Billings Burn Injury Lawyer | Fires, Explosions & Refinery

Billings, MontanaBillings Burn Injury

Billings Burn Injury Lawyers: Refinery Fires, Explosions, Electrical Burns and Home Heating Fires in Yellowstone County

Boland Aarab PLLP.

If a fire, explosion, electrical accident or defective product caused by someone else burned you in Billings or Yellowstone County, Montana law lets you recover for medical care, lost earnings, and the scarring and disfigurement that remain. Most claims must be filed within 3 years, but the physical evidence of a fire can be gone within days.

Seriously burned, or caring for someone who was? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

What causes serious burns in and around Billings?

Billings has a concentration of burn hazards that most Montana cities do not.

Refineries. Three operate in Yellowstone County: Phillips 66 in Billings, Par Pacific in Lockwood and CHS in Laurel. Refineries handle flammable hydrocarbons under heat and pressure, and they are governed by OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard for highly hazardous chemicals (29 C.F.R. § 1910.119). That standard requires process hazard analyses, written operating procedures, mechanical-integrity programs and hot-work permits. When a flash fire or release burns a worker, the plant’s own PSM documents often show what should have been done.
Contract crews. Much refinery maintenance and turnaround work is done by contractors. A burned contract worker has a workers’ compensation claim against their own employer, and may have a separate claim against the plant owner or another contractor (§ 39-71-412, MCA).
Fuel and hazardous-materials transport. Tanker trucks on I-90, I-94 and local routes to the refineries and terminals, and rail tank cars moving through the city, carry fuel and chemicals. A crash that ruptures a tank can cause fire injuries to people who had nothing to do with the cargo.
Winter heating. Billings winters run furnaces, space heaters, propane and natural-gas appliances hard for months. Faulty installation, a bad regulator or valve, or a landlord’s failure to repair can lead to fires and explosions in homes and rentals.
Lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes, scooters, tools and phones, which can overheat and ignite while charging.
Electrical contact by cranes, booms and ladders near overhead lines on construction sites around the growing city.

Where are Billings burn patients treated?

Seriously injured burn patients in this region are often first taken to one of Billings’ two trauma centers. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services lists Billings Clinic and St. Vincent’s Healthcare as ACS Level 1 / Comprehensive Trauma Centers (DPHHS). We did not find an American Burn Association-verified burn center in Montana. Patients with major burns may be transferred to a regional burn center out of state, such as Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the University of Utah Health Burn Center in Salt Lake City, or the burn center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, each of which describes Montana as part of the region it serves.

That matters for the case. A family may spend months in another state during grafting and rehabilitation. The travel, lodging and lost work are part of the harm. The treating burn surgeons may be in Seattle or Salt Lake City, but the case can still be filed and tried in Montana, where the injury happened.

What happens after a burn injury in Billings?

Get emergency care, even for an electrical burn that looks small. Electrical current can damage the heart, muscles and nerves beneath a minor-looking wound (MedlinePlus).
Keep the product. A battery, heater, appliance, valve or gas can is often the most important evidence. Do not throw it away or give it to an insurer.
Get the reports. Fire investigators, utilities and insurers often arrive fast after a Billings fire or explosion. Ask for the fire report, and make sure your own qualified investigator examines the scene and the failed components.
At work, report in writing within 30 days for workers’ compensation (§ 39-71-603, MCA), and write down every company on site. OSHA’s Billings Area Office may investigate.

A burn case arising in Yellowstone County filed in state court is heard in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court at the Yellowstone County Courthouse, 217 North 27th Street (§ 3-5-101, MCA). Refinery owners, manufacturers and carriers based elsewhere often move cases to the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court, at the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse (District of Montana).

Montana law that applies

Defective products: a seller of a defective, unreasonably dangerous product can be held strictly liable (§ 27-1-719, MCA).
Property owners and landlords are responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care (§ 27-1-701, MCA).
Damages include all past and future harm, including scarring and disfigurement (§§ 27-1-202, 27-1-203, MCA).
Deadline: 3 years for most claims (§ 27-2-204, MCA); comparative fault applies (§ 27-1-702, MCA).

Our Montana burn injury page explains burn degrees, electrical injuries and scarring damages in more depth.

Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Billings case?

Burn cases are evidence cases: the failed part, the permit, the gas reading, the maintenance record. We are based in Great Falls and handle burn cases statewide. Our attorneys travel to Billings for scene and equipment inspections, depositions, hearings and trial, and our firm has tried jury trials in Yellowstone County. If you are being treated at an out-of-state burn center, we can work with you there. We do not have a Billings office.

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 know federal court, where refinery owners and manufacturers often move these cases. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years.
We protect verdicts. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
You work with the lawyers, who bring in qualified fire and engineering experts when the facts call for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

I was burned as a contractor at a Billings-area refinery. Can I sue the refinery? Possibly. Workers’ comp covers your own employer, but the plant owner or another contractor may be liable for a hazard it created or controlled (§ 39-71-412, MCA).

Is there a burn center in Billings? Billings has two Level 1 trauma centers. We did not find an ABA-verified burn center in Montana; patients with major burns may be transferred to regional centers in Seattle, Salt Lake City or Idaho Falls.

Can my case be tried in Billings if I was treated in another state? Yes. A case is usually filed where the injury happened or where a defendant is located, not where treatment took place.

Our rental home in Billings caught fire from a faulty furnace. Who is responsible? Possibly the landlord, the installer or the manufacturer, depending on the cause. Keep the fire report and do not let the equipment be discarded.

My e-bike battery exploded while charging. What should I keep? Everything: the battery, the charger, the bike, the packaging and the receipt. The product itself is usually the key evidence.

Talk to a Billings Burn 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.