Expecting the state to cut you a check to pay out a claim for property damage or an injury? Don’t hold your breath. 

Tort claimants seeking financial damages from state agencies last year cost $249,344.72, according to data from the Department of Accounting and General Services. But most people don’t receive any money.

About half of the cases resolved by the state’s accounting department resulted in no payment of financial damages, according to data obtained via a public records request by Public First Law Center and analyzed by Civil Beat. 

The data, which covers claims not exceeding $25,000, is current as of this April.

A slip and fall in the first floor laundry room at a public housing building on Kalākaua Avenue, a trip and fall in the common area at the Maui Community Correctional Center, an unspecified injury at a swap meet at Aloha Stadium – all denied. 

About 25 claims were referred to the counties, most of them to the City and County of Honolulu. These include everything from a trip and fall at the Keʻehi Lagoon pickleball court to six claims of cars damaged by potholes on Oʻahu.  

A handful of claims were dropped because the statute of limitations had passed. Another roughly two dozen cases were still open as of April.

Some Agencies More Likely To Pay Up

The bulk of claims filed in 2025 are against the Department of Transportation, which accounts for more than 51% of cases. The agency’s bill to settle these claims was about $116,450 – higher than any other department. But more than half of the people who sought compensation from the transportation department didn’t get any money from the state.

Some agencies are more likely than others to settle a claim and cut someone a check. 

About 50% of the 21 claims against the Department of Education that have been resolved ended in a settlement, resulting in nearly $16,000 in total payouts. Most are for property damage, including a car hit by a baseball at Lanakila Park at Farrington High School, resulting in a $445 payout, and four cars damaged by trees or weed trimmers, costing state taxpayers more than $13,000. 

Thirteen claims against the education department remain open. Only seven were denied.

Compare that to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which has a denial rate of about 64% — higher than any other department with more than one claim.

Two people alleged they were assaulted at Hālawa Correctional Facility. Details in the records obtained by Public First Law Center are scant, but both claims were denied. 

Still, some claims against the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation were granted. The Attorney General’s Office settled a complaint that Hālawa Correctional Facility violated someone’s right to practice their religion, resulting in a $8,500 settlement. Another claim resulted in $10,000 to the victim of an assault at the Maui Community Correctional Center. 

Payouts Often Fall Short

The most expensive payout was $25,000 for property damage caused by the Department of Transportation. But that hefty payment still falls short of the $43,326 in financial damages that the person was requesting.

Some cases are passed on to other parties, such as counties, insurance companies or the attorney general’s office, to handle the claim. But claimants almost never get the amount of money they are asking for when seeking financial damages from a state agency, according to the data.

Of the 318 resolved claims against state agencies from 2025, only about 40% resulted in any payout. Those 126 cases cost taxpayers a total of nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

But 192 people didn’t get any of the compensation they’d asked for.

Even if people do get money, it often falls short of what they expected, sometimes by hundreds or thousands of dollars. About 60% of people got less than what they had asked for. 

“Data Dive” is supported in part by the Will J. Reid Foundation.