New Hampshire Personal Injury Lawyers

The Deadlines to File a Personal Injury Claim in New Hampshire

Under New Hampshire law, there is a three-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims. This rule applies to all claims, including medical malpractice claims and wrongful death claims. To be clear, your personal injury lawsuit does not need to be settled within three years; instead, the claim must simply be filed within this time period. Notably, the three-year statute of limitations clock does not always begin running on the actual date of the accident. New Hampshire operates under a discovery of harm rule. This means that the statute of limitations will start running from the time that the victim knew or should have known about their injuries.

Fault is Based on Negligence

In most New Hampshire personal injury cases, fault must be established by proving that the defendant’s negligence, in some way, played a role in causing the victim’s injuries. In the broadest terms, negligence is defined as the failure to take proper care. Of course, what constitutes proper care will vary based on the individual circumstances of the case, the most important factor being the legal duties that the defendant owed the victim at the time of the accident. Ultimately, to prove negligence, your New Hampshire accident lawyer will need to prove each of the following required elements: 

• The extent to which the defendant owed the victim a duty of care
• That the duty of care was breached by the defendant
• That the defendant’s breach of duty contributed to causing the victim’s injuries
• The victim sustained real damage in the accident.

Filing a Lawsuit for a Catastrophic Injury

Amputations, brain injuries, and spinal cord damage can completely change a person’s life. Whereas a client was able to take care of himself and live independently, suddenly he needs much more help to accomplish the basic duties of everyday life.

If you have suffered a catastrophic injury, you might qualify to receive compensation. Filing a lawsuit is a necessary first step in the process. Reach out to a New Hampshire or Vermont personal injury attorney at Sabbeth Law for a free consultation to review your case.

Necessary Pre-Filing Steps

Before filing paperwork in court, you should perform the following with an attorney: 

• Review the accident that caused your catastrophic injury
• Identify who to hold legally responsible
• Gather evidence of the accident, including eyewitness statements and medical records. 

You might have been injured in a truck accident, car accident, or accident at work. Make sure you understand how the accident unfolded, which can help you determine fault. If a truck driver carelessly rammed into you, you can typically sue the truck driver and his employer. If you were injured on the job, you might not be able to sue your employer but could sue a negligent third party, like a vendor, customer, or manufacturer of a defective item. This evidence is vital to bringing a successful lawsuit.

Armed with this evidence, your lawyer will know who to sue and which court to bring your case in. The legal team at Sabbeth Law handles major cases in superior and federal courts. In these types of cases, Sabbeth Law brings in the best experts from throughout the United States and will co-counsel in appropriate cases to ensure our clients get the best possible representation.

Complete a Complaint

You commence a lawsuit by filing a complaint in court. In this document, you identify basic facts about how you were injured. You also make a request for compensation. After filing, you should send a copy to the person or business you are suing, who is the defendant. The defendant has a chance to respond within a certain amount of time.

Both New Hampshire and Vermont have detailed rules for serving legal documents, and you must follow them. If you hire a personal injury lawyer, then he or she can handle all these tasks for you.

Following Timelines

Both Vermont and New Hampshire have statutes of limitations, which limit the amount of time a victim has to file a lawsuit in court. If you file after this time limit, then a judge will dismiss the case. In a personal injury context, you have the following amount of time: 

• Vermont allows 3 years to file a lawsuit for injuries, but only 2 years to file a lawsuit for wrongful death, while
• New Hampshire allows 3 years from the date of the accident to file suit.

It is vital that you do not go past these deadlines. You can lose out on valuable compensation if you do not file in a timely manner.

Negotiating a Settlement

The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits in the United States settle. You can negotiate and settle a dispute at any time, including while a lawsuit is progressing. Still, a case must be properly built to maximize the settlement. Sometimes we will include life care plans, animations, video, and any other number of pieces of evidence to maximize the value of your claim for settlement negotiations.

Not only does that put us in the best possible position to get full and fair justice for our clients, but it also puts us ahead of the game if settlement negotiations break down and we are forced to litigate our clients’ cases. In our experience, settlement has many advantages if done correctly. Otherwise, it is highly unlikely to yield full and fair value.

How to Prove Liability in New Hampshire Personal Injury Cases

Personal injury claims are governed by state law. In New Hampshire, liability for a personal injury lawsuit must be established under the state’s comparative fault rules. The comparative fault legal standard has many important implications for a victim’s case. Specifically, this standard controls:

• How fault must be proven
• How liability is to be divided.

