An interesting case is hatching in New Hampshire that co-mingles a motorcycle accident with the state's dog bite laws. It might not be the most common cause of motorcycle accidents, but a woman from Maine argued that a dog was responsible for causing her to crash her motorcycle in an accident in Wakefield, New Hampshire.

The woman was riding along in June of 2009 when a brown Labrador retriever ran out into the road in front of her. The woman collided with the back half of the animal, causing her to lose control of the bike. She ran off the road and crashed into a telephone pole, sustaining what she called both extensive and permanent injuries.

The woman wants the owner of the dog to be held responsible for the destruction it apparently caused. For this, she is turning to the state's dog bite laws, which fall under the loose umbrella of premises liability. The dog bite laws in New Hampshire are designed to hold dog owners responsible for the destruction or injury the animal causes. The only problem in this case is that the dog did not actually bite the woman, making it somewhat of a reach.

A federal judge agreed. Recently, a U.S. District Court judge shot down the woman's request to pursue litigation against the dog's owners under such pretense. The judge did not feel that the New Hampshire's dog bite laws applied to the case.

The woman initially filed the suit against the dog's owner, who let his adult son take the dog to an auto parts yard where they both worked. She claimed that the man's failure to keep tabs on the dog made him liable for the accident.

Source: Nashua Telegraph, "Court: Woman may not sue even though dog causes accident," Joseph G. Cote, Jan. 31, 2012