New Hampshire Car Accident Leads for Law Firms

NH recorded 134 traffic fatalities in 2024 (vs 127 in 2023) arising from 120 fatal crashes, up roughly 5% YoY and the fifth-deadliest year on NH highways in twelve years. Fatalities are up 42% over the last decade (2014 to 2024); fatality rate up 36% per TRIP National. Young-driver deaths tripled: 10 drivers under age 21 killed in 2024 vs 3 in 2023; motorcycle deaths fell from 40 to 33. Alcohol-impaired share approximately 36% of NH traffic deaths in 2022 with continued enforcement saturation on I-93, I-95, and Route 125.

I-93 is NH's deadliest interstate, averaging roughly six fatal crashes per year (Salem speed enforcement in 2024 cited 20 drivers above 90 mph and 5 above 100 mph). I-95 (16-mile coastal segment from MA line through Portsmouth to Maine) recorded ~1,700 crashes since 2018 with several 2024 fatal cross-median collisions; a $2 million cable-barrier installation was scheduled. The southeastern population concentration (Hillsborough + Rockingham + Merrimack + Strafford = 74.2% of state) drives the bulk of claim volume; Manchester (Hillsborough), Nashua (Hillsborough), Portsmouth (Rockingham), Salem (Rockingham, DC commuter belt), Concord (Merrimack state capital), and Dover (Strafford) anchor the highest-volume venues. I-89 connects Concord to Lebanon and Vermont (Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Upper Valley). US-3 parallels I-93 north of Franconia Notch into the north country. NH Route 101 is the principal east-west, Manchester to Hampton Beach via Bedford and Exeter.

NH's 51% bar comparative fault under RSA 507:7-d is the operationally consequential rule for NH auto intake. Plaintiff barred only when fault is greater than defendant fault; damages reduced proportionately. RSA 507:7-e partially abolished J&S liability: defendants less than 50% at fault are several-only; defendants 50% or more at fault remain jointly and severally liable; J&S preserved for common-plan/design conduct.

NH does not require most drivers to carry auto liability insurance, the only state in the country that does not. Drivers must demonstrate financial responsibility, with statutory minimums equivalent to 25/50/25 ($25,000 BI per person, $50,000 BI per accident, $25,000 PD). When a driver elects to purchase liability coverage, NH requires UM/UIM in equal limits, subject to RSA 264. The share of uninsured tortfeasors is meaningfully higher than in mandatory-insurance states; uninsured-driver fact-pattern flagging is uniquely valuable on NH auto files. NH is at-fault tort, not no-fault.

NH bars punitive damages by statute under RSA 507:16 ("no punitive damages shall be awarded in any action, unless otherwise provided by statute"). NH joins MA, WA, LA, and NE in the no-punitives club. The med-mal noneconomic cap was struck down twice (Carson v. Maurer, 1980; Brannigan v. Usitalo, 1991), so med-mal noneconomic damages are uncapped. Public-entity caps: RSA 507-B:4 caps municipal liability at $325,000 per person bodily injury; RSA 541-B caps State tort liability at $475,000 per claimant and $3,750,000 per single incident; punitive damages barred against governmental units. None of these caps applies to private-defendant auto.