Legal
Hawaii and Maui County Blamed for Death in Lahaina Fire Suit
- Wrongful death suit is first to blame Hawaii, lawyers say
- Hawaiian Electric faces estimated $5 billion in liabilities
A destroyed house in Maui, Hawaii.
Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Maui County’s failure to sound sirens to warn residents of the danger of a fire that engulfed Lahaina last month was blamed in a lawsuit for the death of a woman who was unable to escape.
The lawsuit is the first following the deadliest US fire in more than a century to target county and state governments over the emergency response effort, according to lawyers who filed the complaint Monday in Hawaii state court.