If you have experienced a personal injury in New Hampshire you may be entitled to compensation by filing a personal injury claim. There are several types of personal injuries covered by personal injury claims in New Hampshire including the following:
- truck accidents;
- slip and falls,
- motor cycle accidents,
- auto accidents and much more.
Before filing a personal injury claim it is important to seek personal injury help in New Hampshire first. This may help you to get the best settlement for injuries caused by an accident that was not your fault.
How Do I File a Claim in New Hampshire?
As soon as the accident and injury has taken place and you are certain the accident was not your fault, you should begin the process of gathering as much evidence as you can which proves the accident and the injury you received were not your fault. This may include the following:
- a police accident report, if the accident involved calling the police such as in any motor vehicle accident;
- reports written by eye witnesses of the accident;
- medical reports provided by your doctor showing the diagnosis for the injuries with potential recovery time;
- photos taken by you and eye witnesses at the accident site which prove who caused it;
- surveillance camera images recording the accident such as a slip and fall in a store or parking lot.
When the evidence has been compiled you should start to look for New Hampshire personal injury help from a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer. A personal injury settlement is far more likely to be a success if a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer works on your behalf and negotiates with the insurer of the person who was negligent which caused your injury.
Most accident cases are resolved through negotiations and an out of court settlement and hardly ever end up in court. Once your lawyer has filed your claim on your behalf the insurance company of the person who caused the accident will conduct an investigation into your case and either offer you a settlement amount or reject your claim.
If you think the insurance company is not compensating you sufficiently for all the financial and emotional hardship caused by your injury you could file an appeal to the insurer’s claims supervisor. However, before beginning the personal injury claims process you should check the statute of limitations for New Hampshire.
What Is the Statute of Limitations in New Hampshire?
Most civil actions including a personal injury case in New Hampshire are subject to a 3 year statute of limitations.
If you haven’t filed your personal injury claim within the statute of limitations in New Hampshire the at-fault party you are filing against may use the statute of limitations as part of their defense so they may file a motion to dismiss the case on the basis that the time given to file it has already ended.
Any legal personal injury claim will be lost forever as soon as your case is dismissed.
How Do I Prove Negligence in New Hampshire?
In order to prove negligence for an injury in an accident in the State of New Hampshire it is important to present the best evidence you have to the at-fault person’s insurer. Most personal injury lawsuits in New Hampshire involve negligence when an individual is held liable for doing, or in some cases for not doing, something that the average individual in the same situation would not, or would do.
Negligence claims can only be filed if some sort of injury has resulted from the negligence, which may, as well as a physical injury, also include emotional and financial injuries.
In New Hampshire, the injury victim’s own contributory negligence to his or her injuries decreases the amount of damages payable that may be claimed in proportion to the person who was at-fault for causing the injuries.
A victim (plaintiff) of an injury should be able to prove the following to be eligible for damages for injuries resulting from the at-fault person’s (defendant’s) negligence:
- the defendant owed a duty to commit an act or refrain from committing an act;
- the defendant violated this duty;
- this violation caused injury to the plaintiff;
- the defendant's actions, or lack of, were the cause of the injury;
- the plaintiff suffered damages such as loss of wages, hospital treatment bills, pain and suffering, etc.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Receive in New Hampshire?
Most personal injury claims in New Hampshire are calculated based on the following:
- punitive damages, if deliberate negligence can be proved;
- pain and suffering endured due to the injury;
- loss of enjoyment in life;
- lost income;
- medical treatment costs up to time of recovery.
How Do I Get Personal Injury Help in New Hampshire?
As soon as you have accumulated adequate evidence which proves who was the cause of your accident and injury, you should start the personal injury claims process in New Hampshire by choosing a personal injury lawyer.
Most New Hampshire personal injury attorneys offer a free case evaluation before the personal injury claim begins.
