Hawaii

• 2 years with Discovery Rule.  (§657-7 – Damage to persons or property)
• Medical malpractice – 2 years with Discovery Rule, maximum SOL of 6 years from date of act.  6 year rule does not apply if malpractice was concealed by fraud.  Minors have until age ten or within 6 years, whichever is longer. (§657-7.3 – Medical torts; limitation of actions; time)

• $375,000 cap for non-economic damages, with exceptions for certain types of damages, including mental anguish. (§663-8.7 – Limitation on pain and suffering)

• 2 years from date of death. (§663-3 – Death by wrongful act)

• $375,000 cap for non-economic damages, with exceptions for certain types of damages, including mental anguish. (§663-8.7 – Limitation on pain and suffering)

• Hawaii Department of Health
• Office of Health Care Assurance, State Licensing Section
• Adult and Community Care Services
• Executive Office on Aging
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Services

• Dependent elder abuse; suits by the State; civil penalties – (§28-94)

• Special Focus Facilities: The Worst Nursing Homes Of All

I get a large number of questions from nursing home patients and families regarding focused on finding the 'best' facilities available. For some reason, I get an even larger number of people who ask me who the 'worst' facilities are. Maybe there's some sport associated with identifying these facilities? But for to today, let's feed the need to identify the poor performing nursing homes-- the Special Focus Facilities.

If you are a nursing home operator or employee the Special Focus Facility (SFF) is definitely a club you want no part of. Rather, the SFF was created by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) as an assemblage of facilities that deserve special recognition for the inadequate care they typically provide to their patients....

• Prison Sentence For Caregiver Who Ignored Patients Bed Sores 

Whenever I hear about a “remotely-operated” care home, I automatically become a bit suspicious.

Patients in any nursing home deserve ‘round-the-clock care, so I wonder sometimes how these “facilities” can get away with such bare-bones staffing.

I was reminded of this disturbing reality recently as I read through a horrifying story from Hawaii. According to The Maui News, an 86-year-old patient in an unnamed “community care facility” in Oahu became so neglected that he developed 11 fatal stage-four bed sores. His main caretaker, nurse Ross Rasmussen, says he only checked in on his patient once a month...