In New Hampshire, moderate injury settlements are often in the five figures, and no, waiting a few months does not mean Medicare, Medicaid, or your insurer automatically gets the whole check.

What gets paid first depends on who covered your care and whether they have a valid reimbursement right.

If you were treated after a Nashua crash at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center or St. Joseph Hospital, the hospital usually does not get an automatic injury-settlement lien just for treating you. New Hampshire does not use the kind of broad hospital lien system some states do. The bill still matters, but the hospital is usually collecting through normal billing, insurance, or any balance you still owe.

The biggest claims on a settlement are usually:

• Attorney fees and case costs
• Medicare conditional payments
• New Hampshire Medicaid reimbursement
• Health insurance reimbursement or subrogation, if your plan language allows it

If Medicare paid accident-related bills, Medicare must be repaid from the settlement for those conditional payments. The amount is not guessed; it is identified and resolved through Medicare's recovery process.

If New Hampshire Medicaid paid, the state can seek reimbursement from the part of the settlement tied to medical expenses. That usually runs through NH DHHS or its recovery contractor.

If private insurance paid, the answer depends on the policy. A self-funded ERISA plan often has stronger reimbursement rights than a regular fully insured plan. The exact plan documents matter.

For a pregnant crash victim, fetal monitoring, OB visits, ultrasounds, labor-and-delivery concerns, and follow-up care can all be part of the claim if tied to the wreck, including hydroplaning or storm-debris crashes on routes like Everett Turnpike or I-93.

You also have to watch the lawsuit deadline. In New Hampshire, most injury claims must be filed within 3 years under RSA 508:4. So months later is usually not too late, but years later can be.

The basic split is simple: settlement in, valid liens/reimbursement claims reviewed and paid or negotiated, then the rest goes to you.