Motorcycle Accident Complaint - Hawaii

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (MOTORCYCLE COLLISION) — HAWAIʻI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. Compliance With Hawaiʻi Motor Vehicle Insurance Law
4. General Factual Allegations
5. Count I — Negligence (Against Defendant Driver)
6. Count II — Negligence Per Se (Against Defendant Driver)
7. Count III — Vicarious Liability / Negligent Entrustment (Against Defendant Owner)
8. Damages
9. Prayer for Relief
10. Demand for Trial by Jury
11. Verification
12. Signature and Service Blocks
13. Hawaiʻi Practice Notes
14. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE [____] CIRCUIT

STATE OF HAWAIʻI

Civil No. [____________]

(Tort — Motorcycle Collision)

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (MOTORCYCLE COLLISION); DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL; SUMMONS

Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, alleges and avers as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an adult resident of the [____] Circuit, State of Hawaiʻi, and at all relevant times was the operator of a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] motorcycle (the "Motorcycle").

2. Defendant [DEFENDANT DRIVER NAME] ("Defendant Driver") is an adult who, at all relevant times, operated a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] motor vehicle (the "Subject Vehicle") and may be served pursuant to Haw. R. Civ. P. 4 at [SERVICE ADDRESS].

3. Defendant [DEFENDANT OWNER NAME] ("Defendant Owner") is [an individual / a corporation / an LLC] who/that, at all relevant times, was the registered owner of the Subject Vehicle and may be served at [SERVICE ADDRESS / REGISTERED AGENT].

4. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat. § 603-21.5, and the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional minimum of the District Court.

5. Venue is proper in this Circuit under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 603-36 because the collision giving rise to this action (the "Subject Collision") occurred within this Circuit and/or one or more Defendants reside or may be served here.

3. COMPLIANCE WITH HAWAIʻI MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE LAW

6. Plaintiff has satisfied the applicable tort-claim prerequisites of Hawaiʻi's Motor Vehicle Insurance Law, Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 431:10C: Plaintiff has exhausted or is entitled to applicable personal-injury-protection benefits, and/or Plaintiff's injuries and damages exceed the applicable monetary threshold or constitute a permanent loss of a bodily function, permanent serious disfigurement, or other injury satisfying the statutory threshold, such that Plaintiff is entitled to maintain this tort action against Defendants.

4. GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

7. On [__/__/____] at approximately [TIME], Plaintiff was lawfully operating the Motorcycle in a [DIRECTION] direction on [STREET / ROUTE] at or near [INTERSECTION / LOCATION] in the [____] Circuit, State of Hawaiʻi (the "Subject Collision").

8. At the same time and place, Defendant Driver was operating the Subject Vehicle, owned by Defendant Owner, in the same vicinity.

9. Defendant Driver negligently [DESCRIBE CONDUCT — e.g., turned left across Plaintiff's lane of travel in violation of HRS § 291C-62, failed to yield the right-of-way, failed to keep a proper lookout, misjudged the speed and distance of the Motorcycle], causing the Subject Vehicle to collide with the Motorcycle.

10. At all material times Plaintiff operated the Motorcycle with due care, at a lawful and reasonable speed, with the Motorcycle's headlamp illuminated, and in compliance with the traffic laws of Hawaiʻi.

11. As a direct and proximate result of the Subject Collision, Plaintiff was thrown from and/or pinned beneath the Motorcycle and sustained serious bodily injuries, including but not limited to [LIST INJURIES — e.g., fractures, road rash/degloving, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury].

12. The [name of law-enforcement agency] responded and prepared a traffic crash report, [and cited Defendant Driver for violation of HRS § [____]].

13. Plaintiff received emergency care at [HOSPITAL] and has since undergone [MEDICAL TREATMENT SUMMARY], with care continuing.

5. COUNT I — NEGLIGENCE (Against Defendant Driver)

14. Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 13 as though fully set forth herein.

15. Defendant Driver owed Plaintiff a duty to operate the Subject Vehicle with reasonable care, to obey Hawaiʻi's traffic laws, and to keep a proper lookout for motorcyclists and other roadway users.

16. Defendant Driver breached that duty by one or more of the following acts or omissions:

• Failing to yield the right-of-way to the oncoming Motorcycle (HRS § 291C-62, § 291C-63);
• Turning left across Plaintiff's lane of travel when it was unsafe to do so;
• Failing to keep a proper and careful lookout for motorcyclists;
• Operating the Subject Vehicle at an excessive or imprudent speed;
• Following too closely and/or failing to maintain control of the Subject Vehicle;
• Operating the Subject Vehicle while distracted or inattentive; and/or
• Otherwise failing to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances.

