2021 Hawaii Revised Statutes
Title 36. Civil Remedies and Defenses and Special Proceedings
671. Medical Torts
- 671-1 Definitions.
- 671-2 REPEALED.
- 671-3 Informed consent.
- 671-4 Notice of damages.
- 671-5 Reporting and reviewing medical tort claims.
- 671-6 Administration of chapter.
- 671-7 Professional liability insurance; coverage for telehealth.
- 671-11 Medical inquiry and conciliation panels; composition, selection, compensation.
- 671-11.5 Waiver of filing fee. (a) If any party to an inquiry cannot pay the required filing fee, the party may file with the director a motion to waive the filing fee. The motion to waive the filing fee shall be accompanied by an affidavit in a format prescribed by the department, showing in detail: (1) The party's inability to pay the filing fee; (2) The party's belief that the party is entitled to redress; and (3) A statement of the issues that the party intends to present at proceedings before a medical inquiry and conciliation panel. (b) The director shall decide on the motion to waive the filing fee as expeditiously as possible, and no oral arguments shall be permitted. (c) If the director grants the motion to waive the filing fee, the party may proceed without further application to the director or panel, and without payment of the filing fee. If the motion is denied, the director shall state the reasons for the denial in writing. The director shall promptly provide the party with a filed copy of the director's order granting or denying the motion. (d) If a motion to waive the filing fee is denied by the director, the party may seek judicial review under section 91-14. (e) If the director denies a party's motion to waive the filing fee, the party shall pay the filing fee within thirty days after the denial of the motion, unless the party has filed an appeal under section 91-14. If the party has filed an appeal under section 91-14, the party may proceed without payment of the filing fee, until the time that a final judicial determination is rendered. (f) If the party files an appeal under section 91-14, and the court upholds the director's denial of the aggrieved party's motion to waive the filing fee, the party shall pay the filing fee within thirty days after the court's affirmation of the denial. If the court determines that the party's motion for waiver of the filing fee was improperly denied, the party shall be entitled to proceed without payment of the filing fee. [L 1995, c 213, §1; am L 2012, c 296, pt
- 671-12 Review by panel required; notice; presentation of inquiry; request for a more definite statement of the inquiry.
- 671-12.5 Certificate of consultation.
- 671-13 Medical inquiry and conciliation panel proceedings; voluntary settlement.
- 671-14 Same; persons attending proceedings of panel.
- 671-15 Panel termination.
- 671-15.5 Expungement of records; malpractice insurance rates.
- 671-16 Subsequent litigation; excluded evidence.
- 671-16.5 Arbitration; subsequent litigation.
- 671-16.6 Submission of inquiry to an alternative dispute resolution provider.
- 671-17 Immunity of panel members from liability.
- 671-18 Statute of limitations tolled.
- 671-19 Duty to cooperate; assessment of costs and fees.
- 671-20 Annual report.
Case Notes
As chapter rationally furthers legitimate state interest of assuring the provision of affordable health care to Hawaii's citizens by requiring participation in medical malpractice dispute resolution such that the high cost of litigation may be avoided, plaintiff not denied equal protection of the laws. 89 H. 188, 970 P.2d 496 (1998).
Section 671-12(a) requires only that a claimant set forth facts upon which the claim is based and include the names of all parties against whom the claim is or may be made who are then known to the claimant; nowhere in 671-12 does it require plaintiffs to name all known negligent health care providers; having filed the requisite medical claim conciliation panel claim, participated in the required hearing, and rejected the panel's finding of no actionable negligence, plaintiffs satisfied this chapter's statutory prerequisites for filing suit in circuit court. 111 H. 74, 137 P.3d 980 (2006).
Where defendant was a Hawaii nonprofit organization, which served as the parent corporation of four affiliated hospitals in Hawaii, including Kapiolani, a wholly-owned subsidiary of defendant, defendant was a "health care provider" in the context of this chapter. 121 H. 235 (App.), 216 P.3d 1258 (2009).
Plaintiff's claims of neglect, abuse, and failure to provide a safe home against care home defendants did not constitute "medical torts" within the meaning of 671-1; thus, plaintiff was not required to submit plaintiff's claims to a medical claim conciliation panel (MCCP) pursuant to 671-12 and 671-16 as a condition for plaintiff to file suit against defendants, and the circuit court erred in dismissing plaintiff's suit based on plaintiff's failure to submit plaintiff's claims to a MCCP. 128 H. 405 (App.), 289 P.3d 1041 (2012).
Law Journals and Reviews
The Wavering Line Between Medical Malpractice and Ordinary Negligence in Elder Abuse Litigation. 18 HBJ, no. 13, at 81 (2015).