What exactly you need to do to prove fault in any personal injury case depends on the specific circumstances, including the nature of the accident. That being said, all New Hampshire personal injury claims are evidence-based cases. To establish liability, you must prove the defendant’s fault—the more evidence you have, the better. For this reason, all accidents must be comprehensively investigated by an experienced New Hampshire personal injury lawyer. You need an attorney who is ready to hit the ground running—seizing on all of the evidence needed to prove fault and maximize your compensation.

Liability is Divided in a Proportionate Manner

As New Hampshire is a comparative fault state, it is important to highlight how liability is divided. In some cases, the division of liability is straightforward. For example, if a drunk driver ran through a red light, hitting a pedestrian who otherwise was safely crossing the road at a crosswalk, that driver would likely be at fault for the entirety of the crash. Therefore, they would be held liable for 100 percent of the victim’s injuries.

However, in many real-world personal injury cases, dividing liability is far more complex. This is because sometimes two or more parties share the blame for the same accident. In shared liability personal injury cases, each party’s precise level of fault must be determined so that liability can be divided and assigned in a proportional manner. A victim can even be held partially liable for their own injuries.

For example, imagine that you were involved in a commercial truck accident, and you sustained $30,000 in damages in the crash. After investigation, it is determined that the trucking company is at fault for 80 percent of the crash, but that you are also to blame for 20 percent of the wreck. In this example, you would be held liable for 20 percent of your own damages, or $6,000. Therefore, your financial recovery from the trucking company would be limited to $24,000, instead of $30,000. Clearly, the division of fault is a key factor in New Hampshire personal injury cases. If fault is disputed in your case, it is critically important that you get a qualified lawyer by your side as soon as possible.

What Are the Different Types of Damages?

In New Hampshire personal injury cases, victims are legally entitled to seek compensation that is equal in value to the value of their damages. Understanding the different categories of damages is essential to pursuing full compensation for your injuries.

Economic damages represent the tangible financial losses you experience due to an accident. These include emergency medical expenses, all other medical bills, future medical costs for ongoing treatment and rehabilitation, physical therapy or psychological counseling, lost wages from missed work, long-term disability that affects your earning capacity, and property damage to your vehicle or personal belongings. Economic damages are typically easier to calculate because they come with receipts, bills, and documentation.

Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that don’t have a clear dollar amount attached. These include pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of lifestyle enjoyment, and the overall impact the injury has had on your quality of life. While harder to quantify, non-economic damages are just as real and deserve compensation.

In rare cases involving particularly egregious conduct, enhanced damages may be available. These are designed to punish the defendant for reckless or intentional behavior and deter similar conduct in the future.

To get full compensation, victims must be able to prove their losses. Unfortunately, the defendants, often large insurance companies, are known to fight hard to limit how much injured victims can recover. At Sabbeth Law, our team has a deep understanding of New Hampshire’s personal injury laws and vast experience with the general claims process. We can help ensure that you are able to recover the compensation that you truly deserve.

Property Damage Recovery

Many personal injury accidents also result in significant property damage, particularly in vehicle collisions. In New Hampshire, you have the right to seek compensation for property damage separate from your bodily injury claims. Property damage compensation typically covers the cost to repair or replace your vehicle, personal items damaged in the accident, and the diminished value of your vehicle even after repairs.

Insurance companies often try to minimize property damage claims or pressure victims into accepting quick settlements that don’t reflect the true cost of repairs. Our attorneys can help you document property damage thoroughly, obtain accurate repair estimates, and negotiate with insurers to ensure you receive fair compensation. Whether your property damage is minor or your vehicle is a total loss, we fight to recover every dollar you’re owed for property damage resulting from someone else’s negligence.

Future Medical Costs and Diminished Earning Capacity

Serious injuries often require ongoing medical treatment long after the initial accident. Future medical costs can include surgeries, rehabilitation, medication, assistive devices, home modifications, and long-term care. In New Hampshire, you are entitled to compensation for these anticipated expenses, but calculating them requires careful analysis and expert testimony.

Similarly, if your injury prevents you from working at the same capacity as before, you may be entitled to compensation for diminished earning capacity. This goes beyond simply calculating lost wages to date—it accounts for the impact your injury will have on your ability to earn income for the rest of your working life. We work with medical experts, life care planners, and economic experts to accurately project future medical costs and calculate the true value of your diminished earning capacity, ensuring that your settlement or verdict accounts for your long-term needs.

