Understanding Personal Injury Claims in New Hampshire
- Keith Diaz
- Apr 23
- 8 min read
Updated: May 13
In almost every **personal injury case in New Hampshire**, the first offer from an insurance adjuster is neither a good number nor a serious one. It is merely an opening, often made before your medical treatment is complete. At this stage, no one, including you, knows the true value of your case.
"Apis Law cares about building a record of medical records, bills, wage-loss documentation, expert opinions, and the client's own testimony about what the injury has cost. Every one of those elements becomes leverage in settlement negotiations, and almost none of them exist in the first 30 days after the crash."
The Importance of Timing in Personal Injury Claims
Under New Hampshire law, you have three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit (RSA 508:4). The value of your claim is measured by all the harm the injury caused: past and future medical expenses, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, physical pain and mental suffering, and any permanent impairment. Your right to compensation is not based on whatever the adjuster offers in the first thirty days.
"When determining the amount of damages that plaintiffs were entitled to recover, [the jury] could consider reasonable value of past and future medical care, future [expenses], and reasonable compensation for any past and future pain, discomfort, fears, anxiety and other mental and emotional distress." — Johnston v. Lynch, 133 N.H. 79 (1990).
A Case Study: The Value of Patience
Consider a common scenario: a rear-end crash on Route 101, a Route 293 on-ramp collision, or an accident on I-93 north of Manchester. After the accident, you may feel bruised and sore, leading to an ER visit. The adjuster calls within a week with an initial offer.
Day 10 — Adjuster's first offer: $2,500. "We'll send you a check today if you sign this release."
Day 30 — After the ER and one follow-up: Medical specials = $4,200. Adjuster now offers $5,000 to close.
Day 90 — MRI reveals a disc herniation at C5-C6: Medical specials climb to $11,800. A pain specialist is added. The adjuster quietly stops calling.
Month 6 — Epidural steroid injection, physical therapy: Medical specials = $26,400. Wage loss = $4,900. The client cannot garden, cannot lift her toddler without pain, and cannot return to jogging.
Month 12 — Maximum medical improvement, permanent impairment rating: Final demand package goes out. The case settles for $72,000.
The initial offer of $2,500 would have closed the entire claim, including future care, permanent impairment, and pain and suffering that the client was unaware of at that time. A release, the document the insurance company asks you to sign in exchange for that check, is drafted to extinguish every possible claim arising from the accident, known and unknown. Once signed, they are extremely difficult to undo, even if a serious injury surfaces months later.
If an adjuster is pressuring you to sign a release this week, stop. Call (603) 785-1013 for a free consultation first. There is no cost to find out what your case is actually worth, and no obligation to hire us.
How Insurance Adjusters Manipulate Early Offers
Adjusters are not neutral parties. They are trained, evaluated, and compensated based on how cheaply and quickly they close files. Here are some tactics they use against unrepresented injured individuals in New Hampshire:
1. The "Quick-Close" Deadline
Adjusters may say, "This offer is only good through Friday." This is misleading. There is no legal deadline on a settlement offer — only the three-year statute of limitations under RSA 508:4. This artificial urgency is designed to short-circuit the one thing that helps you: waiting until your treatment is complete.
2. The Recorded Statement
Within the first week or two, the adjuster may request a "brief recorded statement, just routine." This is not routine. It is a scripted interview designed to lock in statements such as "I feel okay today" or "I don't think I will need more treatment." These statements can later be used to argue that your injuries had already resolved. You have no obligation to give a recorded statement to the opposing carrier.
3. The "Soft Tissue" Label
Adjusters often categorize injuries as "soft tissue" (which they price cheaply) before any diagnostic imaging has been done. A herniated disc, a rotator cuff tear, or a concussion with post-concussive syndrome is not a soft-tissue sprain. However, the early offer is often priced as if it is.
4. The Pre-existing Condition Deflection
Adjusters may argue, "You had a prior back issue in 2019, so this isn't from our insured." New Hampshire law rejects this argument. The person who caused your injuries takes you as they find you and is liable for the full extent to which the accident aggravated the pre-existing condition. A prior injury that was asymptomatic until the crash is a recoverable aggravation, not a defense.
5. The "We're Only Paying the Medical Bills" Offer
Adjusters often present a number equal to (or just above) the medical specials, framed as generous. This offer ignores pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, diminished earning capacity, and future medical care, each of which is independently recoverable under NH law.
What New Hampshire Law Actually Says About Damages
The value of a personal injury claim in New Hampshire is not an adjuster's opinion. It is a legal question governed by decisions of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. These cases define what can be recovered and clarify that an early offer cannot price what the law expressly allows:
Johnston v. Lynch, 133 N.H. 79 (1990)
Johnston is the authority for the full catalog of compensable damages in a New Hampshire injury case. The Court approved a jury instruction allowing the jury to consider the reasonable value of past and future medical care, future expenses, and reasonable compensation for past and future pain, discomfort, fears, anxiety, and mental and emotional distress. An adjuster making a 30-day offer cannot possibly price the "future" half of any of those categories.
Bennett v. Lembo, 145 N.H. 276 (2000)
Bennett establishes that loss of enjoyment of life is recoverable as a component of permanent impairment. The Court explained that these damages "connote the deprivation of certain pleasurable sensations and enjoyment through impairment or destruction of the capacity to engage in activities formerly enjoyed by the injured plaintiff." Activities like gardening, running, or playing with your children are each their own line item. No early offer accounts for this because permanence is established only at maximum medical improvement, months after the crash.
