Rights of Drunk Driving Accident Victims in Hawaii

Hawaii has the nation's highest share of alcohol-impaired traffic deaths. Here is what state law gives victims: the threshold to sue, punitive damages, dram shop claims, the two-year deadline, and the 2026 insurance minimums.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jul 8, 2026
6 min read

Rights of drunk driving accident victims in Hawaii

Hawaii has the worst drunk driving problem in the country by one measure. In 2023, 42% of the state's traffic deaths involved an alcohol-impaired driver, the highest share of any state that year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.1 If you were hurt by one of those drivers, Hawaii law gives you specific rights that differ from most of the mainland. This page covers what is actually true here: the exact deadlines and dollar thresholds, and the specific ways Hawaii lets you hold a drunk driver accountable that a general overview will not tell you.

Two cases run at the same time

A drunk driving crash sets off two separate legal tracks. The state may prosecute the driver for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, which Hawaii calls OVUII. The threshold is a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08, or impairment to a degree that leaves the person unable to drive safely regardless of the exact number.2 A reading of 0.15 or higher makes the person a "highly intoxicated driver," which carries stiffer criminal penalties.2

That criminal case belongs to the state. Your rights live in the second track: a civil claim for the money you lost. A conviction can help your civil case as evidence, but you do not have to wait for it, and a driver who beats the criminal charge can still owe you damages, because the civil standard of proof is lower.

Hawaii is a no-fault state, and that changes where you start

Hawaii runs a no-fault car insurance system. After a crash, your own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage pays your medical bills and lost wages first, no matter who caused the wreck. Every policy has to carry at least $10,000 in PIP per person.3 Your insurer must pay or deny a PIP claim in writing within 30 days of getting reasonable proof of loss, and late payments carry interest at 1.5% per month.4

To sue the drunk driver for pain and suffering, you have to clear Hawaii's tort threshold. You can step outside no-fault and bring a full injury claim if the crash caused death, a significant permanent loss of use of a part or function of the body, or a permanent and serious disfigurement, or once the PIP benefits paid or payable for your injuries reach $5,000.3 Serious injuries from a drunk driving crash usually clear that bar, which opens the door to the damages no-fault does not pay.

What Hawaii does not cap

Hawaii does not limit your damages in a car crash case. The state has a $375,000 cap on pain-and-suffering awards, but the cap statute specifically exempts injuries from motor vehicle accidents, so a drunk driving victim's non-economic damages are not held down by it.5 Your recovery is measured by your actual harm.

Punitive damages against a drunk driver

This is the right that sets a drunk driving case apart. Punitive damages punish the wrongdoer rather than pay you back, and impaired driving is close to the textbook case for them. The Hawaii Supreme Court held in Masaki v. General Motors Corp. that a plaintiff can win punitive damages by proving, with clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant acted wantonly or oppressively or with a conscious indifference to the consequences.6 Choosing to drive drunk and then causing a crash is the kind of conduct courts have long treated as meeting that standard. Because the cap does not reach motor vehicle torts, there is no statutory ceiling on that award.

Who else may owe you: the bar or the vendor

The drunk driver is rarely the only one at fault. Hawaii recognizes dram shop liability, which lets a crash victim sue the business that over-served the driver. In Ono v. Applegate, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a tavern which serves liquor to a visibly intoxicated customer who then injures someone can be held liable to the injured person.7 The duty comes from Hawaii's liquor control law, which bars any licensee from selling or furnishing liquor to a person already under the influence, or to a minor.8 If a bar, restaurant, or liquor store kept serving the driver who hit you, that business may share the bill, which matters when the driver's own insurance falls short.

Fault sharing and the 51% rule

Hawaii uses a modified comparative negligence rule. Your compensation drops by your share of the blame, and you are barred from recovering only if your fault is greater than the other side's.9 In plain terms, you can be up to 50% at fault and still recover, but at 51% you get nothing. Against a driver who was drunk, the fault math usually favors the victim, which is exactly why the driver's insurer will try to pin some of the blame on you.

