The state must pay the entire $1.1 million awarded to a Big Island man injured in a head-on collision, even though the state's negligent design of a highway was held only 20 percent liable for causing the crash, according to a Hawai'i Supreme Court decision this week.

State lawyers argued that a 1994 law limits a government entity to the percentage of fault, but the high court disagreed.

In a 41-page opinion issued Tuesday, the court ruled unanimously that the law didn't negate an earlier statute holding a government entity responsible for the entire amount if the government knew about the defect in a highway and about previous accidents at the site.

The high court ruled in favor of Jeffrey Lloyd Kienker, who suffered injuries when his car was hit head-on by another auto driven by Danielle Bauer.

Kienker's lawyer Joseph Ahuna Jr. said that because Bauer cannot be located and probably doesn't have enough money, he asked that the state pay the entire $1.1 million, minus $25,000 from Bauer's insurance.

Ahuna said the ruling is a "wake-up call" for the state to fix defects that it knows about, including where accidents occur.

"Once the state knows there's a defect and there's been accidents, they have to act more responsibly in addressing the problem as soon as possible and not put it on the back burner and let it sit and take their sweet own time because they will be only liable for their proportionate share," he said.

Kienker, a 51-year-old Kona resident who suffered leg and internal injuries and was hospitalized for several days, believes that the state should be held responsible.

"If they (the highways) are not safe," Kienker said yesterday, "people can be killed right and left."

The state's lawyers were disappointed by the ruling. Deputy Attorney General Dorothy Sellers said her office will consider asking legislators to clarify the law to stipulate that the state should pay only its percentage share.

"The state is not looking for taxpayers to take on other people's liability," Sellers said.

She also said the state already fixes faulty designs. And she said most accidents are caused by drivers, not by defects in the highways.

Sellers said she knows of only one other similar case, which is pending on Maui.

The state high court's decision is over the 1997 crash at intersection of the two-lane Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway and the Police Station Access Road. The intersection was found to be operating beyond capacity because there were no left-turn lanes or other methods taken to reduce congestion, the ruling said.

Kienker was driving north on the highway when he was struck head-on by a car driven by Bauer, a 25-year-old Big Island resident at the time. Bauer struck Kienker's car when she crossed the center line, the high court said.

Bauer was trying to avoid a car that abruptly stopped behind other cars lined up along the highway because a car ahead was waiting to turn left onto the access road.

Big Island Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra found that the state breached its duty to reasonably design, operate and maintain the highway.

The judge found that there were other accidents at the site and the state was notified about the problems.

Bauer was found negligent for speeding at 60 miles an hour and crossing the center line.

The issue of whether the state should be held liable for the entire $1.1 million involves the legal doctrine holding that any one party found at fault in a personal injury case can be held liable for the entire award.

The doctrine is important for personal injury plaintiffs because it allows them to recover from "deep pocket" defendants who can pay for awards when others, even if they are more culpable, are penniless.

The rationale is that it shouldn't be the innocent injured person who should bear the loss if defendants can't pay. Rather, it should be the other defendants, including a government entity and even if the degree of fault is as small as 1 percent.

The 1994 law limited a government entity's exposure to "no more than that percentage share of the damages attributable to the government entity."

But in the opinion written by Associate Justice Simeon Acoba, the high court said lawmakers did not specify that the law overrules a previous law that allows the government entity to be responsible when it had "reasonable prior notice of a prior occurrence under similar circumstances."

Kienker, a part-time computer consultant and Web site designer, said he still sees specialists for the pain from the injuries. He applauds the ruling for highlighting the responsibility of government to make sure the roads and highways are safe.

"I would prefer the people who were responsible for the inadequate road and poor design of the highway to do their job right," he said.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.