House Bill 885 and Senate Bill 1039 have been brought before state Legislature to pay off claims against the state, with both cases involving Big Island public charter schools, according to a Hawaii Tribune Herald report.
"House Bill 885 and its Senate companion, SB 1039, seek $75,000 to settle the 2016 Kona Circuit Court case of Pamela Miller-Potter," the report said.
According to the report, Miller-Potter was attending a Waimea Middle School night meeting and fell over a bench in an area of the hallway that the lights had burnt out. Miller-Potter is said to have suffered facial injuries, dental injuries, shoulder and knee pain resulting in a knee replacement and scarring, the report said. A mediated settlement of $75,000 was agreed upon.
Funds for this settlement were unable to be appropriated in 2019 due to the pandemic, the Hawaii Tribune Herald reported.
"The other Big Island case was an administrative wrongful termination case brought by the Hawaii Government Employees Association on behalf of Ardith Renteria, former education director of Volcano School of Arts and Sciences. A hearings officer entered a judgment of $74,053.25 in Renteria’s favor," as reported by the Hawaii Tribune Herald.
Another item in the bill and the largest of the settlements is a total of $995,000 is requested for the family of Nickolaus Siu, a 26-year-old motorcyclist killed in 2014 as a result of hazardous road conditions that caused him to lose control.
"Siu’s family sued, claiming the state failed to adequately warn motorists of hazardous conditions on the roadway," the report said.
Both bills have passed first hearings, but neither bill has been scheduled for a hearing with judiciary and money committees.