Insurance limits and the underinsured driver problem

Drunk drivers are often underinsured, so where the money comes from matters. As of January 1, 2026, Hawaii raised its minimum liability limits to $40,000 per person and $80,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $20,000 for property damage, under Act 138 of 2024, up from the old 20/40/10.10 Serious injuries blow past those numbers fast. That is where your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage comes in. Hawaii insurers have to offer UM/UIM up to your bodily injury limits, but you are allowed to reject it in writing, and once you do the company does not have to offer it again.11 If you carry it, it may be the largest pool of money available after a crash with an underinsured drunk driver, so check your own policy early.

Criminal restitution is separate from your civil claim

If the driver is convicted, the criminal court can order restitution directly to you. Hawaii law requires the court, on the victim's request, to order the defendant to pay for reasonable and verified losses, including medical and counseling expenses, lost earnings, funeral and burial costs, and the value of damaged property.12 Restitution is not a substitute for your civil case. It runs alongside it, and it does not cover pain and suffering, so pursuing both is normal.

Your deadline is short

In Hawaii you have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, and the same two-year statute covers property damage, so both live in one window.13 Miss it and the claim is gone, however strong it was. Do not let a PIP dispute or a slow criminal prosecution eat that time.

A few practical steps protect the claim. Get the police crash report, which in Hawaii comes from the county police department where the wreck happened, since the state has no highway patrol;14 our Hawaii crash report page explains how to pull it. If your car was totaled or lost resale value, that is a separate claim from your injuries, covered on our Hawaii diminished value page. And because drunk driving cases can involve punitive damages, dram shop defendants, and disputed fault, they are worth reviewing with a lawyer; you can start with our legal directory.

This article is general information about Hawaii law, not legal advice about your specific situation.

Sources

  1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts: 2023 State Alcohol-Impaired-Driving Estimates. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813726.pdf

  2. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 291E-61, Operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0291E/HRS_0291E-0061.htm

  3. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 431:10C-306, Abolition of tort liability (no-fault threshold and PIP). https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol09_Ch0431-0435H/HRS0431/HRS_0431-0010C-0306.htm

  4. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 431:10C-304, Obligation to pay personal injury protection benefits. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol09_Ch0431-0435H/HRS0431/HRS_0431-0010C-0304.htm

  5. Haw. Rev. Stat. Sections 663-8.7 and 663-10.9(2), pain-and-suffering cap and its motor vehicle exclusion. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol13_Ch0601-0676/HRS0663/HRS_0663-0008_0007.htm

  6. Masaki v. General Motors Corp., 71 Haw. 1, 780 P.2d 566 (1989). https://law.justia.com/cases/hawaii/supreme-court/1989/13023-2.html

  7. Ono v. Applegate, 62 Haw. 131, 612 P.2d 533 (1980). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1270764/ono-v-applegate/

  8. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 281-78, Prohibitions (liquor control law). https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0281/HRS_0281-0078.htm

  9. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 663-31, Contributory negligence no bar; comparative negligence. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol13_Ch0601-0676/HRS0663/HRS_0663-0031.htm

  10. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 431:10C-301, as amended by 2024 Act 138 (effective January 1, 2026). https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol09_Ch0431-0435H/HRS0431/HRS_0431-0010C-0301.htm

  11. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 431:10C-301(b), uninsured and underinsured motorist offer and written rejection. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol09_Ch0431-0435H/HRS0431/HRS_0431-0010C-0301.htm

  12. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 706-646, Victim restitution. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0706/HRS_0706-0646.htm

  13. Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 657-7, Damage to persons or property. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol13_Ch0601-0676/HRS0657/HRS_0657-0007.htm

  14. Honolulu Police Department, Police Reports. https://www.honolulupd.org/police-reports/

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Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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