New Hampshire abolished the invitee/licensee/trespasser trichotomy in Ouellette v. Blanchard (1976) — every person who enters your property is owed a single standard of reasonable care, making New Hampshire one of the most plaintiff-friendly premises liability states in the country.
A 60-day pre-suit notice window for government property claims and a three-year lawsuit deadline define the legal environment. But in New Hampshire slip and fall cases, the clock that matters most is how quickly the property owner preserves — or destroys — the surveillance footage, incident reports, and maintenance logs that prove what they knew and when.
New Hampshire RSA § 508:4 provides a three-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims, giving premises liability victims more time than most states' two-year windows. However, the evidence clock runs on a far shorter cycle. Businesses that experience slip and fall incidents frequently overwrite surveillance camera footage within 24 to 72 hours as part of routine recording-loop protocols. Incident reports are sometimes "misplaced" after a claim is anticipated. Maintenance logs showing prior complaints about the same hazardous condition — the most powerful evidence in a New Hampshire premises case — are internal documents that disappear without a formal preservation demand. An attorney's letter placing the property owner on litigation hold freezes all of this evidence before the owner's routine operations consume it.
New Hampshire adopted the unitary reasonable care standard for premises liability in Ouellette v. Blanchard, 116 N.H. 552 (1976), abolishing the traditional distinctions between invitees, licensees, and trespassers. Under this framework, the single legal question is whether the property owner acted as a reasonable person would act under the circumstances. This is advantageous for plaintiffs because it eliminates the first line of defense — arguing that the victim was a licensee rather than an invitee and thus owed only minimal care. New Hampshire courts consider all circumstances: the foreseeability of harm, the cost of the precaution that would have prevented it, and the social utility of the defendant's conduct. For business premises, this often means that an owner who knew of a recurring ice patch, a wet floor, or a broken handrail and failed to repair it faces straightforward liability regardless of why the plaintiff was on the premises.
When the fall occurs on government-owned property — a state building, a municipal sidewalk, a county courthouse — New Hampshire RSA 507-B:7 requires a written notice of claim to be filed with the appropriate governmental entity within 60 days of the accident. This 60-day window is one of the shortest in the country and runs independently of the three-year civil SOL. Courts recognize a "substantial prejudice" safety valve: if the government entity cannot show it was actually prejudiced by the delay, late notice may be excused. But this exception is discretionary, rarely granted, and requires litigation to establish. The far safer path is to identify all government property defendants within the first 60 days, serve proper notice, and preserve every option for recovery.
New Hampshire courts apply RSA § 507:7-d's modified comparative fault standard: you recover only if your negligence is less than the combined fault of all defendants. At exactly 50%, you are barred. Property owners in New Hampshire premises cases routinely argue that the victim's distraction, improper footwear, or failure to watch where they were walking accounts for 50% or more of the fall causation. An attorney who obtains the surveillance footage — before it is overwritten — can frequently rebut these arguments by showing that the hazardous condition was not visible, that it had existed for hours before the fall, and that other patrons navigated the same area with difficulty. Prior written complaints about the same hazard, obtained through discovery, are the most powerful evidence available in New Hampshire premises cases.
Legal Information Notice
The legal information on this page is for general educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws change, and every case is different. Always consult with a licensed attorney in your state to verify the current law and how it applies to your specific situation.
New Hampshire abolished the traditional invitee/licensee/trespasser classification system in Ouellette v. Blanchard, 116 N.H. 552 (1976). All entrants — whether customers, guests, or others — are owed a single standard of reasonable care based on the totality of the circumstances. For business properties, this means the owner must inspect for hazardous conditions, fix them within a reasonable time, and warn visitors of known dangers that cannot be immediately repaired. The unitary standard eliminates the argument that you were merely a licensee owed lesser care, making the legal analysis more straightforward than in states that still use the trichotomy.
RSA § 508:4 provides a three-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims. However, if the fall occurred on government property — a state building, municipal sidewalk, or county facility — RSA 507-B:7 requires a written notice of claim within 60 days of the incident, which is one of the shortest notice windows in the country. Missing the 60-day government notice deadline permanently eliminates your claim against the government entity, even if the three-year civil SOL has not expired. Surveillance footage retention is often 24-72 hours — consulting an attorney within the first few days of the fall is critical to preserving the most important evidence.
The most valuable evidence is surveillance footage showing the fall, the hazardous condition before and after the fall, and whether property employees were nearby. If a business had prior written complaints, maintenance requests, or incident reports about the same hazard, that creates the actual or constructive notice needed to establish liability. Weather records, salt and snow-removal logs for outdoor falls, and inspection checklists for indoor falls are also critical. An attorney must immediately place the property owner on litigation hold — both to preserve surveillance footage before the recording loop overwrites it and to freeze internal maintenance documentation before litigation-motivated destruction becomes a problem.
Yes, under RSA § 507:7-d, New Hampshire applies modified comparative fault. Your recovery is reduced proportionally by your fault percentage, but you are not barred unless your negligence is equal to or greater than the defendant's combined fault. At 49% fault, you recover 51% of your damages. At exactly 50%, you are barred. Property owners frequently argue that distraction, improper footwear, or failure to use a handrail constitutes 50% or more of the cause. Surveillance footage showing the severity of the hazard, combined with evidence that the owner had prior notice and failed to act, is the strongest tool for keeping plaintiff fault below the 50% threshold.
In New Hampshire, sidewalk liability depends on who owns and maintains the sidewalk. Municipal sidewalks are government property, triggering the 60-day notice requirement under RSA 507-B:7. Private property owners are responsible for the sidewalks adjacent to their properties when they have assumed maintenance responsibility or created the hazardous condition. New Hampshire follows the traditional rule that adjacent landowners have a duty to maintain sidewalks when specifically imposed by ordinance or when the owner undertook maintenance. Ice and snow on sidewalks creates liability when the owner allowed an unnatural accumulation to form — such as an ice dam created by a downspout — separate from natural accumulation.
All legal information on this page is sourced from primary government statutes. Last verified 2026-04-07.
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