You generally have 2 years to give notice of a New Hampshire workers' comp injury and 3 years to bring a product-liability lawsuit. If you wait too long, you can lose one claim or both.

What should have happened: if you were hurt while working, your employer should have put the injury through workers' compensation, not told you to use your own health insurance. In New Hampshire, a work injury can be covered even if a defective car part caused the crash. Those are separate issues.

Your boss's insurer may handle the work injury claim. A manufacturer, parts seller, repair shop, or installer may be responsible for the brake failure. New Hampshire allows product liability claims, including strict liability under RSA 507-D, when a defective product causes injury.

What to do now: report the injury to your employer in writing immediately if you have not already. Keep a copy. Ask for the workers' comp claim information and confirm whether a First Report of Injury was filed with the New Hampshire Department of Labor.

Do not let anyone repair, sell, junk, or "clean up" the vehicle before the brakes are documented. Save:

• photos of the vehicle and damaged parts
• repair invoices, work orders, and towing records
• ER records and wage-loss proof
• any recall notice or VIN-based recall search result

If the crash happened during heavy rain, flooding, or hydroplaning conditions around Laconia, that does not automatically excuse a brake defect. Storm conditions and defective brakes can both be part of the case.

What comes next: workers' comp should cover medical care and lost-time benefits if the injury is work-related. Separately, the brake claim may be against the manufacturer, the seller, or the shop that installed the part. If there was a recall, that can strengthen the defect case, but no recall is required to bring one.

If your employer or insurer refuses to process the work claim, disputes the injury, or pressures you to use private insurance, that is a sign something is going wrong. The New Hampshire Department of Labor is the state agency that handles workers' comp disputes.