Havre, MontanaHavre Car Accident
Havre Car Accident Lawyers: US-2 Hi-Line Crashes, US-87 Collisions and Wrecks in Hill County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
A car crash near Havre usually happens on a two-lane highway a long way from a trauma center. Cases filed in Hill County go to the Twelfth Judicial District Court at the Hill County Courthouse, and out-of-state defendants can move them to the federal court in Great Falls. Montana allows 3 years to file most injury claims.
Hurt in a crash on the Hi-Line, or lost someone in one? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What happens after a car accident in Havre?
The report. Inside the city, the Havre Police Department takes the report. On county roads it is usually the Hill County Sheriff’s Office, and on US-2, US-87 and the secondary highways it is often the Montana Highway Patrol. Ask the officer for the case number before you leave the scene, and request the full report later, including diagrams and witness statements.
The hospital. Most injured people are taken first to Northern Montana Hospital on 13th Street in Havre. According to the state’s November 2025 list, it is not a designated trauma facility (DPHHS). The nearest higher-level center is Benefis Healthcare in Great Falls, an ACS Level 2 / Regional Trauma Hospital, about 110 miles away on US-87. When someone is transferred, the transfer records, the timing and the ambulance or air-transport run sheets become part of the case.
The courthouse. A lawsuit over a Hill County crash is filed in the Twelfth Judicial District Court, which serves Liberty, Hill and Chouteau Counties (§ 3-5-101, MCA). The court sits at the Hill County Courthouse, 315 4th Street, Havre. Crashes farther east or west go to the courthouse for that county: Chinook, Harlem and Malta are in the Seventeenth District, and Shelby is in the Ninth.
Federal court. If the at-fault driver or company is from another state or from Canada, the defense may remove the case to the Great Falls Division of the U.S. District Court, which covers Hill, Blaine, Liberty, Toole and Phillips Counties (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2(c)(3)). Court is held at the Missouri River Courthouse, 125 Central Avenue West, Great Falls. Montana law on fault and damages still applies.
What makes Hi-Line roads dangerous?
The crashes we see in this part of the state follow the geography:
- US-2, the Hi-Line. From Shelby through Chester, Havre, Chinook, Harlem and Malta, US-2 runs beside the BNSF main line. Most of it is two lanes with long, straight stretches, so the serious crashes are head-on collisions, crashes while passing, and rear-end wrecks behind slow farm equipment.
- First Street in Havre. Inside town, US-2 becomes First Street, a busy commercial strip lined with turning traffic, businesses and intersections. The Montana Department of Transportation has resurfaced 2.3 miles of it (MDT). The City of Havre, MDT and Hill County are also preparing a Safe Streets and Roads for All safety plan for the area.
- US-87 to Great Falls. US-87 leaves US-2 about 2 miles west of Havre and runs south through Box Elder and Big Sandy to Fort Benton. It is the road injured people and their families drive to reach Great Falls.
- Border traffic. S-232 runs north from Havre to the Port of Wild Horse, and S-233 runs to the Port of Willow Creek. Drivers and carriers from Alberta and Saskatchewan use both routes, and that affects the insurance and which court hears the case.
- Winter. Ground blizzards, drifting snow and black ice on open prairie can close US-2 without much warning. Weather explains a crash, but it does not excuse one. Montana drivers must drive at a speed that is reasonable for the conditions.
Montana law that applies
The core rules are short. For depth, see our Montana car accident lawyer page.
- Deadline: 3 years for most injury claims (§ 27-2-204, MCA). Claims against the State, Hill County or the City of Havre have written-notice rules (§ 2-9-301, MCA).
- Fault: You can recover if your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of the people you sue. Your damages are reduced by your percentage (§ 27-1-702, MCA).
- Minimum insurance: only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (§ 61-6-103, MCA). In a serious Hi-Line crash, your own underinsured motorist coverage is often where the real recovery comes from.
- Seat belts: Whether you wore a seat belt is not admissible to reduce your claim (§ 61-13-106, MCA).
What should you do after a crash near Havre?
- Get checked, even if you feel fine. If you are sent home from Havre and your symptoms get worse, go back or ask for a referral.
- Photograph the scene, including road conditions, snow and ice, the lack of a shoulder, and the vehicles.
- Get the other driver’s insurance information. For a Canadian driver, write down the province and the insurer’s name.
- Tell your own insurer about the crash, but don’t give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement.
- Keep the vehicle until someone has downloaded its event data recorder.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Havre case?
We are not in Havre, and we won’t pretend to be. We are based in Great Falls, about 110 miles down US-87. We handle cases statewide, and our attorneys travel to Havre and across the Hi-Line for client meetings, depositions, hearings and trial. We also tried the Voegel case to a Phillips County jury in Malta, on the Hi-Line. Many Hi-Line cases that go to federal court are heard in Great Falls, where our office is.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We have tried a Hi-Line car-crash case and defended the verdict on appeal. A Phillips County jury in Malta awarded $168,500 to a woman rear-ended by a pickup. When the verdict was thrown out, we had it reinstated by the Montana Supreme Court (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
- We try cases. The firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- 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 are part of the trial bar. Both attorneys are members of AAJ and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association.
We also handle truck accidents in Havre and insurance bad faith in Havre. See all of our Havre and Hill County personal injury services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is a Havre car accident lawsuit filed? If the crash happened in Hill County, the case is filed in the Twelfth Judicial District Court at the Hill County Courthouse in Havre. If a defendant is from out of state, the case may be moved to the federal court’s Great Falls Division.
The driver who hit me was from Canada. Can I still recover? Often, yes. A crash in Montana is generally governed by Montana law, and the driver’s insurer is responsible for covering it. Cross-border cases have their own problems with service, insurance and court, so get advice early.
Who investigates crashes on US-2 outside Havre? The Montana Highway Patrol usually handles crashes on US-2 and US-87 outside city limits. The Havre Police Department handles most crashes on First Street and other city streets.
I was treated in Havre and then flown to Great Falls. Does that affect my case? It affects your evidence. The records from both hospitals, and the transport records in between, help show how serious your injuries were. We collect all of them.
Can I still recover if the roads were icy? Yes. Ice does not excuse careless driving, because Montana drivers must drive at a speed that is reasonable for the conditions. Your recovery is reduced only by your own share of fault, if you have one.
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.
