Motorcycle Accident Complaint - New Hampshire

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — NEW HAMPSHIRE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. General Factual Allegations
4. Count I — Negligence (Against Defendant Driver)
5. Count II — Negligence Per Se (Against Defendant Driver)
6. Request for Enhanced Compensatory Damages (Against Defendant Driver)
7. Count IV — Negligent Entrustment / Vicarious Liability (Against Defendant Owner)
8. Damages
9. Comparative Fault, Helmet, and Insurance Allegations
10. Prayer for Relief
11. Jury Demand
12. Reservation of Rights
13. Signature Block
14. Verification
15. New Hampshire Practice Notes
16. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

[COUNTY] COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT

DOCKET NO. [________________]

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (MOTORCYCLE COLLISION)

AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

NOW COMES the Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, and complaining of the Defendants, states as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an individual domiciled at [ADDRESS], [TOWN/CITY], [COUNTY] County, New Hampshire, and at all material times was lawfully operating a motorcycle upon the public ways of this State.

2. Defendant [DRIVER NAME] ("Driver Defendant") is, upon information and belief, an individual residing at [SERVICE ADDRESS], and may be served with process there or wherever found pursuant to N.H. R. Super. Ct. (Civil) and RSA 510.

3. Defendant [OWNER / EMPLOYER NAME] ("Owner Defendant") is [an individual / a corporation / an LLC] that, at all material times, owned, controlled, maintained, and/or furnished the vehicle operated by Driver Defendant and/or employed Driver Defendant, and may be served at [SERVICE ADDRESS / REGISTERED AGENT].

4. This action arises under New Hampshire common law and statute for personal injuries and property damage sustained in a motor-vehicle collision that occurred in [COUNTY] County, New Hampshire, on [__/__/____].

5. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under RSA 491:7. Plaintiff claims damages beyond the Circuit Court — District Division jurisdiction applicable under current RSA 502-A:14; counsel must confirm the selected court's current jurisdiction before filing. The former statement that $1,500 is the Superior Court threshold was incorrect: that amount marks the District Division's exclusive civil jurisdiction, while higher amounts may remain concurrent.

6. This Court has personal jurisdiction over the Defendants because they are domiciled in New Hampshire and/or committed tortious conduct within this State, consistent with due process.

7. Venue is proper in [COUNTY] County Superior Court under RSA 507:9 because [IDENTIFY PLAINTIFF OR DEFENDANT] is a New Hampshire inhabitant who resides in this county or judicial district. Confirm residence and the selected venue from current records before filing.

3. GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

8. On [__/__/____] at approximately [TIME], Plaintiff was lawfully operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] motorcycle traveling [northbound / southbound / etc.] on [ROADWAY] at or near its intersection with [CROSS STREET / LANDMARK / MILE MARKER], in [TOWN/CITY], New Hampshire (the "Collision").

9. At the same time and place, Driver Defendant was operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] [passenger vehicle / pickup truck / SUV / commercial vehicle] owned by Owner Defendant.

10. Traffic, lighting, and weather conditions were [describe — e.g., clear, dry, daylight], and Plaintiff's motorcycle headlamp was illuminated and operating.

11. The Collision occurred when Driver Defendant [SELECT / DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF COLLISION — e.g., turned left across Plaintiff's path of travel; failed to yield the right-of-way at the intersection; changed lanes into the lane occupied by Plaintiff's motorcycle; followed Plaintiff's motorcycle too closely and struck it from the rear; pulled out from a private drive or side street into Plaintiff's path].

12. Although Plaintiff's motorcycle was plainly visible, Driver Defendant "looked but failed to see" Plaintiff's approaching motorcycle, misjudged its speed and distance, and/or failed to keep a proper lookout for motorcycles lawfully sharing the roadway.

13. Plaintiff had the right-of-way and was operating the motorcycle in a lawful, prudent, and careful manner at all material times.

14. As a direct and proximate result of the Collision, Plaintiff was thrown from the motorcycle and sustained severe, painful, and permanent bodily injuries, including but not limited to [LIST INJURIES — e.g., orthopedic fractures, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, internal injuries, road rash / degloving, and disfiguring scarring].

15. Because a motorcyclist lacks the structural protection, restraint systems, and crumple zones of an enclosed vehicle, the forces of the Collision caused Plaintiff to suffer injuries materially more severe than those typically sustained by occupants of passenger vehicles.

16. Plaintiff received emergency care at [HOSPITAL / EMS PROVIDER] and has since undergone [SURGERIES / HOSPITALIZATION / REHABILITATION / ONGOING TREATMENT], and will require future medical care.

17. All injuries and damages alleged were the foreseeable, natural, and probable consequence of Defendants' conduct.

4. COUNT I — NEGLIGENCE (Against Defendant Driver)

18. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 17 as if fully set forth herein.

