Alvarado v. Kiewit Pacific Co.

Opinion of the Court by

KIRIMITSU, J.

I. INTRODUCTION

This case requires us to outline how to distribute, between an employer and employee, the amount of a judgment or settlement recovered by an injured employee who prosecutes a third-party action alone. Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 386-8 (1993), 1 we hold that the starting point is (1) the total amount of the judgment or settlement, less (2) the reasonable litigation expenses and attorneys’ fees which are based solely upon the services rendered by the employee’s attorney in effecting recovery both for the benefit of the employee…