What the police report says is who caused the crash. What matters for a product claim is whether a brake defect caused or worsened it.

Worst case: yes, you can file a claim, but you may recover nothing from the manufacturer if the evidence only shows driver error, bad following distance, or a worn-out part nobody responsible sold or installed negligently. A Dover police report blaming you, the other driver, or a lane-shift mess on the Spaulding Turnpike does not decide the product case by itself.

Things go better when you can show one of three paths:

• Manufacturer defect: the brake part was dangerously designed or made wrong.
• Seller liability: the shop or parts seller put a defective product into the stream of commerce.
• Installer negligence: the garage installed it wrong, used the wrong part, or missed obvious problems.

New Hampshire recognizes strict product liability, which means you do not always have to prove the manufacturer was careless. You do have to prove the brake was defective and that the defect caused the injury. If there was a recall, that helps, but a recalled part is not required.

For a nurse or hospital worker driving through Dover road work, the practical issue is evidence. Save the vehicle, the failed parts, repair invoices, recall notices, tow records, and any service history from the shop that last touched the brakes. If the car gets repaired or crushed before the parts are examined, the case gets much harder fast.

The deadline is usually 3 years for personal injury in New Hampshire under RSA 508:4. If the crash happened while working, a workers' compensation claim can exist at the same time as a third-party product case.

And because New Hampshire does not require auto insurance, there may be less coverage available from the driver side, which makes identifying a viable brake-maker, seller, or installer claim even more important.