Honolulu Dog Bite Lawyer

Mixed Statute

Honolulu does not run a municipal animal control department. The Hawaiian Humane Society is the only authority outside the Honolulu Police Department able to rescue animals and investigate cruelty on behalf of the City and County of Honolulu — a nonprofit operating under city authority rather than a government agency.

That arrangement matters for a claim because of how Hawaii's statute actually works. HRS § 663-9 removes the need to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous, but Hawaii's appellate courts have held it does not create strict liability — the owner's conduct must still be shown unreasonable. The evidence that does that work is about how the dog was being kept, and on Oahu it lives in the Humane Society's investigation file.

One further Honolulu-specific point on deadlines. Because the City and County of Honolulu covers the whole of Oahu, any claim with a municipal defendant — a county-owned animal, an incident on county property — falls under HRS § 46-72's six-month written notice requirement rather than the general two-year period. On an island where the county is coextensive with the population centre, that captures more claims than it would elsewhere.

Report an Oahu bite to the Hawaiian Humane Society, which is the only authority outside the Honolulu Police Department able to investigate on behalf of the City and County of Honolulu. Ask for the investigation record: Hawaii's statute removes the need to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous but still requires showing they acted unreasonably, so evidence about how the dog was kept is the case. And note that a claim against the City and County requires written notice within six months under HRS § 46-72, not the general two-year deadline.

Read the full statute breakdown: Hawaii Dog Bite Laws → · Typical payouts: Hawaii Settlement Amounts →