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A serious dog attack in New Hampshire can mean emergency surgery, permanent scarring, lost wages, and lasting trauma. New Hampshire is a strict-liability state with an especially broad statute: an owner or keeper is liable for any damage their dog causes to a person or property, whether or not the owner did anything wrong or knew the dog was dangerous.
That victim-friendly rule still leaves plenty for insurers to contest. At Dog Bite Laws, we hold negligent owners and their insurers accountable so New Hampshire victims recover the full compensation the law allows — medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Economic damages are the direct, measurable financial losses caused by the attack. These include emergency room bills, hospitalization costs, surgery fees (including reconstructive or plastic surgery for scarring), follow-up medical appointments, prescribed medications, wound care, and physical therapy or rehabilitation. If injuries require ongoing treatment, future medical expenses are also recoverable.
Lost wages cover income you missed during recovery. If the injuries affect your ability to work long-term, for example, nerve damage to your hands, or PTSD that prevents you returning to your previous role, loss of future earning capacity can also be claimed. These figures are typically supported by employer records, tax returns, and expert testimony.
Non-economic damages cover the human cost of the attack. Pain and suffering accounts for the physical discomfort experienced during and after the injury. Emotional distress covers anxiety, depression, nightmares, and the lasting fear of dogs that many victims develop, particularly children. PTSD is common after dog attacks and has real, documentable medical value in a claim.
Permanent scarring or disfigurement carries significant weight, especially when it is visible on the face, neck, or hands. Loss of enjoyment covers activities the victim can no longer participate in due to physical or psychological limitations. Loss of consortium may be claimed by a spouse or family member when the attack meaningfully disrupts the victim’s relationships and family life.
If the victim is a minor, parents or legal guardians can file on their behalf for both economic and non-economic damages. Claims involving children often reach higher values due to the long-term duration of disfigurement and the psychological impact that can follow a child into adulthood.
With dog bite cases, punitive damages do not apply. They are reserved for situations where the dog owner’s conduct was especially reckless or malicious. For example, knowingly keeping a dog with a documented history of attacks without any precautions, or allowing an aggressive dog to roam free in a populated area after prior warnings. When punitive damages are available, they can significantly increase total recovery above compensatory amounts.
Several factors shape the final settlement value. The severity of the injury such as a deep facial wound requiring multiple surgeries, can settle for far more than a bite that heals cleanly. The visibility of scarring, the victim’s age, available insurance coverage, quality of medical documentation, and strength of the liability argument all play a role.
Our team has recovered over $1M in individual dog bite settlements. See real case results including a $505,000 settlement for a facial bite and a $295,000 recovery for a three-year-old victim. For a quick estimate of your own case value, use our dog bite settlement calculator.
The steps you take in the first 24 to 48 hours after a dog bite directly affect your ability to recover full compensation. Evidence disappears fast and early mistakes can be used against you.
Contact a New Hampshire dog bite lawyer before accepting any settlement offer. Early offers typically undervalue long-term medical costs and non-economic damages. Once you accept, you generally cannot reopen the claim.
New Hampshire gives dog bite victims three years from the date of the attack to file a personal injury lawsuit (N.H. Rev. Stat. § 508:4). For children injured by a dog, the deadline is generally tolled until they reach adulthood, but you should never assume extra time applies to your case.
Three years can pass quickly while you focus on recovery. Medical records must be gathered, insurance coverage identified, responsible parties confirmed, and witness accounts preserved while memories are fresh. Contacting an attorney early protects both your health and your claim.
Dog bite settlements are paid through the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance policy. Standard homeowners policies typically include personal liability coverage between $100,000 and $300,000, and that coverage applies to dog bite incidents even when the attack happens away from the insured property. If the bite occurred at a rental property, the landlord’s policy may also apply.
Insurance companies will work to minimize what they pay. They may claim the bite was provoked, challenge the severity of injuries, or dispute liability. Having a dog bite lawyer handle all communication with the insurer protects your claim from being undervalued before you fully understand the scope of your damages.
New Hampshire’s dog statute, N.H. Rev. Stat. § 466:19, makes an owner or keeper liable for any damage their dog causes to a person or to property — including other domestic creatures — unless the injured person was engaged in committing a trespass or another tort at the time. Because liability is strict, the victim does not have to prove the owner was negligent or knew the dog was dangerous.
This is one of the broadest dog liability laws in the country. It is not limited to bites: it reaches the full range of damage a dog can cause. That breadth makes New Hampshire a strong state in which to bring a dog attack claim, subject to the narrow exceptions the statute itself sets out.
