor vehicle accident injury claims.  State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, and Progressive offer lower settlement offers.  We have seen better settlement offers from Dtric, First Insurance, and Island Insurance.  The best settlement offers we see usually come from USAA and some of the insurance companies on the mainland.  

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Nothing is inevitable when it comes to making injury claims.  About 80% of the time, we can make a pretty good guess of how much an insurance adjuster will offer.  However, about 10% of the time, an adjuster will shock us with a settlement offer much higher than we expected, and 10% of the time, an adjuster will shock us with a settlement offer much lower than we expected.

 

It is always entirely up to our clients whether they want to accept a Hawaii insurance adjustor’s settlement offer.  If they feel that an offer is much lower than they deserve for the motor vehicle injuries, then it is up to them if they want to proceed to litigation.

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The first step of the Hawaii car accident litigation process will be the Court-Annexed Arbitration Program. At this stage, the court-appointed Arbitrator will determine the case's worth. Once again, it will be entirely up to our clients to accept the Arbitrator’s award or appeal it and take their case to a jury trial.  

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The question of how much our client’s Honolulu car accident injuries are worth will then be determined by a jury.  Juries in Hawaii tend to be quite conservative.  They don’t usually award large amounts, especially in cases involving “soft tissue” injuries.  We often talk to juries after the trial, and they typically say things like: “We’re just tired of all these lawsuits…We’re tired of people always wanting to sue everything….”  When deciding to take an injury case to a jury or not, it’s important to remember that, in general, the majority of the population in Hawaii has not been injured in an auto accident, so they may not be very sympathetic.  They also usually have a false belief that injury cases increase their insurance rates.  

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How do you know if you have a valid Hawaii auto accident injury case?

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One of the most frequent questions is whether someone has a case worth pursuing. The first thing to consider is whether the other driver is liable for the accident.

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In other words, was the accident caused by the other driver?  You don’t have a valid case if the other driver wasn’t at least 51% at fault.  The negligence law in Hawaii is “modified comparative fault. “  If the other driver is at least 51% at fault, then he has to pay you for the percentage of your damages for which he is at fault.  For example, if the other driver is 60% at fault and your injuries are worth $10,000, he must pay you $6,000.  He doesn't have to pay you anything if he’s only 50% at fault.  

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A common mistake that people make is to consider the extent of their damages.  For example, they may think that because their damages are very extensive, the other driver has to pay them for their damages even though the other driver isn’t at fault.  If the other driver isn’t at fault, then it doesn’t matter how big or small your damages are.  So the first thing to do is to objectively consider whether the other person is at least 51% at fault.  

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Many people who call us get upset when we inform them that we can’t accept their case because the other driver wasn’t at fault for the accident.  We are more than happy to discuss any questions that people may have, but we don’t have the power to change the laws in Hawaii, which require the other person to be at least 51% at fault for the accident.

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Once you’ve determined that the other driver was at fault, the next question is whether you have sufficient damages to justify pursuing a case.  When discussing damages, we discuss your injuries, medical bills, pain and suffering, vehicle damage, wage loss, future wage loss, etc.  If you only have a headache for a day and a couple of scratches on your car, then it’s probably not worth your time pursuing a case.  However, if you have whiplash, need to go to the hospital, and need physical therapy, then it’s probably worth your effort to pursue a claim.  

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The simplest and quickest way to determine if you have a good case is whether a lawyer will take your case. Most Hawaii injury lawyers offer free consultations, so there is no harm in calling a lawyer to discuss your case.  Most injury lawyers have many years of experience and have handled hundreds of car accident cases, so we’ll know quickly whether you have a case worth pursuing.  After all, most injury lawyers in Oahu and throughout Hawaii work on contingency.  This means we don’t get paid until we get a settlement for our clients.  We would go out of business if we took a lot of bad cases where we didn’t get a settlement for our clients.  This is why I say that the best way to know if you have a valid case is to call a Hawaii auto accident attorney.  If they want to take your case, you have a good case.  If they don’t want to take your case, you probably don’t have one worth pursuing.  

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Don’t get discouraged if the first lawyer you call doesn’t want to take your case.  Some law firms are enormous with many secretaries and paralegals to pay, so they can only accept cases with severe injuries.  If the first lawyer doesn’t want your case, keep calling.  We recommend calling at least 3-5 injury law firms before giving up and accepting that you probably don’t have a case worth pursuing.  Rest assured, if you have a good case, the lawyers will all be begging to take your case.