Billings, MontanaBillings & Yellowstone County Personal Injury
Billings & Yellowstone County Personal Injury Lawyers: Car, Truck, Workplace, Medical and Wrongful Death Cases in Montana’s Largest City
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If you were seriously hurt in Billings or Yellowstone County because of someone else’s carelessness, you can claim your medical care, lost income and the harm to your life. Most Montana injury claims must be filed within 3 years. Our trial firm, based in Great Falls, handles Billings cases and has tried jury trials in Yellowstone County.
Hurt in Billings, or lost someone you love? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What makes a Billings injury case different?
Billings is Montana’s largest city and the seat of its most populous county. Yellowstone County counted 164,731 people in the 2020 census (U.S. Census Bureau). But its reach is much wider than its population. Billings is where eastern Montana and northern Wyoming come for trauma care, specialty medicine, shopping, banking, air travel and work. That shapes injury cases here in three ways.
The roads carry the whole region. Interstate 90 runs through Billings along the Yellowstone River, and Interstate 94 begins at I-90 in Lockwood and heads northeast toward Miles City and North Dakota. U.S. 87 runs north through the Heights toward Roundup. Montana 3 climbs the Rimrocks past the airport. Refinery tankers, rail-served industry, distribution trucks and summer travelers share those roads with commuters. Inside the city, the Montana Department of Transportation says the Main Street and Airport Road corridor in the Heights carries about 63,500 vehicles a day (MDT), and the West End’s King Avenue West, Shiloh Road and 24th Street West carry heavy retail traffic. MDT’s Billings Bypass, which runs from the Johnson Lane interchange on I-90 in Lockwood across the Yellowstone River to Old Highway 312 and U.S. 87 in the Heights, is reshaping traffic on the east side (MDT).
Industry is heavy. Three refineries operate in Yellowstone County: Phillips 66 in Billings, Par Pacific in Lockwood (bought from ExxonMobil in 2023) and CHS in Laurel. The railroad runs through the middle of town, and since January 1, 2024, BNSF has operated the former Montana Rail Link line through Billings and Laurel. Construction, food processing, warehousing and health care round out the picture. Many serious work injuries here involve a company other than the injured worker’s employer, and those companies can be sued.
Everyone comes here for care. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services designates only two hospitals in the state as ACS Level 1 / Comprehensive Trauma Centers, and both are in Billings: Billings Clinic and St. Vincent’s Healthcare, now Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital (DPHHS). Their MedFlight and H.E.L.P. Flight air programs bring patients in from hundreds of miles away. That means a Billings case may start with records from a small rural hospital and continue with years of follow-up care in the city.
What are the main hazards in and around Billings?
- Winter. Black ice, packed snow, blowing snow on I-90 and I-94, and freeze-thaw cycles that leave potholes and traction sand into spring. Icy sidewalks and parking lots cause serious falls.
- Summer storms and hail. Billings has a long history of damaging hail, and hail claims are a frequent source of insurance disputes.
- The Rims. Zimmerman Trail and Highway 3 climb the Rimrocks with steep grades and curves. The City closes Zimmerman Trail every year for maintenance that includes removing rock (Billings Public Works).
- Rail crossings. Downtown streets cross the tracks at grade, and MDT has identified the 27th Street crossing as a high priority for improvement (MDT).
- Aviation. Billings Logan International Airport sits on top of the Rims near downtown, with airline, cargo, air ambulance and flight-training traffic.
- Touring routes. Summer riders and drivers head south through Laurel toward Red Lodge and the Beartooth Highway.
Which courts hear Billings injury cases?
State court. A case filed in Yellowstone County goes to the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, which serves Yellowstone County only (§ 3-5-101, MCA). It is an eight-judge district, and the Clerk of District Court is at the Yellowstone County Courthouse, 217 North 27th Street, Room 513, in downtown Billings (Yellowstone County). Juries are drawn from Yellowstone County. Nearby counties have their own districts: Stillwater, Carbon and Big Horn Counties form the Twenty-Second Judicial District.
