Kaua’i County attorney Hartwell Blake told the County Council Thursday there is opposition from private lawyers to beach safety bills before the Legislature. The county, via its lobbyist, former council member Billy Swain, is trying to get at least one
Kaua’i County attorney Hartwell Blake told the County Council Thursday there is opposition from private lawyers to beach safety bills before the Legislature.
The county, via its lobbyist, former council member Billy Swain, is trying to get at least one bill passed to make the island’s beaches safer.
Blake said the county is in favor of Senate Bill 796 and House Bill 280 (the same bill but with different numbers in the separate chambers of the Legislature) which would grant counties immunity from suits from drowning victims and their families.
“The bills offer liability for lifeguards except in cases of gross negligence. Last year there was a (similar) bill which passed the House and Senate, but it called for indemnity, and Governor (Ben) Cayetano vetoed it,” Blake explained.
But this year’s bill seeks simple “straight” liability, and Blake talked optimistically about it’s possible passage.
Immunity, not indemnity, is what the state has. Currently the county doesn’t have either, although, according to authorities, none of the suits filed after drownings on Kaua’i involved lifeguard misbehaviors or mistakes.
It has always been “failure to warn,” said county officials.
But, Blake said, the plaintiff bar, an organization of attorneys who represent litigants, “has come out against immunity. They feel that someone injured has a right to sue.”
According to Blake, Sen. Jonathan Chun (D-7th District) said fear of lawsuits results in no actions taken, which leads to drownings and injuries.
“The counties are all in support. The only opposition to SB 796 and HB 280 are from the plaintiff’s bar,” Blake reiterated.
Currently, the policy of the state on its beaches –which on Kaua’i includes Polihale State Park, where the island’s first confirmed drowning of 2001 occurred Feb. 16 — is not to have lifeguards anywhere.
Kaua’i County has picked up responsibilities for certain areas from the state, including Lydgate Park. The county hires the lifeguard and the maintenance person at Lydgate and pays them, said Councilman Ron Kouchi.
“We have been funding this out of our own budget, and we need three more lifeguards” for other beaches without lifeguards, Kouchi said.
The council scheduled further talks about the lifeguard situation for its March 15 committee meeting.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
