Category Archives: Hawaii News Now

Hawaii family sues maker of electric hydrofoil surfboard over youth surf champion’s injury

A third wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in connection with a COVID-19 outbreak at Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo that has killed 27 residents.

Kona attorney Jeffrey Foster filed the civil suit Wednesday in Hilo Circuit Court on behalf of Tracy Bennedsen, Margaret Robinson and Roberta Plancich, sisters of 73-year-old Stephan Plancich of Ka‘u, who died Sept. 17 of a COVID-19 infection received at the facility.

Defendants in the case include Avalon Health Care Group and several of its subsidiaries; Tina Irwin, Avalon’s regional vice president for Hawaii; and governmental “Doe” entities.

In suit, family claims fatal machete attack at Maui mall was preventable

The family of a Maui man killed in a brutal machete attack at Queen Kaahumanu Center is suing the mall, its security firm and Maui County, claiming his death could have been prevented.

Big Island woman indicted for murder in connection with foster child’s death

“For the last two and a half years, the Garett-Garcia family has been stuck in a purgatory, waiting for Fabian’s killer to be held legally accountable for Fabian’s death,” said family attorney Jeffrey Foster.

Homeowners who lost everything in the Kilauea eruption will be covered by insurance after all

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Families who lost their home in the Kilauea eruption were angered to learn their insurance company wouldn’t cover the damages brought on by the lava.

A legal battle ensued and several months later, the insurance company appears to have changed its stance.

Lunel and Philip Haysmer paid $2,700 a year in premiums to Lloyds of London. When their home burned in early May at the height of the Kilauea eruption, they filed a claim with the insurance company.

In July, the company denied the claim saying that the fine print in the Haysmer’s policy specifically excluded all “direct or indirect” damages from lava.

The couple filed a lawsuit suing the company for failing to honor damage claims.

But a day before Thanksgiving, the couple learned Lloyds of London altered their decision to deny the the claims of the Haysmers, and other homeowners in similar situations.

“It couldn’t have been any better happening the day before Thanksgiving. It actually put us both into tears for a while. It has been such a stressful period not knowing whether you’d go the rest of your life on a very meager income or if we would have that money to rely on at some point,” Philip Haysmer said.

Judge denies insurance company’s bid to dismiss lava victims’ suit

HILO (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Big Island judge denied Monday an insurance company’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an elderly couple whose Leilani Estates home was lost in the Kilauea eruptions.

Philip and Lanell Haysmer are suing insurance company Llyods of London.

The couple, who are in their seventies, say they paid $3,000 a year for insurance, but their claims were denied without an adjuster even visiting their property.

Insurer denies claim submitted by elderly couple displaced by lava

PUNA, BIG ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) – Lloyd’s of London, a national insurer, has officially denied a claim submitted by an elderly couple who is now living in a friend’s garage.

The denial came via fax just days after the Leilani Estates residents sued for failing to give them lava damages — despite paying $2,700 a year in premiums.

Philip and Lunel Haysmer’s home burned down in early May when lava first entered into the Puna subdivision. According to their suit, the insurer, a syndication group led by Lloyd’s of London, has failed to honor their damage claims.

Their lawyer, Jeffrey Foster, said the couple is among a dozen homeowners whose claims are being denied.

Records: ER staff suspected abuse in death of 3-year-old foster child

KAMUELA, HAWAII (HawaiiNewsNow) – Emergency room staff at a Big Island hospital suspected abuse in the death of a 3-year-old boy who died last year in foster care, medical records show.

Fabian Garcia died in July, and the Hawaii County medical examiner determined it was due to blunt force trauma to the head.

But after a seven-month investigation, the medical examiner stopped short of saying the boy had been murdered.

Jeffrey Foster, the attorney for Fabian’s biological parents, is calling on anyone who might know about the toddler’s death to call police.

Foster provided Hawaii News Now a portion of Fabian’s hospital records, which show ER staff suspected abuse.