Yes - if more than 2 years passed and no lawsuit was filed, the worst-case answer is that the claim is barred even if the crash clearly worsened your condition. In Hawaii, most injury lawsuits must be filed within 2 years under HRS § 657-7.

What surprises most people is this: an old MRI does not automatically defeat the claim. Hawaii law allows recovery when a crash aggravates a pre-existing condition. The at-fault driver is generally responsible for the worsening, not just for creating a brand-new injury from scratch. That is the eggshell plaintiff rule in practice: you are taken as you were found.

So the real fight is usually not "Did you have a prior problem?" It is:

• What was your baseline before the crash?
• What changed after the crash?
• How much of your current disability came from the collision?

Insurers use old MRIs by arguing the findings were degenerative, age-related, or already symptomatic. In Pearl City motorcycle and cycling crashes along Kamehameha Highway or near H-1 on-ramps, they often say the wreck caused only a "temporary flare," not lasting harm.

That argument gets weaker if your records show you were active and independent before the collision, then afterward needed more treatment, had new limitations, or lost the ability to live alone. The strongest proof is a timeline: pre-crash function, post-crash symptoms, treatment escalation, and doctor opinions separating pre-existing degeneration from post-crash aggravation.

If this was a motor-vehicle case, Hawaii's no-fault law also matters. To pursue pain-and-suffering damages, you generally must meet a tort threshold under HRS § 431:10C-306, including medical-rehabilitative expenses over $5,000 or a qualifying serious injury.

If the 2-year deadline has not passed, the old MRI is evidence to address - not a claim killer.