Understanding Personal Injury Law

Tips You Should Know Before Filing A Personal Injury Lawsuit In New Hampshire

9 February 2016

Celina Nichols

If you are thinking about filing a personal injury lawsuit, then you have a pretty complicated road ahead of you. You'll need to establish evidence and navigate quite a few laws in order to get the compensation that you deserve. However, some laws can be pretty confusing and unintuitive. Despite the fact that they can be hard to understand, these laws can single-handedly make or break your case.

To help you build your lawsuit, here are some of the more specific and unique laws that you will encounter when filing in New Hampshire:

What is the statute of limitations?

The statute of limitations is 3 years for a personal injury lawsuit in New Hampshire.

Were you a minor at the time of the injury?

If you were a minor when you were injured, then you could not legally file a lawsuit at that time. As a result, your timer is essentially delayed until you legally become an adult, at which point you can file. In other words, you can normally file your lawsuit as soon as you turn 18, and your window of opportunity ends when you turn 21.

Did you not discover your injuries until much later?

If you didn't discover your injuries, then the same rules often apply, with your 3 years beginning on the date that you discovered your injuries. There are a couple of exceptions, and you can get into pretty murky territory if you are dealing with a medical malpractice case. In some situations, the clock might start ticking on the date of your last treatment with the defendant, which could potentially change your case quite a bit. In order to clear this up for your specific case, you want to consult a lawyer, since medical malpractice cases tend to be very unique.

Were you in an auto accident?

If you were in a car crash, then you can either file a claim with your insurance company, file a claim with the other party's insurance company, or simply pursue a lawsuit. Not all states go by this rule, so if you do end up getting in an auto accident in another state, you want to check to see if they are an at-fault or no-fault state.

In no-fault states, you can't actually file a lawsuit for a car accident unless you can prove that the car accident caused you serious injuries, such as paralysis or loss of a limb.

To learn more, contact a law office like Story Law Office. 

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