Is New Hampshire a strict liability state for dog bites?
Yes and the rule is wide. RSA 466:19 lets any person who suffers damage from a dog they do not own or keep recover from the person who owns, keeps or possesses it. Nothing in it requires a bite or a past history of aggression.
By its words, that can cover a dog that jumps on you and breaks your wrist or one that runs you off a bicycle. It reaches the neighbor who owns the dog and the friend who was watching it that afternoon.
There is one stated defense. The owner is not liable if you were committing a trespass or other tort when the harm happened. If the owner or keeper is a minor, the statute makes the parent or guardian liable instead.
New Hampshire dog bite statute of limitations
You have three years. RSA 508:4 requires personal actions to be brought within three years of the act complained of. If an injury and its cause could not reasonably have been discovered at first, the three years run from discovery.
For children the rule is simple. Under RSA 508:8, an infant may sue within two years after the disability is removed. RSA 21:44 sets the age of majority at 18, so this rule gives a bitten child until age 20. Parents do not have to wait. See our page on a dog bite on a child.
Comparative fault in New Hampshire
Under RSA 507:7-d, your own fault does not bar recovery if it was not greater than the fault of the defendant or of all defendants together. The award is reduced by your share. The side claiming you were at fault has to prove it.
Expect an insurer to ask whether you reached for the dog or entered the yard uninvited. Entering uninvited also bears on the trespass defense, so be precise about why you were there.
Reporting a dog bite in New Hampshire
Report a bite to the town's animal control officer or the town clerk, with the dog's and owner's identity if you know them. Under RSA 466:31, when a dog punctures someone's skin and the incident is reported that way, the officer or clerk must tell the injured person whether town records show the dog is vaccinated against rabies. That answer is due no later than 24 hours after the report. For a child, it goes to the parent or guardian.
The same section lets a town treat a dog that bites people as a nuisance, a menace or vicious. A change taking effect on January 1, 2027 limits that biting clause to bites off the owner's property.
When to call a New Hampshire dog bite lawyer
Call once you know who had the dog. Because the statute reaches owners, keepers and possessors, more than one insurance policy may apply. A lawyer can also push back if the owner claims you were trespassing. Keep the town's vaccine answer, your medical records and photos of the scene together.
How to report a dog bite in New Hampshire
Report the bite to your local animal control or health department. The CDC, rabies after an animal bite page sets out the next steps.
Before you sign with anyone, check that the attorney is licensed: use the New Hampshire Bar attorney-verification request.
