I would like to find out if a particular medical center has been
involved in lawsuits and how to get copies of the files of those
lawsuits. The center is located in Honolulu Hawaii. I know of one
lawsuit that they are named as a defendant in, but I would like to
know how to systematically find what other suits they may have been a
party to (malpractice, etc) and then how to get copies of those files.
If I have to sign up to access a particular database that is okay but
I would like to know if they in fact provide those kinds of answers
and the methods involved in locating the actual file.

The sites above are useful but if you want to use the same resource
lawyers do to get the full scoop including copies of files, please go
to http://www.lexis.com
(please note the correct spelling of "lexis" or you'll get info on a
car. This site costs lots of money but they have a one week free
trial. Just click on the subscription information link on their main
page. If you need support from them see
 http://support.lexis-nexis.com/email/default.asp

To amplify what's been said above:

You need Lexis-Nexis services. Try Court Link. You don't need a
subscription to use this service. There are PDF documents available
(second link allows you to download them) which will tell you
beforehand which court records you can access (state and/or federal
courts).

http://www.lexisnexis.com/lncourtlink/
http://www.courtlink.com/courts/index.html

Hope this helps,

larre-ga

All good information here. One comment about Lexis and then one
suggestion:

Lexis is wonderful. I subscribe and have used it for years. Problem
is: It only contains "reported cases" which will mean Hawaii
Intermediate Court of Appeals and your Supreme Court. Trial court
decisions are almost never reported on Lexis, at least at the state
level. Now, Federal District Court decisions are typically carried on
Lexis, but they would hear VERY few malpractice cases - perhaps none -
it would be very difficult to obtain jurisdiction to get into federal
court.

You might try this link: http://www.hsba.org/Hawaii/Court/cour.htm and
search for the medical center. Here's another:
http://www.hsba.org/index/court/CASELAW.HTM
(Substantial portions are still under construction).

All said, the single best way is to go down to the court clerk's
office and have them search the name of the medical center as
"defendant" and then have them print out the "dockets" which will tell
you, in outline format, what the progress of the case was - e.g. did
it settle, go to trial, were other parties brought in or dismissed and
who were they, etc. Then if you want to get copies of the plaintiff's
complaint and see the actual allegations, you can order them up.

This task will be easier if the Hawaiian counties use "case codes"
where, typically in a suffix to the case number, some code indicates
the type of case: Malpractice, contract, property dispute, etc.

You shouldn't have any problem getting case documents at the court
clerk's office.

Incidentally, if there is some automated access that is available
outside the courthouse, the clerk will tell you.

Tom
Good luck,

Just one more follow-up. I (humbly) suggest that if you need this for
anything substantial for this quest the best thing is to contact a
lawyer in Hawaii. The web is a great resource for many things but you
might need a professional to guide you to not only  the information
but the relevance and interpretation of what you get.

I am sorry for not thinking of search_expert's idea - EXCELLENT. 

I contacted an attorney in another state once for exactly this
purpose. He sent a paralegal over to the court (these paralegals are
amazing - they are fast, efficient, and smart) and charged me
something like $40 per hour to look up a LOT of stuff. Well, it cost
me $200 or so for copies of all the pleadings (complaint and answers)
and docket sheets on something like 15 cases.

Maybe an idea . . .

I think what the questioner (or some researcher) needs to do is to
contact whichever state court it is in Hawaii that handles lawsuits. 
Many times lawsuits are never placed on the Internet, especially if
they never go to trial, and to view lawsuits you may actually have to
go to the office where they are filed.  I know that is the case where
I live.  Then hope that they are indexed in some way so you can find
all the lawsuits with the hospital as a defendant. (Not all that many
years ago, when I worked in a rural Oregon county, the indices were
made by hand.) You'll probably have to wait until Monday, but a
telephone call to the court clerk's office (or whatever it's called in
Hawaii) should solve the problem.

Google search results for "Kapiolani Medical Center" lawsuit - most
results are popular press articles, and most of the mentions don't
involve malpractice. However, the information might provide you more
resources for courts to check, per Tom's suggestion.

://www.google.com/search?num=30&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&client=googlet&q=%22Kapiolani+Medical+Center%22+lawsuit

~L