19. Driver Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of a motor vehicle, to obey the New Hampshire Rules of the Road (RSA 265), to keep a proper lookout for motorcyclists lawfully sharing the roadway, and to refrain from conduct endangering others.

20. Driver Defendant breached that duty by, among other things:

• Failing to keep a proper and careful lookout for Plaintiff's plainly visible motorcycle;
• Failing to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff's oncoming or approaching motorcycle;
• Turning left across the path of Plaintiff's oncoming motorcycle when it was unsafe to do so;
• Making an unsafe lane change into the lane occupied by Plaintiff's motorcycle;
• Following Plaintiff's motorcycle more closely than was reasonable and prudent;
• Misjudging the speed and distance of Plaintiff's approaching motorcycle;
• Operating the vehicle at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent for the conditions;
• Driving while distracted or inattentive; and
• Failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle.

21. Each of the foregoing acts and omissions, separately and in combination, was a direct and proximate cause of the Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

22. As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff has sustained the damages described in Section 8 below.

5. COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE PER SE (Against Defendant Driver)

23. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 22 as if fully set forth herein.

24. The New Hampshire Rules of the Road impose specific statutory duties on Driver Defendant for the protection of persons lawfully using the roadway, including motorcyclists such as Plaintiff. These include, as applicable to the manner of the Collision:

• RSA 265:29 — a driver within an intersection intending to turn left shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction;
• RSA 265:28 — a driver approaching or entering an intersection on the left must yield to a vehicle on the right, unless a traffic control device or police officer directs otherwise;
• RSA 265:30 and RSA 265:31 — duties to stop and to yield at stop and yield signs;
• RSA 265:25 — a driver shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent; and
• RSA 265:60 — the basic rule requiring a reasonable and prudent speed for conditions.

25. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the foregoing statutes were enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm those statutes were designed to prevent.

26. Driver Defendant violated [CITE THE SPECIFIC SECTION(S) APPLICABLE], and was cited for [TRAFFIC CITATION, IF ANY]. Under New Hampshire law, an unexcused violation of a safety statute is evidence of negligence (and, in appropriate circumstances, negligence per se), and was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

6. REQUEST FOR ENHANCED COMPENSATORY DAMAGES (Against Defendant Driver)

27. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 26 as if fully set forth herein.

28. Driver Defendant acted wantonly, maliciously, or oppressively, as shown by the following conduct, if supported by the evidence: [e.g., operating the vehicle while impaired; driving at a grossly excessive speed; aggressive or intentional maneuvers toward Plaintiff's motorcycle].

29. If Plaintiff proves liability and actual damages under Count I or II, and proves the aggravating conduct alleged above, Plaintiff requests enhanced compensatory damages under New Hampshire common law. This request is not a separate cause of action. See Goodell v. Roof, No. 2023-0281 (N.H. Feb. 12, 2025). RSA 507:16 bars punitive damages absent statutory authorization.

7. COUNT IV — NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT / VICARIOUS LIABILITY (Against Defendant Owner)

30. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 29 as if fully set forth herein.

31. Owner Defendant entrusted the subject vehicle to Driver Defendant when Owner Defendant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that Driver Defendant was an incompetent, inexperienced, reckless, or otherwise unfit driver.

32. Alternatively, at the time of the Collision, Driver Defendant was operating the vehicle as the agent, servant, or employee of Owner Defendant and within the course and scope of that agency or employment, rendering Owner Defendant vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

33. Owner Defendant's negligent entrustment and/or vicarious liability was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages, for which Owner Defendant is liable.

8. DAMAGES

34. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and seeks recovery of the following:

• Past and future medical expenses — emergency, ambulance, hospital, surgical, diagnostic, rehabilitative, pharmaceutical, and physician care;
• Future medical and life care — anticipated surgeries, therapy, assistive devices, and long-term care, to be proven at trial;
• Lost earnings and diminished earning capacity — past lost income and the permanent impairment of Plaintiff's ability to earn;
• Physical pain, suffering, and mental anguish — past and future;
• Permanent physical impairment and disfigurement, including scarring from road rash and surgical intervention;
• Loss of enjoyment of life; and
• Property damage to the motorcycle, riding gear, helmet, and personal effects, including loss of use and diminution in value.

35. Plaintiff seeks no punitive damages under RSA 507:16. Any enhanced compensatory request depends on liability, actual damages, and evidence of wanton, malicious, or oppressive conduct on an underlying claim.

36. Plaintiff seeks interest from the date of the writ or petition to judgment under RSA 524:1-b and interest on the judgment under RSA 336:1, II.

9. COMPARATIVE FAULT, HELMET, AND INSURANCE ALLEGATIONS

37. Pursuant to RSA 507:7-d, Plaintiff affirmatively alleges that any fault attributable to Plaintiff was not greater than the fault of the applicable Defendant, or the Defendants in the aggregate if recovery is allowed against more than one Defendant, and therefore does not bar recovery; any award shall be diminished in proportion to Plaintiff's fault, if any.