Stachulski v. Apple New England, 171 N.H. 158 (2018)
Stachulski confirms that hedonic damages — compensation for the inability to engage in pleasurable aspects of life — are independently recoverable. The Court also restated the standard for future damages: "There can be no recovery for future damages unless there is evidence from which it can be found to be more probable than not that they will occur." That evidence typically does not exist at the 30-day mark.
Vachon v. New England Towing, Inc., 148 N.H. 429 (2002)
Vachon holds that a plaintiff is entitled to recover damages for loss or diminution of earning capacity. Those damages "need not be proven with mathematical certainty." A factory worker who can no longer lift 50 pounds or a teacher with cognitive fatigue after a concussion each have a diminished-earning-capacity claim that a 30-day offer cannot quantify.
Duguay v. Gelinas, 104 N.H. 182 (1962)
Duguay establishes that pain and suffering damages cannot be calculated by a fixed mathematical formula. They are a matter of jury discretion based on the evidence of the plaintiff's actual suffering. This contrasts with how an early insurance offer is generated. Adjuster software typically assigns a multiplier to the medical specials and calls it a pain-and-suffering number. NH law does not recognize that formula.
How Damages Are Actually Decided in New Hampshire
If a case does not settle, a New Hampshire jury, not an adjuster, decides the amount of damages. The jury is instructed to consider each category of damages separately: past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, loss of earning capacity, physical pain and suffering, mental and emotional suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. The plaintiff carries the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence on each category.
That is why a serious demand package is rarely sent before maximum medical improvement. Responsible New Hampshire injury lawyers almost never recommend accepting a first-week or first-month offer. The offer is priced against what the adjuster knows on day 10, which is very little. The jury would be asked to price the same case against everything the plaintiff has lost, present and future. Those are not the same number.
Four Practical Takeaways Before You Sign Anything
1. Do Not Sign a Release Until You Have Reached Maximum Medical Improvement
A release is almost always drafted to extinguish every future claim arising out of the accident, including claims for injuries that later turn out to be more serious than you knew. Signing it on day 30 closes the door on everything — not just the parts you know about today.
2. Do Not Give a Recorded Statement
You have no obligation to do so, and doing so can hurt your case. If the adjuster says the statement is required, that is not true for the opposing carrier.
3. Keep Every Medical Record, Bill, and Out-of-Pocket Receipt
The case is built from the paper trail. Missed work, mileage to appointments, and any medical supplies purchased are all potentially recoverable.
4. Get a Free Consultation Before You Respond to Any Offer in Writing
Most New Hampshire personal injury firms, including Apis Law, offer free consultations on a contingency-fee basis — you do not pay unless there is a recovery. There is no downside to finding out what the case is actually worth before you accept a number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Insurance Company's First Offer Ever Fair?
Rarely, especially within the first 30 to 60 days. The first offer is priced against what the adjuster knows on day 10, which is a fraction of what the claim will ultimately involve. Pain and suffering, future medical care, permanent impairment, and loss of earning capacity are almost never valued at that point.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in New Hampshire?
You have three years from the date of the accident under RSA 508:4. This deadline is strict. If you are close to it, retain counsel immediately.
Do I Have to Give the Other Driver's Insurance Company a Recorded Statement?
No. You have no legal obligation to give a recorded statement to the opposing carrier. Most New Hampshire injury lawyers strongly advise against it.
The Adjuster Says My Pre-existing Condition Caused My Symptoms — Is My Case Over?
No. New Hampshire follows the eggshell plaintiff doctrine: a defendant takes the plaintiff as they find her and is liable for the full extent to which the accident aggravated any pre-existing condition.
What Kinds of Damages Can I Actually Recover in a New Hampshire Injury Case?
You can recover past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, diminished earning capacity, physical pain and suffering, mental and emotional suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life as part of permanent impairment.
External Legal Resources
RSA 508:4 (NH personal injury statute of limitations) — full text at Justia: law.justia.com/codes/new-hampshire/title-lii/chapter-508/section-508-4/
New Hampshire Supreme Court orders and opinions: courts.nh.gov
New Hampshire Bar Association lawyer referral and consumer resources: nhbar.org
Related Pages on apislaw.com
Before You Accept Any Insurance Offer, Talk to Us First
If an insurance company is pressuring you to accept a quick settlement, do not sign anything until you know what your case is actually worth. Apis Law offers a free consultation to New Hampshire injury victims. Attorney Keith F. Diaz has 22 years of trial experience and handles personal injury cases across Manchester, Bedford, Goffstown, Concord, Nashua, Hooksett, and throughout the state. We work on a contingency fee — you pay nothing unless we recover for you.
Call (603) 785-1013 or visit apislaw.com to schedule your free consultation.
About the Author
Keith F. Diaz, Esq. is the founder of Apis Law, PLLC, a New Hampshire personal injury and employment law firm. Attorney Diaz has 22 years of legal experience and is admitted to practice in the State of New Hampshire (Bar No. 15831), the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. He founded Apis Law in 2022 to provide dedicated, client-focused representation to individuals and families throughout New Hampshire.
This post is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every personal injury case is different, and past case results do not predict or guarantee the outcome of any future matter.
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