Have you lost a spouse, parent, or child in an accident in Maui, Hawaii? Call Singleton Schreiber for the compassionate and aggressive legal representation you deserve during this incredibly difficult time in your life. You deserve to be compensated by the person responsible for your tragic loss, and our Maui wrongful death lawyers are ready to help you maximize your recovery.
Singleton Schreiber is a powerhouse personal injury law firm dedicated to advancing the rights and interests of injury victims and grieving families in Maui. As nationally acclaimed civil litigators with decades of combined experience, we’ve forced corporations, government entities, and at-fault parties to pay our clients over $3 billion in monetary awards.
Don’t let the insurance company stand between you and the full value of your wrongful death claim. Demand the best results by putting our award-winning Maui personal injury attorneys in your corner. Call our Maui law office to schedule your free consultation now.
Why Families Turn to Singleton Schreiber After Fatal Accidents in Maui, HI
You can’t trust the insurance adjuster or defense attorney to make things right after a tragic accident in Maui. If you want financial justice, you’ll need to fight for it. That’s where Singleton Schreiber can help.
Families turn to our Maui personal injury lawyers in times of need because we’re honest, respected, and seasoned litigators with a multi-billion-dollar track record of success.
As local lawyers with national resources at our disposal, we offer powerful and personalized representation, which sets the stage for life-changing monetary awards.
It’s why our law firm and team members have received countless honors and accolades from the legal community, including:
- Best Law Firms United States 2025 by Best Lawyers
- The Best Lawyers in America by Best Lawyers
- Super Lawyers Rising Stars
- Plaintiffs' Attorneys Trailblazers by the National Law Journal
We know that money won’t turn back time or bring your loved one back to you, nor will it take away your heartache and pain. However, we’ve seen first-hand how much of a difference it can make on a family’s road to recovery in the wake of a gut-wrenching loss. We’re committed to helping your family fight for monetary justice. All you have to do is call our Maui law office and ask for our help.
Members of our legal team are available to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your first consultation is free.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Maui?
It’s possible for almost any accident or act of violence to be fatal under the right circumstances. No family should have to suffer the consequences of a loved one’s unexpected death on their own.
That’s why our Maui wrongful death attorneys advocate for clients who’ve lost family members as a result of:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Boating accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Scooter accidents
- Bus accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites
- Workplace accidents
- Construction accidents
- Defective products
- Wildfires
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
- Assault
- Fires and explosions
- Vacation injuries
If you believe that your loved one’s death could have been avoided but happened because someone else was reckless or intentionally violent, don’t hesitate to call Singleton Schreiber. We’re here to listen to your story, answer your questions, offer guidance, and explain how our Hawaii personal injury law firm might be able to help you fight to hold the at-fault party fully accountable for your loss.
What is a Wrongful Death Claim?
If you were to get hurt in an accident in Maui, you’d have the right to pursue compensation for things like medical expenses, short-term disability, permanent impairment, and pain and suffering. Filing a lawsuit makes you whole and holds the at-fault party accountable for their actions.
The right to sue doesn’t disappear when an accident is fatal. Instead, Hawaii’s Wrongful Death Act shifts the right to take legal action to another party.
A wrongful death claim can be raised when a person’s death is caused by “the wrongful act, neglect, or default of any person.”
Damages awarded in a wrongful death claim are paid to the decedent’s surviving family members – typically the spouse, child(ren), and/or parent(s) – or to their estate.
How Are a Wrongful Death Case and a Survival Action Different?
Hawaiian law permits two types of legal claims to exist in the wake of a person’s premature death: a wrongful death claim and a survival action. Both serve different purposes.
A wrongful death case is filed by or on behalf of a decedent’s surviving family members. The purpose is to compensate the surviving heirs for the financial and non-financial losses and hardships they’ve personally experienced because of their family member’s death.
A survival action is filed by the decedent’s estate to recover compensation that the decedent could have pursued if they’d survived. The purpose is to compensate for the financial losses and trauma the victim suffered after they were injured and before they passed away. Survival actions are only permitted if an accident victim survives their fatal wounds for some period of time before passing.
Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Hawaii?
In Hawaii, a wrongful death lawsuit can only be initiated by certain parties. Specifically, the plaintiff must share a close personal relationship with the accident victim.
Parties who typically bring wrongful death claims include the victim’s:
- Spouse
- Child (biological and/or adoptive)
- Parent(s)
If none of these parties survives the victim, the right can belong to another close family member or someone else who was financially dependent on them.
A wrongful death claim can also be filed by a personal representative of the decedent’s estate. In these situations, the wrongful death lawsuit is filed on behalf of the decedent’s surviving heirs and/or their estate.
How Much Money is My Maui Wrongful Death Claim Worth?
It’s hard to say. Every wrongful death claim is different. Several things can potentially influence the amount of money that a family can receive in the wake of a loved one’s wrongful death.
- How much did you rely on the victim for financial support?
