The family of a then-
17-year-old surfer who suffered a skull fracture after a collision with a canoe is suing three local businessmen
allegedly in control of the vessel on the afternoon of July 10, 2021.
At 4:50 p.m. that day, Christopher M. Flaherty, Kali Watson, and Christopher Kuaiwa were allegedly in a canoe “riding the waves at Tongg’s” near the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki, when their canoe “began to maneuver into the surfers’ lineup,” according to the civil complaint filed Wednesday in Oahu circuit court.
Kai Keuning, 17 at the time, was surfing with his friend Ethan Won while the pair attempted “to get away from the canoe, the canoe struck Plaintiff Kai Keuning on the head,” according to the complaint.
Keuning lost consciousness and Won pulled him above water by his surfboard leash. City Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division personnel pulled him to shore on a personal watercraft where they performed CPR after finding Keuning had no pulse, according to the complaint.
Keuning was taken “intubated and in an unresponsive state” while transported by Emergency Medical Services personnel to The Queen’s Medical Center.
Flaherty, Watson, and Kuaiwa’s “negligent, grossly negligent and/or reckless operation of the canoe” resulted in Keuning’s “serious and permanent injuries” that required months of rehabilitation and cost him a year of college.
“We were devastated by this accident and are truly happy that Kai is back in school. Given that this is a lawsuit, we cannot comment further,” said Watson, in a statement.
Flaherty and Kuaiwa
did not immediately reply to requests for comment from the Honolulu
Star-Advertiser.
Keuning continues to struggle with attention and focus-related issues, according to the family’s attorney, Jim Bickerton, and is attending college in Arizona as a special needs-based student.
“This was the hardest and most painful thing we have ever faced, watching our son nearly die and then seeing him suffer for months on end. It’s unbearable,” said David Keuning, Kai’s father, in
a statement.
Kai’s mother, Manami, said in a statement that the family wants to ensure the canoe riders are held accountable to keep other ocean users safe.
“If no-one holds them accountable, this is going to happen to someone else, and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do something to prevent that. A lawsuit brings accountability and responsibility. Canoe riders will think twice about riding through surf breaks on a weekend when surfers are riding the same waves,” she said.
The skull fracture created an inoperable blood clot, said Bickerton, that will require constant monitoring to ensure it does not cause a fatal stroke. Keuning’s medical bills totaled about $548,000, paid for by the family and their health insurance provider.
“These defendants … they decided to ride it (the canoe) right through the surf break. They thought they were really good … and could maneuver their way around the crowd. That turned out to be wrong. It has really cost Kai Keuning a lot,” said Bickerton, in an interview.
Flaherty is chairman and CEO of 3 Leaf Holdings Inc., a “conglomerate of companies affiliated through direct or indirect common ownership, management or control,” according to the firm’s website.
Watson is president and CEO of the nonprofit Hawaiian Community Development Board and a past director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands who has been nominated to reprise that role for Gov. Josh Green. Watson and Flaherty are partners in the Ikenakea Development company.
Kuaiwa is the loan fund manager for the Council on Native Hawaiian
Advancement.
