Truck Accident Laws in New Hampshire (2026): Deadlines & Liability

A truck accident claim in New Hampshire runs on two tracks at once. State tort law sets the deadline to sue, decides how shared fault affects what you can recover, and governs auto coverage. Federal law, enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), regulates how commercial trucks and their drivers must operate, and those rules often supply the evidence of fault.

This page explains both. It is general legal information, not legal advice, and deadlines and outcomes turn on the specific facts, so confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed New Hampshire attorney.

Statute of Limitations in New Hampshire

Under RSA 508:4, all personal actions, including injuries from a truck crash, may be brought only within three years of the act or omission complained of. The clock generally starts on the date of the crash. If you file even one day late, the court can dismiss the case permanently, no matter how clear the trucking company's fault.

The statute contains a discovery rule: where the injury and its causal connection to the defendant's conduct could not reasonably have been discovered at the time, the action may be commenced within three years of when the plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury and its cause. A minor's deadline is also generally tolled. Because these are fact-specific, confirm your exact deadline with a licensed attorney.

Wrongful Death in New Hampshire

When a truck crash causes death, the claim proceeds through the estate under New Hampshire's survival and wrongful-death framework in RSA chapter 556. RSA 556:11 provides that a wrongful-death action may be brought at any time within six years after the death of the deceased party, subject to the provisions of RSA 508. Because of that cross-reference and the shorter periods that can apply, the safe course is to treat the deadline as early and confirm it with a licensed attorney rather than assume the full six years.

New Hampshire allows the estate to recover the decedent's losses, and certain surviving family members may recover relationship-loss damages under two separate provisions of RSA 556:12, as amended effective January 1, 2025. Paragraph II allows a surviving spouse to recover for the loss of the comfort, society, and companionship of the deceased, and caps those damages at $500,000. Paragraph III allows the minor children of a deceased parent, or the surviving parents of a deceased minor child, to recover for loss of familial relationship, capped at $300,000 per individual claimant. Both awards are reduced for comparative fault under RSA 507:7-d. The core compensatory damages in a wrongful-death claim are not capped.

Negligence Rule: Modified Comparative (51% Bar)

New Hampshire applies modified comparative fault under RSA 507:7-d. Contributory fault does not bar recovery if the plaintiff's fault was not greater than the fault of the defendant, or the defendants in the aggregate where there is more than one. If your fault crosses past the defendants' combined fault (more than 50 percent), recovery is barred entirely.

When you are allowed to recover, the statute directs that your damages be diminished in proportion to the fault attributed to you. A plaintiff found 25 percent responsible recovers 75 percent of proven damages. Because the dividing line sits at the 50/51 percent mark, how fault is allocated can decide both whether you recover at all and how much, which is one reason trucking-company defendants fight hard on fault.

No-Fault and PIP

New Hampshire is not a no-fault state. It uses a traditional fault-based (tort) system, so the party who caused the crash, along with that party's insurer or employer, is responsible for the resulting harm. New Hampshire does not require PIP coverage and imposes no injury threshold you must clear before filing suit. You pursue the at-fault driver and the motor carrier directly.

New Hampshire is also notable as the one state that does not generally mandate auto liability insurance for every driver. Drivers who choose not to insure must still be able to satisfy the state's financial-responsibility requirements, and if they cannot, they remain personally liable. Many drivers carry insurance, and if they do it must meet the state minimums discussed below.

Damage Caps and State Insurance

New Hampshire does not cap ordinary compensatory personal-injury damages, so economic and noneconomic damages in a typical truck-crash claim are limited only by proof. In a wrongful-death case, RSA 556:12 sets two separate relationship-loss limits, both as amended effective January 1, 2025: paragraph II caps a surviving spouse's damages for loss of comfort, society, and companionship at $500,000, and paragraph III caps loss-of-familial-relationship damages for a minor child or a parent at $300,000 per individual claimant. Neither cap reaches the core compensatory damages.

For context on coverage, when a New Hampshire driver carries insurance, RSA chapter 264 sets the financial-responsibility minimum at 25/50/25: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage. Commercial trucks are subject to far higher federal minimums, discussed below.

Federal FMCSA Rules That Shape Liability

Interstate trucking is governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Violations are frequently the clearest proof of negligence in a truck case. Key areas include:

• Hours of service (49 CFR Part 395): a property-carrying driver may drive at most 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, cannot drive beyond the 14th hour on duty, must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and is capped at 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8. These limits target fatigue.
• Electronic logging devices (49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B): most drivers must use an ELD that connects to the engine and automatically records driving time, motion, and location, replacing easily falsified paper logs.
• Driver qualification and CDL (49 CFR Part 391): carriers must verify a driver's commercial license, medical certification, and record before putting that driver on the road.
• Drug and alcohol testing (49 CFR Part 382): pre-employment, random, and post-accident testing is mandatory.
• Inspection, repair, and maintenance (49 CFR Part 396): trucks must be systematically inspected and kept in safe operating condition, with records to prove it.

Who Can Be Liable

A truck crash usually involves more potential defendants than a car crash, and many are corporations. Depending on the facts, those who may share liability include:

• the truck driver, for negligent driving or hours-of-service violations;
• the motor carrier (trucking company), often vicariously for its driver and directly for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or maintenance;
• a broker or shipper that arranged or controlled the load;
• a cargo loader whose improper loading caused a shift or rollover; and
• a parts or truck manufacturer, if a defect contributed.

Identifying every responsible party matters because each may carry separate insurance, and because New Hampshire's comparative-fault rule makes the allocation of fault among all parties decisive.

Federal Minimum Insurance: $750,000

Under 49 CFR 387.9, a for-hire carrier operating in interstate commerce with a vehicle rated over 10,001 pounds must maintain at least $750,000 in liability coverage for general (nonhazardous) freight. Carriers hauling certain hazardous materials must carry $1,000,000 or $5,000,000. These minimums dwarf the $25,000 bodily-injury minimum on a typical New Hampshire car policy, which is a major reason trucking cases are litigated differently.

Preserving Evidence

Much of the proof in a truck case lives on the truck and in company files, and it can disappear fast. ELD and logbook data, the engine control module or onboard "black box," dashcam footage, and maintenance and inspection records can be overwritten or routinely discarded. A timely written preservation (spoliation) letter to the carrier helps keep this evidence intact. Because New Hampshire's comparative rule turns on the fault details, this electronic evidence can decide both whether and how much you recover.

How to Evaluate a Potential Claim

Move quickly. Get the police crash report, photograph the scene and vehicles, keep all medical records and bills, and write down the date of the crash and of any later-discovered injury. Note any witness names and the truck and trailer company markings.

Most personal-injury attorneys offer a free initial consultation and work on a contingency fee, meaning they are paid only out of a recovery. No attorney can promise an outcome or a dollar amount, and only a licensed New Hampshire attorney can assess whether your specific facts support a claim within the deadlines.