Workers Compensation establishes the liability of an employer for injuries or sicknesses which arise out of and in the course of employment. The liability is created without regard to the fault or negligence of the employer. Benefits generally include hospital and other medical payments and compensation for loss of income; if the injury is covered by the statute, compensation under the statute will be the employees only remedy against her or her employer. The workers compensation systems in place in each state are exclusive, no-fault remedies for most workplace injuries, and workers compensation attorneys guide injured workers through the process, to ensure that they receive appropriate income replacement payments and other monetary awards.
Hakalau is a small unincorporated community located along the Hamakua coast about 15 miles (24 km) north of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was once a thriving, multiethnic sugar plantation town up until the early 1960s at which time the plantation originally called Hakalau Plantation Co. began to be phased-out. Small family farms now exist growing tropical fruits, taro, flowers, coffee, or cattle. Some historical sites remain from the plantation era. The privately owned sugar plantation managers home built in the early 1900s still exists today, along with two warehouses built in 1920 and an old theater, presently operating as the Hakalau U.S. Post Office. Located just below the ocean cliff where the Hakalau stream meets the bay, the old sugar mill ruins are still visible. During the 1800s the Hakalau Bay was used to transfer goods and passengers from smaller boats to larger ships. Today, the bay has been used mostly by local surfers and fisherman. Hakalau now has a small, day use, state owned park with picnic tables and ocean access for recreational use, located at the bottom of the Hakalau gulch.