What changed recently is not in your favor: federal trucking records are still kept for surprisingly short periods, and ELD supporting documents often only have to be kept for 6 months. That means a trucking company can "lose" key evidence long before an injured person on a fixed income realizes how serious the damage is.

A realistic Pearl City example: a retiree gets hit near Kamehameha Highway by a harvest-season grain or produce truck headed through Oahu work-zone traffic. At first, it seems like a bad strain. Months later, the pain is still there, Medicare is paying, and the trucking insurer starts acting like it was just an ordinary fender-bender. By then, the driver's logs, dispatch records, onboard data, and maintenance records may already be gone unless someone demanded they be preserved early.

The general rule in Hawaii is this: you usually have 2 years to file a personal injury lawsuit under HRS § 657-7.

But Hawaii is also a no-fault state. To step outside no-fault and pursue a bodily injury claim from a vehicle crash, you generally need to meet the threshold, such as more than $5,000 in medical-rehabilitative expenses or a qualifying serious injury.

With a truck crash, the target also matters:

• Driver: negligent driving
• Motor carrier: hiring, supervision, maintenance, log violations
• Broker: sometimes involved, but not automatically liable just because it arranged the load

Insurance can be much higher than an ordinary car policy. Interstate commercial carriers often must carry at least $750,000, with $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 required for some cargo types.

If it has been less than 2 years, options may still be open. If it has been more than 2 years, the case may still need a close look if there are unusual facts, but delay is dangerous. For insurer misconduct, Hawaii complaints go to the DCCA Insurance Division. For crash reports in Pearl City, records usually run through the Honolulu Police Department.