Federal court. When the person or company sued is from another state, which is common with trucking companies, manufacturers, insurers and national employers, a case may be filed in or moved to the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, at the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200 (District of Montana). The Billings Division covers Yellowstone County and twenty-one other south-central and eastern Montana counties. Montana law on fault and damages still applies.
Appeals. Appeals from the Thirteenth Judicial District go directly to the Montana Supreme Court in Helena. Appeals from the Billings Division go to the Ninth Circuit.
Before any lawsuit. Crashes are reported to the Billings Police Department inside the city, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office in the county, and often the Montana Highway Patrol on the interstates and state highways. Medical malpractice claims must go through the Montana Medical Legal Panel first. Claims against the City of Billings, Yellowstone County or the State must be presented in writing before suit (§ 2-9-301, MCA).
How does a Billings case work with a Great Falls firm?
Simply. We are based in Great Falls, at 18 6th Street North, and we handle serious injury cases across Montana. We do not have a Billings office, and you do not need to come to ours.
- The first conversation is by phone or video, or we come to you, at home, in the hospital or at a place you choose in Billings.
- The investigation happens where the evidence is. Our attorneys travel to Billings and the surrounding counties to inspect vehicles, equipment and scenes, meet witnesses and work with experts.
- The court work happens in Billings. Our attorneys travel for depositions, hearings, mediation and trial in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court and the federal Billings Division.
- The trial experience is real. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, so we have tried cases to Yellowstone County juries.
- You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves, from the first call to the end.
We handle injury cases on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless we recover for you. We will explain the fee agreement in writing before you sign anything.
What Montana law applies to a Billings injury claim?
In brief: most injury and wrongful-death claims must be filed within 3 years (§ 27-2-204, MCA); medical malpractice generally within 2 years (§ 27-2-205, MCA). You can recover if your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of those you sue, with your damages reduced by your percentage (§ 27-1-702, MCA). Montana allows compensation for all the harm a wrongful act causes, including future harm (§ 27-1-203, MCA). Each practice page below explains the rules for that kind of case.
Practice areas we handle in Billings
Crashes and transportation
Work injuries
Medical and care cases
Serious injuries
Insurance, privacy and appeals
More practice areas
The Boland Aarab Way
- We try cases. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We protect verdicts. When a Phillips County jury’s $168,500 verdict for our client was thrown out, we took it to the Montana Supreme Court and had it reinstated (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137). The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977.
- We know federal court. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, and Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit.
- We stand with families and hold public bodies accountable. A $550,000 settlement for the estate in Estate of Alexander v. Cascade County, and a $115,000 net jury verdict against a Montana city in Jack v. City of White Sulphur Springs. See our results.
- We are part of the trial bar. Both attorneys are members of the American Association for Justice and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. Caitlin Boland Aarab is an AAJ Governor and serves on the MTLA Board; Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.
We also serve Great Falls, Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, Butte and Kalispell.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer with an office in Billings? No. What matters is trial experience and the willingness to do the work where the case is. We are based in Great Falls, travel to Billings for depositions, hearings and trial, and our firm has tried jury trials in Yellowstone County.
Where is a Billings injury lawsuit filed? In state court, cases filed in Yellowstone County go to the Thirteenth Judicial District Court at the courthouse on North 27th Street. Cases against out-of-state defendants may be heard in the federal court’s Billings Division on 2nd Avenue North.
Who takes the crash report in Billings? The Billings Police Department inside city limits, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office in the rest of the county, and often the Montana Highway Patrol on I-90, I-94 and state highways.
I was flown to a Billings hospital after a crash in another county. Where is my case? Usually in the county where the injury happened, or in federal court if a defendant is from out of state. Being treated in Billings does not by itself move the case to Yellowstone County.
How long do I have to file an injury claim in Montana? Generally 3 years for injury and wrongful-death claims (§ 27-2-204, MCA) and 2 years for medical malpractice (§ 27-2-205, MCA). Claims against the City of Billings, Yellowstone County or the State need written notice first.
Will I have to travel to Great Falls? No. We meet clients by phone, by video or in person in Billings, and our attorneys come to Billings for the court work.
Talk to a Billings Personal Injury Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
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.
