File a civil Complaint in Hawaii state court within 2 years of the fall. That is what controls your deadline under HRS § 657-7.

The insurance company will tell you your back was already messed up, so the hotel, landlord, or nursing home in Kaneohe does not owe much, or owes nothing.

What is actually true: if a property hazard made a pre-existing condition worse, you can still have a valid Hawaii injury claim. They do not get a free pass just because you had a bad back before. The fight is usually over how much worse the fall made it, not whether you are allowed to bring the claim at all.

Do the practical stuff fast:

• Get the incident report before it disappears.
• Ask for any security video immediately.
• Photograph the hazard: wet tile, broken stair, bad lighting, missing handrail, crowded exit.
• Get your old records and your new records so the change is documented.
• Keep every bill, including follow-up care, imaging, and missed work.

If this happened at a Kaneohe hotel, apartment complex, or care facility, names matter. Get the exact legal name of the property owner and management company. Oahu properties are often run by one company and owned by another.

If it was a nursing home fall, also report unsafe conditions to the Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Health Care Assurance. That will not replace your lawsuit, but it can help lock down facts.

Do not let them push you into a quick statement like, "my back was already bad anyway." The real question is whether the fall caused a new injury or a measurable aggravation. During tax season, people settle cheap because medical debt is piling up. Once you sign a release, you usually cannot go back for more.