County settles Makena lawsuit

Associated Press

Maui County has agreed to pay $316,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a British national injured in a water accident in 1994, Corporation Counsel James Takayesu said.

The state has agreed to pay at least an additional $75,000, he said.

Bryan O'Connor filed suit after suffering a spinal cord injury at the shorebreak of the state park at Makena on May 11, 1994. The suit said the county and state were negligent for failing to station lifeguards and post warning signs.

After the suit was filed, the Legislature passed measures that led to more and better signs at state beaches, said James Krueger, O'Connor's attorney. The placement of warning signs helped to give the state and county immunity from later lawsuits, said Krueger.

Krueger also represents Nejat Atahan of Turkey, who became a quadriplegic in an accident at the Makena shorebreak in September 1994. That case is set to go to binding arbitration later this month, Krueger said.