Because RSA 466:19 imposes strict liability, you do not need to show the owner was careless or knew the dog might attack. Establishing that the owner or keeper’s dog caused your injuries — and that you were not committing a trespass or other tort — is generally enough to trigger liability.
That shifts the focus of most New Hampshire cases from proving fault to proving damages: the full extent of your medical treatment, future care, lost income, scarring, and pain and suffering. Building a complete, well-documented record of your injuries is where experienced representation adds the most value.
For a full breakdown of the laws, liability rules, and reporting requirements, see our dedicated New Hampshire dog bite laws guide.
Where the strict-liability statute does not apply — for example, an incident involving a trespasser — a New Hampshire victim can still pursue a negligence claim. Negligence requires proving that the owner owed a duty to exercise reasonable care in controlling or restraining the dog, breached that duty, and that the breach proximately caused the injuries.
A violation of a local leash law or animal-control ordinance can also support a claim of negligence per se, where the owner’s breaking of a safety law is treated as evidence of negligence itself. We investigate every available theory to maximize your recovery.
New Hampshire’s statute expressly reaches the owner or keeper of the dog, so responsibility is not limited to the registered owner. A harborer who cared for the dog, a landlord who knew a dangerous dog lived on the property and did nothing, or a parent of a minor owner may all share liability.
Identifying every responsible party matters because it can open additional insurance coverage — often the difference between a policy that fully covers your injuries and one that falls short.
Trespass or other tort is the defense written into New Hampshire’s statute, so insurers will argue the victim was somewhere they should not have been or was doing something wrong when injured. Provocation is the next most common defense. In reality, ordinary reactions like flinching, walking past, or protecting a child are not provocation, and we push back hard on inflated versions of events.
New Hampshire follows modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. Under RSA 507:7-d, your damages are reduced by your share of fault, and you are barred from recovering only if your fault is found to be greater than the combined fault of everyone you are suing — that is, 51% or more. As long as you are 50% or less at fault, you can still recover a reduced award.
Dog attacks are a serious and rising cost nationwide: U.S. insurers paid about $1.86 billion across 28,450 dog-related injury claims, an average of roughly $65,450 per claim, and more than 5,200 postal workers were attacked by dogs in 2025. New Hampshire reports among the lowest dog-bite insurance-claim volumes of any state, reflecting its small population — but its unusually broad strict-liability statute reaches any damage a dog causes (Insurance Information Institute / State Farm, 2024).
New Hampshire’s strict-liability statute is unusually broad — covering any damage a dog causes to a person or property — which makes it one of the more favorable states for attack victims.
New Hampshire also imposes escalating penalties on owners of dogs that menace or attack, and a dog with a documented history of vicious behavior can bolster a civil claim. Because the state’s statute already presumes owner liability, the fight in most cases is about the scope of the victim’s damages, not whether the owner is responsible.
Dog Bite Laws is led by Michael Agruss, Managing Partner and personal injury attorney with a track record of results in dog bite cases. He is supported by Michael Bertucci, Taylor Kosla Unterberg, and Zara Saiyed, a team that handles dog bite cases across New Hampshire and multiple other states.
The firm has recovered millions of dollars for dog bite victims. These results reflect the firm’s approach: identify every liable party, document every dollar of damages, and push for a full settlement before resorting to trial.
The team is available 24/7 and takes every case on a contingency basis. There are no upfront legal fees and no costs unless we win.
Read more client testimonials or contact us directly for a free, confidential case review.
New Hampshire’s statute of limitations for personal injury is three years from the date of the bite under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 508:4. Claims involving children are generally tolled until adulthood, but missing the deadline otherwise ends your right to recover. See our full New Hampshire dog bite laws guide for detail on how deadlines are calculated.
No. New Hampshire is a strict-liability state under RSA 466:19, so you do not have to show the dog had a history of aggression or that the owner knew it was dangerous. As long as you were not committing a trespass or another tort, the owner or keeper is generally liable for the damage the dog caused.
New Hampshire follows modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar (RSA 507:7-d). Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, and you are barred from recovering only if you are found more than 50% at fault. Insurers often argue provocation to shift blame, which is why documenting what actually happened matters.
Yes. RSA 466:19 is written broadly. It makes owners and keepers liable for any damage their dog causes to a person or property — not just bites — so injuries from a dog knocking someone down or attacking property can also be covered, subject to the trespass and other-tort exceptions.
Nothing up front. We handle New Hampshire dog bite cases on contingency — you pay no fee unless we recover money for you. Your case review is free, and you can reach us by call, text, email, or chat 24/7.
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