Butte, MontanaButte Bicycle Accident
Butte Bicycle Accident Lawyers: Uptown Streets, Greenway Crossings and E-Bike Crashes in Butte-Silver Bow
Boland Aarab PLLP.
A cyclist hit by a car in Butte has the same rights as any driver, and can bring a claim in the Second Judicial District Court in Uptown Butte. Most bicycle injury claims must be filed within three years. Your own auto policy’s uninsured and underinsured coverage may also pay, even though you were on a bike.
Hurt while riding in Butte, or lost a family member in a bike crash? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Where do bicycle crashes happen in Butte?
Butte is a hard city to ride, and a rewarding one. Its geography creates specific risks.
- Uptown hills. Uptown Butte, one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the country, is built on steep slopes with narrow streets, parked cars and tight sight lines. A rider descending an Uptown street has a long stopping distance; a driver backing out of a space or rolling a stop sign at the bottom of a grade leaves little room.
- Montana Tech and the west side. Montana Technological University sits on the hill west of Uptown. Students and staff ride to campus on residential streets shared with commuter traffic.
- Harrison Avenue and the Flat. Harrison is Butte’s main commercial strip, with frequent driveways and turning traffic. Right hooks and drivers pulling out of parking lots are common crash patterns for riders.
- Trail crossings. Butte-Silver Bow has built an urban trail system on old rail and stream corridors, including the paved Blacktail Creek trail and segments of the Silver Bow Creek Greenway, a planned 26-mile corridor toward Warm Springs Ponds. Where a trail meets a street, drivers must still yield where the law requires, and the design of a crossing can matter.
- Rocker, Silver Bow and the frontage roads. West of town, the Greenway’s Rocker segment runs near the interstate interchanges and industrial traffic near Silver Bow.
Weather and altitude shape the riding year. Early- and late-season riders deal with sand and gravel left from winter, frost in shade and low sun on east-west streets in the morning and evening.
What happens after a bicycle accident in Butte?
Report it. Call 911. Crashes on city-county streets are handled by the Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department. Ask for the case number and the officer’s name. If the driver left, report it right away; a hit-and-run can still be covered by your own uninsured motorist coverage.
Get checked. Head injuries are common even with a helmet. Serious injuries are treated at St. James Healthcare, an ACS Level III / State Area Trauma Hospital (DPHHS, Nov. 2025).
Save the evidence. Keep the bike, helmet and clothing as they are. Take photos of the intersection, the trail crossing, the sight lines and any debris. If your ride was recorded on a bike computer or phone app, save the file; it may show your speed and route.
The court. A Butte case filed in state court goes to the Second Judicial District Court (§ 3-5-101(2), MCA) at the Silver Bow County Courthouse, 155 West Granite Street. If the driver is from another state, the case may be moved to the U.S. District Court, Butte Division, at the Mike Mansfield Federal Courthouse on North Main Street (mtd.uscourts.gov). If a trail crossing or street defect maintained by Butte-Silver Bow played a role, a written notice rule applies to the claim against the city-county (§ 2-9-301, MCA).
Montana law that applies
The basics, briefly. Our Montana bicycle accident lawyer page goes deeper.
- A person riding a bicycle has the rights and duties of any other driver (§ 61-8-602, MCA).
- Drivers may pass a cyclist only when it is safe, and must yield to cyclists in a bike lane (§ 61-8-320, MCA).
- Opening a car door into traffic when it is not reasonably safe is illegal (§ 61-8-368, MCA), a real risk on Uptown streets lined with parked cars.
- An electrically assisted bicycle is legally a bicycle (§ 61-8-102, MCA). E-bikes have made Butte’s hills easier to climb, and they are treated like any other bike.
- Most claims must be filed within 3 years (§ 27-2-204, MCA), and shared fault reduces but does not bar recovery unless yours is greater than the defendants’ combined (§ 27-1-702, MCA).
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Butte case?
Bicycle cases are often uphill fights with insurers that assume the rider was at fault. What wins them is careful scene work and trial readiness, and we provide both from Great Falls, where we are based. We handle cases statewide. Our attorneys come to Butte to see the intersection or trail crossing, meet with you and witnesses, and appear for depositions, hearings and trial.
To be clear, we have no Butte office and have not tried a case in Silver Bow County. Our jury trials have been in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties.
The Boland Aarab Way
- More than 4,000 hours in the courtroom, and more than a dozen jury trials.
- Experience holding local governments accountable. A Meagher County jury returned a $115,000 net verdict for a family against a city for municipal negligence (Jack v. City of White Sulphur Springs).
- Appeals handled in-house. Our appellate record reaches back to 1977 (appellate results).
- Active in the trial bar: AAJ and MTLA members, with Caitlin Boland Aarab on the MTLA Board.
We also handle pedestrian accident cases in Butte and brain injury cases in Butte. See our Butte personal injury page.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who takes a bike crash report in Butte? The Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department handles crashes on city-county streets. The Montana Highway Patrol handles crashes on the interstates and some highways.
I was hit where a Butte trail crosses a street. Who is at fault? It depends on the signs, markings and sight lines at that crossing and on what each person did. If the crossing’s design or maintenance played a part, Butte-Silver Bow may share responsibility, subject to a written notice rule.
I ride an e-bike to Montana Tech. Am I treated like a cyclist? Yes. Montana law treats an electrically assisted bicycle as a bicycle, with the same rights and duties.
A driver doored me on an Uptown street. Is that the driver’s fault? Usually. Montana law forbids opening a door into traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so.
Will my own car insurance help after a bike crash in Butte? Often, yes. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage on your own auto policy can apply when you are hit on a bike.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