17. Defendant Driver's breach was the actual and proximate cause of the Subject Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

18. As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff has suffered the damages set forth in Section 8 below.

6. COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE PER SE (Against Defendant Driver)

19. Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 18 as though fully set forth herein.

20. The traffic statutes identified above, including HRS § 291C-62, were enacted to protect the class of persons to which Plaintiff belongs (motorcyclists and other roadway users) against the type of harm that occurred.

21. Defendant Driver's violation of one or more of those statutes is evidence of negligence and/or constitutes negligence per se under Hawaiʻi law, and was a proximate cause of the Subject Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

7. COUNT III — VICARIOUS LIABILITY / NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT (Against Defendant Owner)

22. Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 21 as though fully set forth herein.

23. At the time of the Subject Collision, Defendant Driver operated the Subject Vehicle with the permission and consent of Defendant Owner and/or within the course and scope of employment or agency with Defendant Owner, rendering Defendant Owner vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

24. In the alternative, Defendant Owner negligently entrusted the Subject Vehicle to Defendant Driver with actual or constructive knowledge of Defendant Driver's incompetence, inexperience, or reckless propensities, and such negligent entrustment was a proximate cause of the Subject Collision and Plaintiff's damages.

25. Accordingly, Defendant Owner is jointly and severally liable for the damages proximately caused by Defendant Driver, to the extent permitted by Haw. Rev. Stat. § 663-10.9.

8. DAMAGES

26. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has sustained and seeks recovery of:

• Special (economic) damages: past and future medical, hospital, surgical, and rehabilitative expenses; past wage loss; future loss of earning capacity; and property damage to the Motorcycle and personal protective equipment.
• General (non-economic) damages: past and future physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and permanent scarring, permanent impairment, and loss of the enjoyment of life, in an amount to be proven at trial.

27. Punitive damages. Defendant Driver acted wantonly, oppressively, or with such malice or reckless indifference to the rights of others as to warrant punitive damages under Hawaiʻi law.

9. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays that this Court:

• A. Enter judgment against Defendants for all special and general damages in amounts to be proven at trial;
• B. Award punitive damages where authorized;
• C. Award pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as permitted by law;
• D. Award costs and, where authorized by Haw. Rev. Stat. § 607-14 or other applicable authority, reasonable attorneys' fees; and
• E. Grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

10. DEMAND FOR TRIAL BY JURY

Pursuant to Article I, Section 13 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaiʻi and Haw. R. Civ. P. 38, Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.

11. VERIFICATION

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], declare under penalty of perjury that I am the Plaintiff in the above-entitled action, that I have read the foregoing Complaint and know its contents, and that the same is true of my own knowledge except as to those matters stated on information and belief, and as to those matters I believe them to be true.

DATED: [City], Hawaiʻi, [__/__/____].

[________________________________]

[PLAINTIFF NAME]

12. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

DATED: [City], Hawaiʻi, [__/__/____].

Respectfully submitted,

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME], Hawaiʻi Bar No. [________]

Counsel for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER] | Email: [EMAIL]

13. HAWAIʻI PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations — 2 years. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7 (note the separate no-fault clock under § 431:10C-315(b) running from the last PIP payment).
• Negligence regime — modified comparative. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 663-31: the plaintiff may recover if not more at fault than the defendants (up to 50%), with damages reduced by the plaintiff's share; barred if the plaintiff's fault is greater than the defendants' aggregate fault.
• No-fault / PIP and the motorcycle question. Hawaiʻi is a no-fault state (ch. 431:10C) with a $5,000 monetary / verbal injury threshold for tort suits. Whether a motorcycle is inside the no-fault system must be confirmed — Hawaiʻi (unlike Florida) generally treats motorcycles as motor vehicles; do not assert a motorcycle exemption without verification.
• Helmet law. Helmets required only for riders under 18 (HRS § 286-81(e)); no adult mandate.
• UM/UIM. Coverage must be offered (HRS § 431:10C-301); stacking generally prohibited.
• Forum. Circuit Court (HRS § 603-21.5).

14. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7 (2-year personal-injury limitation) — https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 663-31 (comparative negligence) — https://law.justia.com/codes/hawaii/
• Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 431:10C (Motor Vehicle Insurance Law / no-fault); § 431:10C-301 (required coverage / UM-UIM); § 431:10C-315 (limitation)
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 291C-62 (vehicle turning left); § 291C-63 (stop/yield right-of-way)
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 286-81 (motorcycle protective devices / helmet — under 18) — https://law.justia.com/codes/hawaii/title-17/chapter-286/section-286-81/
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 663-10.9 (joint and several liability); § 607-14 (fees)
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 603-21.5, § 603-36; Haw. R. Civ. P. 4, 8, 38

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in Hawaiʻi must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities — including the no-fault treatment of motorcycles under HRS ch. 431:10C — before use.