- What were the victim’s income and earning capacity?
- What was the victim’s life expectancy before they passed away?
- How much of an inheritance do you stand to lose because of their early death?
- Did the victim play a big role in supporting the household in non-monetary ways? (e.g., raising a family; performing regular household services?)
- What medical bills, if any, were generated before the victim passed away?
- How much did the victim’s funeral and burial cost?
- How close of a relationship did you and the victim have?
- What was the nature of that relationship?
- How difficult has it been for you to grieve your loss and figure out how to move forward?
Value is relative to the financial and household support the victim provided, as well as to your relationship with them. The more of an impact their death has on your life – financially and psychologically – the more you can generally expect to recover through a wrongful death lawsuit.
What Damages Can Be Awarded in a Wrongful Death Case?
Hawaii allows plaintiffs in wrongful death claims to pursue two different types of compensatory awards: economic damages and non-economic damages. Damages are permitted as long as they’re deemed to be “fair and just.”
Economic damages are paid to cover the objective financial costs and losses associated with a victim’s death, such as:
- Lost financial support, including income, wages, business interests, and benefits
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Medical bills incurred prior to death
- Loss of inheritance
- Loss of household support and services
Non-economic damages are awarded to help surviving heirs cope with the more personal (and harder-to-value) losses they suffer, including:
- Loss of marital care, advice, counsel, and attention
- Loss of parental care, training, and guidance
- Loss of companionship, protection, and society
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of filial care
- Emotional distress
Another type of compensation, known as punitive damages, can also potentially be awarded if a wrongful death lawsuit goes to trial. Hawaii permits punitive damages as a punishment for malicious, grossly negligent, or extremely reprehensible conduct. However, unlike compensatory damages, which are subject to a “preponderance of the evidence” standard, punitive damages are only permitted when there’s “clear and convincing” evidence of such awful behavior.
Can Contributory Negligence Affect a Hawaii Wrongful Death Settlement?
Yes. Hawaii’s modified comparative negligence doctrine applies to most personal injury claims, including those related to wrongful death. Under the state’s law, damages in a civil lawsuit are reduced proportionately to fault up to 50 percent. Sharing most of the blame for an accident in which a person is injured or killed is a total bar to recovery.
Rather than taking the plaintiff’s shared fault into account, it’s the victim’s contributory fault that matters.
Let’s say your spouse was killed in a traffic accident in Maui. Your damages are valued at $2 million. However, a jury determines that your family member was 20 percent responsible for their fatal car crash. As a result, your maximum financial recovery is limited to $1.6 million – 80 percent of its value.
Expect the insurance company and other defendants to point fingers and do everything possible to limit your family’s ability to get compensation. Your family member isn’t here to defend themself against claims of shared fault. Singleton Schreiber will anticipate these unpleasant strategies and have a plan in place to fight back.
We’ll work closely with trusted experts and build a legal claim that clearly highlights how others are responsible for your loved one’s death. Our Maui wrongful death attorneys will do everything possible to limit how much – if any – liability your loved one is assigned. The less blame they share, the more compensation your family can potentially receive through a wrongful death settlement or jury award.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Wrongful Death Attorney in Maui?
It won’t cost you a thing out of your own pocket to hire Singleton Schreiber after the wrongful death of a spouse, parent, or child in Maui, HI. Our Hawaii wrongful death lawyers fight for families on a contingency fee basis.
We only get paid if we win your wrongful death case. If we don’t win, you pay nothing.
Our fees are tied to the results we achieve. When we obtain a favorable settlement or win a verdict for your family at trial, we get paid out of those case results. It varies from case to case, but the standard fee for personal injury representation is typically between 30 and 40 percent, less any costs we’ve invested into litigating your wrongful death lawsuit.
How Long Do I Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit After a Loved One’s Death in Hawaii?
Hawaii gives grieving family members two years from a victim’s passing to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
You must file your wrongful death lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires. If you miss the filing deadline, you won’t be able to hold a negligent motorist, property owner, criminal assailant, government agency, manufacturer, or insurance company accountable for the pain and difficulties they’ve caused.
Don’t worry about filing deadlines and procedural requirements. Focus on grieving your loss and call our Hawaii wrongful death lawyers in Maui for assistance right away.
Trusted Maui Wrongful Death Attorneys Ready to Fight For Maximum Compensation
You’ve lost a close family member far too soon because someone was negligent. You should not have to deal with the aftermath or consequences alone. Singleton Schreiber is ready to help you fight for the financial justice you and your family deserve.
Our Maui wrongful death lawyers are award-winning litigators dedicated to helping everyday people stand up to powerful corporations in the wake of tragedy. Backed by decades of combined legal experience handling delicate and high-stakes personal injury disputes, we’ve helped clients win over $3 billion in damages.
Trust us to help you fight for maximum compensation in your wrongful death case, too.
Call our Maui, HI, law office today to learn more. There’s never a charge for an initial case evaluation.