38. Plaintiff has complied with, or will comply with, all conditions precedent applicable to any uninsured/underinsured-motorist claim and reserves all rights against the applicable UM/UIM carrier.

10. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Honorable Court enter judgment against Defendants, and award:

• A. Compensatory damages in an amount to be determined at trial, in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of this Court;
• B. If separately authorized by current controlling common law, enhanced compensatory damages on a proven underlying claim, if actual damages and aggravating conduct are established; no punitive damages under RSA 507:16;
• C. Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as allowed by law;
• D. Costs of this action; and
• E. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and equitable.

11. JURY DEMAND

Pursuant to Part I, Article 20 of the New Hampshire Constitution and N.H. R. Super. Ct. (Civil) 8(c), Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable as a matter of right.

12. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this Complaint to add or substitute parties, to assert additional claims (including claims against any uninsured/underinsured-motorist carrier), and to conform the pleadings to the evidence as discovery proceeds.

13. SIGNATURE BLOCK

Respectfully submitted,

[PLAINTIFF NAME], By [his/her/their] attorneys,

Dated: [__/__/____]

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME], Esq. (NH Bar No. [________])

[LAW FIRM NAME]

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, NH ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

Counsel for Plaintiff

14. VERIFICATION

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

COUNTY OF [COUNTY]

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], being duly sworn, depose and say that I am the Plaintiff in the foregoing action; that I have read the foregoing Complaint; and that the facts stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

[________________________________]

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff

Subscribed and sworn to before me this [____] day of [_______________], 20[____].

[________________________________]

Notary Public / Justice of the Peace

My Commission Expires: [_______________]

15. NEW HAMPSHIRE PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Personal actions must be commenced within three years of the act or omission complained of (or, under the discovery rule, within three years of when the injury and its causal relationship were or should have been discovered). RSA 508:4, I. Wrongful-death actions are likewise generally subject to the three-year period (see RSA 556:11 and Cheever v. Southern N.H. Med. Ctr.). Claims against governmental entities carry shorter notice/limitations rules (RSA 507-B; RSA 541-B).
• Modified comparative fault — the central issue. RSA 507:7-d bars recovery only if the plaintiff's fault is greater than the defendant's fault, or aggregate defendant fault when recovery is allowed against more than one defendant. Equality does not bar; an allowed award is reduced proportionally. RSA 507:7-e governs apportionment and joint-versus-several liability (joint and several where a defendant is 50% or more at fault, or under subsection I(c) where parties knowingly pursue or actively take part in a common plan or design resulting in harm).
• Fault state; no no-fault/PIP; no compulsory insurance. New Hampshire applies traditional tort liability — there is no automobile no-fault regime and no serious-injury threshold. New Hampshire is also one of the few states that does not mandate liability insurance, making early coverage investigation and UM/UIM preservation essential.
• Helmet law. RSA 265:122 requires DOT-approved headgear only for riders under 18; adults are not required to wear a helmet. Anticipate defense use of the helmet issue on damages even where no statutory violation exists, and separate crash causation from injury causation with experts.
• Damages. RSA 507:16 prohibits punitive damages unless another statute provides otherwise; it says nothing about enhanced compensatory damages. Include the enhanced compensatory request only when liability, actual damages, and wanton, malicious, or oppressive conduct can be proved on an underlying claim.
• Interest and service. Prejudgment interest on pecuniary damages runs under RSA 524:1-b; RSA 336:1, II sets the judgment interest rate. Service and commencement follow the New Hampshire Rules of the Superior Court (Civil) and RSA 510. For an accident involving a nonresident motorist driving on a New Hampshire way, RSA 264:13, I treats that driving as an appointment of the director for accident-related process.

16. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (Title LII — Actions; Title XXI — Motor Vehicles) — https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/indexes/default.html
• RSA 508:4 (limitation of personal actions) — https://law.justia.com/codes/new-hampshire/title-lii/chapter-508/section-508-4/
• RSA 507:7-d, RSA 507:7-e (comparative fault; apportionment) — https://law.justia.com/codes/new-hampshire/title-lii/chapter-507/
• RSA 265:29 (vehicle turning left), RSA 265:28 (approaching/entering intersection), RSA 265:25 (following), RSA 265:60 (speed) — https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-mrg.htm
• RSA 265:122 (motorcycle protective headgear — under 18) — https://law.justia.com/codes/new-hampshire/title-xxi/chapter-265/section-265-122/
• RSA 507:16 (punitive damages prohibited absent another statute; not enhanced-damages authority)
• RSA 491:7 (Superior Court jurisdiction); RSA 507:9 (venue)
• New Hampshire Rules of the Superior Court (Civil) (service, Rule 8(c) jury request)
• New Hampshire Civil Jury Instructions (Motor Vehicle; Comparative Fault; Enhanced Compensatory Damages)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in New Hampshire must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.