Honolulu, HI asked in Car Accidents for Hawaii

Q: Suing a parking garage for damages to my car as a result of failure to maintain a traffic control device.

I was driving into the Hale Pauahi public parking garage on 155 N. Beretania St, Honolulu, and my car hit a triangular piece of metal that was installed as a traffic control device. The metal object was the exact same color as the wall and it had scratches and markings that made it practically invisible to see (like an optical illusion) from my line of sight. A reasonable person could not distinguish that or how much it is protruding into the road because it did not have the yellow reflective color or paint as required by MUTCD. (I have photos of all of it and its backside that was marked with warning colors and reflective material). I want to sue them for damages. Do I have a case?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Little Neck, NY

A: You could possibly have a case. More information would be needed to make a more meaningful assessment. Keep in mind that as a general rule, claims involving public entities in many jurisdictions require compliance with notice of claim statutes. This means that in addition to a statute of limitations that could be in the order of years in many jurisdictions, notices of claims could be in the order of days, depending on the jurisdiction. Good luck

Tim Akpinar

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