Billings Brain Injury Lawyers

Billings, MontanaBillings Brain Injury

Billings Brain Injury Lawyers: TBI, Concussion and Head Injury Claims From Crashes, Falls and Assaults in Yellowstone County

Boland Aarab PLLP.

A traumatic brain injury can change memory, mood, work and family life even when the CT scan looks normal. If someone else’s carelessness caused yours in Billings or Yellowstone County, Montana law lets you recover for the full harm, including future care and lost earning capacity. Most claims must be filed within 3 years.

Living with a brain injury, or watching someone you love change after one? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

How are brain injuries missed, and found, in the Billings region?

Most brain injuries we see in eastern Montana are not the dramatic ones. They are concussions and diffuse injuries that were overshadowed at the start by broken bones, or never recognized at all. The CDC says some concussion symptoms may not appear for hours or days (CDC).

The regional geography makes that problem worse. A person hurt in a crash near Hardin, Columbus or Roundup may be seen first at a small hospital, checked for obvious injuries and sent home. The subtle signs, confusion in the ambulance, repeated questions, a gap in memory, may be written down in a paramedic’s note and never followed up. Weeks later, the person is back at work in Billings and cannot keep up.

Billings is where many of those injuries are finally diagnosed. Its two hospital systems, Billings Clinic and Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital, are both designated ACS Level 1 / Comprehensive Trauma Centers by the state (DPHHS), and the neurologists, physiatrists and therapists who follow brain-injured patients over time are mostly in Billings. For a legal case, the record from the first days and the record from the months after both matter. Together they show what changed.

What causes brain injuries in Billings?

• Crashes. Rear-end and intersection crashes on busy arterials such as Main Street in the Heights, King Avenue West and 27th Street, and chain-reaction crashes on I-90 when blowing snow drops visibility to almost nothing. A sudden stop can injure the brain without the head striking anything.
• Motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian crashes, where there is little between the person and the pavement.
• Falls. Icy sidewalks, parking lots and steps through a long Billings winter, and falls from ladders, roofs and scaffolds on job sites.
• Assaults, including cases where a bar, venue, apartment complex or other business failed to provide reasonable security.
• Work injuries from falling objects and struck-by accidents at construction sites, plants and warehouses, where a third party other than the employer may be responsible (§ 39-71-412, MCA).
• Medical errors that deprive the brain of oxygen, which follow Montana’s malpractice rules.

What happens after a brain injury in Billings?

1. Get evaluated, and follow up. Seek emergency care right away for a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizures, slurred speech, weakness or confusion (CDC). If you were sent home and still do not feel right, see a physician again and say so.
2. Ask a family member to keep notes. Spouses, parents and co-workers often notice the changes first: a shorter temper, missed appointments, trouble at work.
3. Get the early records. Ambulance run sheets and emergency notes often document confusion the injured person does not remember.
4. Get the reports. In Billings, the Billings Police Department; in the county, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office; on I-90 and highways, often the Montana Highway Patrol.
5. Do not give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer. Memory and word-finding problems can be used against you.

A lawsuit in state court for an injury in Yellowstone County is filed in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court at the Yellowstone County Courthouse, 217 North 27th Street (§ 3-5-101, MCA). Cases against out-of-state drivers, trucking companies or businesses may be heard in the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court, at the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse (District of Montana).

How is a brain injury proven?

With the mechanism of the injury, the early medical record, advanced imaging where appropriate, the treating providers’ observations over time, neuropsychological testing that measures attention, memory, processing speed and effort, and before-and-after testimony from the people who know you. Insurers point to a normal CT scan. A normal scan does not mean a normal brain.

Montana law that applies

• Full damages, including future harm (§§ 27-1-202, 27-1-203, 27-1-317, MCA).
• Property owners must use ordinary care, which matters in fall and security cases (§ 27-1-701, MCA).
• Comparative fault (§ 27-1-702, MCA).
• Deadlines: 3 years for most negligence claims, but 2 years for claims based on assault and battery (§ 27-2-204, MCA); malpractice claims have their own rules (§ 27-2-205, MCA).

Our Montana traumatic brain injury page explains diffuse axonal injury, neuropsychological testing and brain-injury damages in more depth.

Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Billings case?

Brain injury cases are won by patient preparation: gathering the records, working with the treating providers and presenting the before-and-after story to a jury. We are based in Great Falls and handle brain injury cases statewide. Our attorneys travel to Billings to meet clients and families and for depositions, hearings and trial, and our firm has tried jury trials in Yellowstone County. We do not have a Billings office. We can meet at your home in Billings if that is easier.

The Boland Aarab Way

• We try cases. More than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
• We protect verdicts. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client in a rear-end crash case (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
• 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.
• You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves. Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.

Related Billings pages: catastrophic injury · pedestrian accidents · all Billings personal injury cases

Frequently Asked Questions

I was checked at a small hospital and sent home, but I still have headaches weeks later in Billings. What should I do? See a physician again and describe every symptom, including memory and mood changes. Delayed symptoms are common after a concussion, and the follow-up record matters.

My CT scan in the Billings ER was normal. Can I still have a brain injury? Yes. Many concussions and diffuse axonal injuries do not show on a CT scan. MRI, neuropsychological testing and the treating record often tell a fuller story.

I was assaulted outside a Billings bar. Can I sue the business? Possibly, if the business failed to provide reasonable security. Note that claims based on assault and battery can have a 2-year deadline (§ 27-2-204(3), MCA).

I slipped on ice outside a Billings business and hit my head. Do I have a claim? You may. Property owners must use ordinary care (§ 27-1-701, MCA). Photographs, weather records and the business’s snow-removal practices are important evidence.

Where would my Billings brain injury case be filed? In the Thirteenth Judicial District Court in Billings for an injury in Yellowstone County, or in the federal court’s Billings Division if a defendant is from out of state.

Talk to a Billings Brain 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.