Navigating Insurance Claims

Dealing with insurance companies after an accident can be one of the most frustrating aspects of the recovery process. Insurance adjusters may seem friendly, but their primary goal is to minimize what the insurance company pays out. They may use various tactics to devalue your claim, including requesting recorded statements to find inconsistencies, offering quick but lowball settlements before you understand the full extent of your injuries, or disputing the severity of your injuries and the necessity of your treatment.

Understanding insurance claims is crucial to protecting your rights. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the at-fault party’s insurance company, and doing so without legal representation can harm your case. You should also be cautious about signing any releases or accepting settlements without first consulting an attorney. Once you accept a settlement and sign a release, you typically cannot pursue additional compensation later, even if your injuries turn out to be more severe than initially thought.

Our attorneys have extensive experience handling insurance claims and know the tactics insurers use to reduce payouts. We communicate with insurance companies on your behalf, protecting you from their strategies while building a strong case that demonstrates the full value of your claim. Whether through negotiation or litigation, we work to ensure that insurance companies fulfill their obligations and provide the compensation you deserve.

Personal Injury Attorney Fees

At Sabbeth Law, our New Hampshire personal injury lawyers handle cases on a contingency basis. You pay nothing until we win or settle your legal case. Upfront costs and out-of-pocket fees are not an issue that you need to worry about. Even better, we offer free, no-obligation consultations. Call our law firm to set up a free review of your case. Our attorneys will answer your questions, explain the law, and put together a plan of action to get you justice and the maximum available compensation.

A serious accident will disrupt your life in many different ways. Beyond the stacks of medical bills, you may need to take time off from work, thereby resulting in missed paychecks. The last thing you need to worry about is another expense. There is good news: You can always afford to hire the best personal injury lawyer in New Hampshire.

How to Hire the Best NH Personal Injury Lawyer for Your Case

You may see or hear numerous ads for injury and accident lawyers. How do you find the right one for your case and your specific situation? Read on to find out what qualities you should look for and how to find lawyers that meet your needs.

Hire an Injury Attorney Who Is Local

This may seem pretty obvious, but many law firms you see advertised on TV are actually nationwide. They vet calls from all across the country and have various lawyers take on these cases. These law firms get hundreds of clients and try to settle these cases as quickly as possible. They offer no personalized service and no local office to help. This means you may have to settle for a lowball offer. Don’t let this happen to you. Choose a law firm that actually has experience working cases in New Hampshire. That way you can meet with the lawyer in person and can get a feel for his or her personality.

Hire an Injury Lawyer Who Will Properly Value Your Claim

You should ask your lawyer how he or she will value your claim. This is an important skill that all good lawyers need to know. The right lawyer will calculate both current and future economic damages. They will also account for emotional damages. If the accident has caused a permanent disability, that will also add to your claim. There are many calculators available to help with valuation. If your lawyer isn’t interested in helping you get the most money possible, and simply wants to hurry up and settle, find a different lawyer.

Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer With Experience Handling Your Type of Accident

Each state has different laws, but New Hampshire personal injury lawyers know the laws of that state. They know how long you have to file a claim and what your chances are of winning. They have likely dealt with hundreds or even thousands of cases similar to yours. They know what evidence to look for and how to deal with insurance companies. They can determine whether you should seek a settlement or opt for a trial. They have the various protocols down pat. Experience is also important. There are many types of personal injury. For example, if you’ve suffered an injury in a car accident, you want an attorney experienced in those types of cases. Each type of case is different, so you want to be sure to work with an attorney who will do the best work for you.

Hire a Personal Injury Attorney Who You Like as a Person

In a sense, finding a lawyer is like finding a date. You want someone whose personality you mesh with. While you won’t be spending romantic dates with your lawyer, you will likely be spending a lot of time together over the next few months. The lawyer you choose has an obligation to protect your legal rights. This person will need you to open up to them and tell them your side of the story so he or she can build a solid case for you. If you don’t feel comfortable with your lawyer or have a hard time communicating with them because they don’t explain their answers, it’s time to find someone new.

Hire an Injury Lawyer Who Has a History of Solid Results

You might find a lawyer who is nice and willing to work with you, but how far will that take you? You are depending on your injury attorney to get you the compensation you need. If your lawyer is so nice that he’s afraid to go to court for you, that’s a red flag. You want someone who is willing to go the extra mile for you. Ask about recent settlements and verdicts before committing to a lawyer. If the lawyer has only a few or none at all, or the award amounts are quite small, find someone who can prove they have what it takes to help you recover compensation.