What to do after a car accident in New Hampshire

A crash in New Hampshire plays out under a different set of rules than almost anywhere else. Two facts drive the rest: the state settles injury claims on fault rather than no-fault, and it is the only state that doesn't require most drivers to buy liability insurance. How those two pieces fit together decides what you should do in the hours and weeks after a wreck.

First, take care of your health and the scene. Get examined by a doctor even if you feel okay, because some injuries surface days later and you'll want them tied to this crash in the record. Photograph the vehicles, the road, and any skid marks, exchange information with the other driver, and if police respond, get the report number before you leave.

New Hampshire is an at-fault state

New Hampshire handles crashes on a tort (at-fault) basis. The driver who caused the collision, through their insurer, is responsible for the injuries and property damage that result. There is no personal injury protection (PIP) system and no injury threshold you have to clear before you can sue, so none of Florida's 14-day treatment deadline or election paperwork applies here. You can pursue the at-fault driver's liability coverage, your own coverage, or both.

The insurance rule that makes New Hampshire unusual

Here's the part that surprises people. New Hampshire does not have a compulsory auto insurance law.¹ Drivers aren't required to carry liability coverage to get on the road. The state instead enforces "financial responsibility" after a crash: a driver who causes damage and can't pay for it faces suspension of their license and registration until they post security or otherwise resolve the claim. When a New Hampshire driver does buy insurance, the policy has to meet minimum limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage, usually written as 25/50/25.²

The practical warning: the driver who hit you might carry no insurance at all, and might not have the assets to cover a security deposit either. About one in seven U.S. drivers was uninsured as of 2022,³ and New Hampshire's opt-out system means you can't assume the other car is covered.¹ That is exactly why your own policy carries more weight here than in most states.

What your own policy pays no matter who was at fault

Every private passenger auto policy issued or renewed in New Hampshire has to include at least $1,000 per person in medical payments (MedPay) coverage.⁴ MedPay pays your reasonable medical costs from the crash regardless of fault, as long as the expenses are incurred within three years of the accident.⁴ New Hampshire also bars your own insurer from subrogating those MedPay dollars back out of a later settlement,⁵ so that money stays yours.

New Hampshire policies come with uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage built in. By law, your UM/UIM limits automatically match your own liability limits unless you reject or lower the coverage in writing.⁶ Given how many drivers in the state skip insurance, UM/UIM is often the coverage that actually pays when the at-fault driver can't. If someone in your household signed a written rejection, it binds every vehicle and driver on the policy until it's revoked in writing,⁶ so check what your declarations page really says.

You have three years to file

The statute of limitations for a New Hampshire car accident injury claim is three years from the date of the crash.⁷ The same statute covers property damage, so the deadline to sue over your vehicle is three years too.⁷ Miss it and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case, no matter how strong it is. There's a narrow discovery exception for an injury that couldn't reasonably have been found at the time,⁷ but it's not something to count on.

How shared fault changes your recovery

New Hampshire follows modified comparative fault. You can still recover as long as your share of the blame is not greater than the other side's,⁸ which means recovery is barred once you're 51% or more at fault. If you're partly responsible but stay at or below 50%, your damages drop by your percentage of fault.⁸ A $100,000 award with 20% of the fault assigned to you pays out $80,000. This is why an adjuster will often work to pin some of the blame on you: every point they assign comes straight off what you collect.

What you can and can't recover

New Hampshire puts no cap on the damages in an ordinary crash case. There's no ceiling on economic losses like medical bills and lost wages, and no ceiling on noneconomic damages like pain and suffering. The state's old $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages was struck down as unconstitutional in Carson v. Maurer in 1980 and was never replaced.⁹

Punitive damages are the exception. New Hampshire bars them in every case unless a specific statute authorizes them,¹⁰ and none does for an ordinary or even a drunk-driving crash. If a bar or restaurant over-served the driver who hit you, though, you may have a separate route: the state's liquor liability law lets a crash victim sue a licensee that negligently served alcohol to a minor or to a person who was already intoxicated.¹¹

Distracted driving, motorcycles, and evidence of fault

New Hampshire has a hands-free law with primary enforcement, so an officer can pull a driver over for the phone violation by itself. RSA 265:79-c, in force since July 1, 2015, bars holding a phone to talk, text, or browse while driving.¹² Drivers under 18 can't use any mobile device, even hands-free, except to report an emergency.¹² If the driver who hit you was on a phone, that violation is strong evidence of negligence.

Motorcycle wrecks have their own wrinkles. The state has no universal helmet law: only riders and passengers under 18 must wear approved headgear with a chin or neck strap.¹³ An adult rider who chose to go without a helmet doesn't automatically lose a claim over it. Lane splitting and lane filtering, riding between lanes of traffic, are both illegal in New Hampshire,¹⁴ which can weigh against a rider when fault is sorted out.

Your crash report and vehicle damage

The official crash report is prepared through the New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles,¹⁵ and it's central evidence for any claim. You can see how to request yours on our New Hampshire crash report page.

If your car was repaired but is now worth less because it carries an accident on its history, that lost value is its own claim in an at-fault state. Our New Hampshire diminished value guide covers how to pursue it.

When injuries are serious or an insurer fights over fault, it pays to talk with a lawyer early, well before the three-year clock runs out. You can find a New Hampshire attorney here.

This article is general information about New Hampshire law, not legal advice.

Sources

1. Insurance Information Institute, Background on: Compulsory Auto/Uninsured Motorists. https://www.iii.org/article/background-on-compulsory-auto-uninsured-motorists

2. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 264:20 (proof of financial responsibility; minimum limits). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-20.htm

3. Insurance Research Council, Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists: 2017 to 2023. https://insurance-research.org/uninsured-motorists/uninsured-and-underinsured-motorists-2017-2023

4. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 264:16 (medical payments coverage). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-16.htm

5. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 264:17 (no subrogation of medical payments). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-17.htm

6. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 264:15 (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-15.htm

7. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 508:4 (limitation of personal actions). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/508/508-4.htm

8. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 507:7-d (comparative fault). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/507/507-7-d.htm

9. Carson v. Maurer, 120 N.H. 925 (1980) (New Hampshire Supreme Court), via Justia. https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1980/80-017-0.html

10. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 507:16 (no punitive damages unless authorized by statute). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/507/507-16.htm

11. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 507-F:4 (liquor liability; negligent service). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/507-F/507-F-4.htm

12. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 265:79-c (use of hand-held mobile electronic devices). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-79-c.htm

13. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 265:122 (protective headgear). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-122.htm

14. New Hampshire General Court, RSA 265:121 (operating between lanes prohibited). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-121.htm

15. New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles, Accident Reports. https://www.dmv.nh.gov/tickets-accidents-or-restorations/accidents-reports