The more common modified comparative threshold
Among the US states that use some form of modified comparative negligence, a majority use the more forgiving 51% threshold — recovery is barred only once the claimant's fault actually exceeds the defendant's. A smaller group of 12 states uses a stricter 50% version instead, where recovery is barred at fault merely equal to the other side's.
The 21 states using a 51% bar
New Hampshire's peer group under this more common threshold is: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana (for accidents from 2026 onward), Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
A genuine contrast right next door
New Hampshire's neighbor Maine is a notable exception to any assumption of regional uniformity: Maine actually uses the stricter 50% bar, meaning a claimant found exactly 50% at fault recovers something in New Hampshire but nothing at all in otherwise similar circumstances just across that state line.
A genuinely distinctive application within this shared group
Here's the detail that sets New Hampshire apart from most of this list. Under RSA 507:7-e, New Hampshire separately imposes joint and several liability on any individual defendant found at least 50% at fault — a structural layer that most of the other 20 states in this group don't pair with their 51% bar in the same explicit way.
Why this matters in a disputed claim
Because none of these 21 states bars recovery at an even 50/50 split, a disputed fault percentage near the midpoint still results in meaningful recovery across the group — and in New Hampshire specifically, a defendant crossing the 50% line also takes on a distinctive liability exposure of their own. See our full comparison of how New Hampshire's rule fits among all four fault systems for the complete picture.